Half of Americans Have No Idea What to Do with their 401(k)

401(k) participants need rescuing.

401(k) participants need rescuing.

401(k) advisors take heed (and heart). Almost half of the adult population with 401(k)s and other self-directed retirement accounts are having trouble. Translation—they need your help.

A very official looking report from the Federal Reserve finds that 49 percent of adults with self-directed retirement accounts are either “not confident” or only “slightly confident” in their ability to make the right investment decisions.

Titled “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2015,” it also finds that just over one-quarter of adults with self-directed retirement accounts do not seek out any financial advice when investing these funds. Fully 52 percent of those who do not seek out advice say they either cannot afford assistance or would like help but do not know where to get it.

Most concerning, 31 percent of non-retired respondents report that they have no retirement savings or pension at all, including 27 percent of non-retired respondents age 60 or older.

“The Great Recession pushed back the planned date of retirement for two-fifths of those ages 45 and over who had not yet retired, and 15 percent of those who had retired since 2008 reported that they retired earlier than planned due to the recession,” according to the Fed.

Among those ages 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, it adds, only 18 percent plan to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stop working altogether, while 24 percent expected to keep working as long as possible. Lastly, 18 percent expected to retire and then work a part-time job, and 9 percent expected to retire and then become self-employed.

The full report, which takes a close look and spending, income and debt patterns for Americans, can be accessed here.

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