The Survey of Consumer Finances reports that in 2010, just 35 percent of families held some sort of retirement account offered through a current or past job, down 2.9 percentage points from 2007. With fewer employer-sponsored plans, consumers are left to navigate the process of researching and managing a retirement plan on their own – something they may not be fully equipped to handle.
To further strain retirement savings, a study by HelloWallet indicates that 1 in 4 US households with a retirement plan have used at least some of these savings for nonretirement needs. The fees and penalties associated with such withdrawals usually make this habit costly.
