The following post might scare you. But that is by design.

In July of 2013 the National institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) released “The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is it Worse Than We Think?” The study found that private sector retirement access is near its lowest point since 1979 with only 52% of employees in jobs that offer retirement benefits.  So half of America isn’t even in the position to take advantage of employer-sponsored retirement planning.

A critical finding of the report is that while households face a growing retirement savings burden, the typical US working-age household (age 25-64) has only $3,000 saved in retirement accounts while the typical household nearing retirement has only $12,000.

People of color are less likely than whites to have access to a pension or 401(k) at work. Nearly two-thirds of households of color have no savings in a 401(k) or IRA type account, compared to slightly over one-third of white households. Three out of four households of color (75%) have retirement savings less than $10,000. Among households of color with retirement account assets, the median balance is $30,000 for near-retirees — grossly insufficient as an income source.

If you’re not scared yet, you’re not paying attention…

PART 2