A gap exists between the amount of money people think they need for retirement and where they expect to get that money, according to a survey of 1,000 workers by the Retirement Corporation of America between Sept. 29 and Oct. 1.
Roughly 23% of Americans plan to rely heavily on Social Security and 20% on pension benefits after they retire. Roughly 31% expect to use their personal savings, mutual funds or IRAs as their primary source of retirement income, and 12% hope to earn additional income from part-time work after retiring.
"Increased life expectancy has driven many to work for a longer period of time, offering a greater chance of achieving financial retirement targets," said Daniel Kiley, chairman and chief compliance officer of the Retirement Corp. of America, a money management firm. "However, as traditional sources of retirement income such as company pensions and Social Security dwindle with each passing day, more Americans will have to take charge of their finances and begin planning and investing to generate alternate streams of income."