Statistics about baby boomers, empty nesters and retirement...

63%:  Percentage of workers' retirement savings that are locked in 401(k) accounts.  Compare to 19% of workers who have both a 401(k) and an employer-funded pension; and 17% who have a defined benefit/pension only.

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

$45,519:  Average 401(k) account balance at the end of 2008.  Average 401(k) balances dropped 30% in 2008 and are at a lower level then a decade ago.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute

23%:  Percentage of people 65 to 74 in the labor force in 2006, up from 20% in 2000. (5.5 million people).  Projections indicate that by 2016, the number will reach 10.1 million.

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/> (Table 570)

70%: Percentage of people who will work in some capacity during retirement.  Of these...

29% will work part-time for interest or enjoyment sake

22% will work for needed income

11% will start their own business

6% will retire from their career but work full time doing something else

2% don't plan to retire at all

2% don't know

SOURCE:  "Staying Ahead of the Curve," a 2007 national survey of 1,500 workers ages 45 to 74.  Margin of error is plus or minus 3%

29%: Percentage of people who plan to continue working after their traditional retirement but for no pay, e.g. volunteer work, board member, local goverment, etc.

SOURCE:  Same as above.

$27,798:  Median 2006 income of households with householders 65 and older, up 3.4 percent, in real terms, from the previous year.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006   <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

76%:  Proportion of people 65 and older in 2007 with at least a high school diploma.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau - Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007

DID YOU KNOW...

9.4%:  Poverty rate for people 65 and older in 2006, down from 10.1 percent in 2005. There were 3.4 million seniors in poverty in 2006, a decline from 3.6 million in 2005.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

$190,100:  Median net worth for families in 2004 whose head was between 65 and 74. For those whose head was 75 or older, the corresponding figure was $163,100.

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/> (Table 699)

17%:  Percentage of Florida’s population 65 and older in 2006, which led the nation. Next to Florida, states with the highest percentages of older people include West Virginia (15.3 percent) and Pennsylvania (15.2 percent). 

Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

31.2%:  Percentage of the population of Charlotte County, Fla., that was 65 and older on July 1, 2006, which led the nation. In fact, Florida contributed four of the top 10 counties. 

Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

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