Pack a lunch, it’ll be an all-day job.
PolitiFact put Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders under its “fact-checking” microscope Thursday.
Specifically, the website and offshoot of the Tampa Bay Times more closely examined the failed presidential nominee’s comments on 401ks and retirement savings.
It was piqued by socialist Sanders’ contention that “50 percent of workers ages 55 to 64 have ‘zero’ money in the bank as they enter retirement.” The claim was made during a post-election (or rather postmortem) town hall meeting in Wisconsin in mid-December.
Arguing against a prevailing Democratic leadership view that sexism, racism and homophobia played a major part in Donald Trump’s win, Sanders’ claimed Trump connected with Americans on economic issues, and specifically retirement assets and income.
“I think what he did do is, he said, ‘You know what, there is a lot of pain in this country; people are scared and people are worried,’” according to the transcript. “One example: Right now, 50 percent of older workers, 55 to 64 — you know how much money they have in the bank, as they enter retirement? Who wants to guess? Zero! What do you think? People are scared to death of retirement.”
Are half of Americans approaching retirement with nothing in the bank, PolitiFact then rhetorically asked?
Sanders’ campaign cited a May 2015 report from the Government Accountability Office to back his numbers. It found that 52 percent of households age 55 and over have no money in either an IRA or 401(k).
“But that group includes people who are well into retirement,” Tom Kertscher with Politifact wrote.
The situation isn’t as bad for the age 55-to-64 group that Sanders specifically cited. The report found 41 percent of the people in that group have no money in defined-contribution plans or IRAs.
However, Kertscher noted another important caveat; the report did not consider other savings the 55-to-64 age group have.
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College ran their own numbers and found that “38.5 percent of Americans ages 55 to 64 do not have a retirement account such as an IRA, traditional pension or 401(k), but nevertheless have some savings.”
So no, the amount isn’t “zero” but in many cases it isn’t much more, and for that reason, PolitiFact rated it “Half True.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
