DataPoint: Retirement Preparedness

Only three in 10 New Yorkers between the ages of 35 and 70 say they could afford to pay the $50,000 annual average cost of long term care if necessary, and only 20 percent would be able to afford the average out-of-pocket health care cost when they retire. These and other retirement apprehensions of New York State residents were revealed during a 2016 Siena College Research survey sponsored by AARP. The researchers asked Baby Boomers and Generation Xers about their current finances and their retirement planning thoughts and activities, and reported results based on age, income levels, ethnicity, and region. They found that only 4 percent of Generation Xers and 6 percent of Baby Boomers have undertaken six common retirement planning tasks (retirement communication, Social Security research, residential planning, healthcare planning, Medicare research, and budgeting) and that fewer than a third have worked with a financial advisor. Statewide results as well as breakouts for NYC, Long Island, Central NY, and Erie and Monroe counties are available here.

Contact: Ken Allison, kallison@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8820