Sound The Alarm

A message from State Treasurer Rob McCord
As your elected State Treasurer, I spend much of my time worrying about how to invest a lot of money – over $80 billion per year. Yet I know the challenges of investing funds pale in comparison to the stress of not having enough money. Not surprisingly, many Pennsylvanians face that very prospect: not having enough money to live on – especially in retirement.

Here are some sobering statistics:

• Only half of American full-time employees are covered by an employer-sponsored pension plan, either defined (think, traditional pension) or contribution (think, 401(k)).
• Only one-third of all Pennsylvanians will receive a pension from their employer when they retire.
• In 2008, one-fifth of workers covered in 401(k) plans did not put any money in their accounts.
• And one fifth of Americans already today rely exclusively on Social Security in retirement – a fraction that will only grow in the future.
• The average American nearing retirement today has saved $78,000.
• About 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 in retirement savings.
• A low-wage earner retiring at 62 today will have only 43 percent of her wages replaced by Social Security income. But by 2030, when the retirement age rises to 67, only 39 percent of a low income worker’s wages will be replaced by Social Security income upon retirement.
• And then there’s the cost of health care – the 800-pound gorilla in the room. The percentage of companies that offer health coverage for retirees declined from 66% in 1988 to 33% in 2007.

Through RetirePA, a Pennsylvania Treasury Retirement Security Initiative, I want to help you plan and save and, ultimately, retire with financial security.

There are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions to retirement. Differences in age, gender, and employment – as well as unforeseen life events like illness or divorce – all impact our ability to save and determine how we plan. My RetirePA initiative is sensitive to those differences and gathers some of the most useful resources to help Pennsylvanians build and protect their retirement security.

There is no question that our failure to face up to the truth about retirement savings will be catastrophic for families, communities and the Commonwealth itself. It is truly a dangerous situation.

So I am sounding the alarm about retirement security. My colleagues and I want to help Pennsylvanians make saving for retirement a financial priority BEFORE it’s too late! Please use the information and the tools we offer here to help build a financially secure retirement.