The dismal FACTS about retirement income options for African Americans over 65 - The Daily Dose

How will you retire?? 

Half of us have nothing saved, 

and many others far too little.

Are you one of the many clueless people who believed that after working for 30 or 40 years, you would be able to retire with a decent income and live in relative comfort during your "golden years"?

Many people work all of their lives and look forward to the day that they can finally retire and enjoy a little me time, however for a lot of African Americans, trying to figure out how to live comfortably on that retirement income can be pretty depressing.

The retirement crisis is widespread, and unfortunately, if you are African American, your future looks even more bleak!

Here are the facts according to an article from AARP:

Social Security:

For African Americans Social Security is the predominant source of retirement income. It provides income to 82.6% of African Americans age 65 and older.

Not only do more than 80% of older African Americans receive Social Security but they depend on it! Almost 80% of African Americans age 65 and older who receive Social Security depend on it for 50% or more of their income, and 44.3% of African Americans age 65 and older receive all of their income from Social Security payments.

Pensions:

Benefits from pensions undoubtedly improves income security for older people, however, pensions are a part of retirement income security for only 35.5% of all persons over age 65. The portion of African American men who receive pensions is higher than that for African American women (32.1% and 24.2% respectively)

Interest and Dividends:

Interest is a source of income for more than half (52%) of all persons age 65 and older. In contrast, less than one-quarter (22.2%) of older African Americans receive income from interest.

Income from dividends is received by a very small portion of African Americans age 65 and older. Although close to one-quarter (22.5%) of all people 65 and older receive income from dividends, only 5.2% of African Americans in the same age group receive dividends.

A study by Prudential finds African-Americans retire earlier than the general population on average, despite significantly lower retirement savings.

About 25%of African-Americans surveyed expect to retire before age 60, compared to 20% of the general population. Among current retirees, the average retirement age for African-Americans is 56, three years younger than the general population, according to the study. source

More than 51 million people receive monthly Social Security checks. 
According to the Joint Center's report, 
African American men received an average $1,109 monthly benefit 
compared with $1,334 on average for white men in 2008. 
Black women averaged $946, less than the $1,015 average for white women that year. (latest statistics found)

The bottom line is....  In retirement, African Americans remain disproportionately poor!