LatinaLista — Headlines always seem to scream about the dire future of Latino children. Yet, thanks to a new study, we now know that the future of Latino retirees isn’t any better.
Race and Retirement Insecurity in the United States paints a chilling picture of what awaits Latino Baby Boomers.
According to the study, Latino retirees are the least prepared to live out their golden years. Sixty-nine percent of working-age Latino households don’t have any retirement savings. That’s a higher percentage than blacks (62%) or whites (37%) who are ill-prepared as well.
The study also found:
- Three out of four black households and four out of five Latino households age 25-64 have less than $10,000 in retirement savings, compared to one out of two white households.
- Across age groups, households of color with at least one earner are half as likely as white households to have retirement savings equal to or greater than their annual income. For instance, only 19 percent of households of color near retirement have this much retirement savings, compared to 41 percent of white households of the same age.
- Among near-retirees, the per-household average retirement savings balance among households of color ($30,000) is one-fourth that of White households ($120,000).
With these realities, it’s clear that Latinos will be needing much government assistance in the future. With Congress cutting entitlement spending in their latest bipartisan budget bill and the certainty for even more future cuts, the future will be one where Latino seniors will be suffering disproportionately.
Families will certainly step in, but a future where just the basic necessities will cost more, not to mention medicine, will cause a heavy burden on too many. With no savings or access to pension plans, Latino seniors will be disadvantaged in every sense of the word.
The good thing about this study is that it sounds an alarm that demands people take it seriously and start planning for the future. The bad thing about this study is that it’s all about mañana and for too many people, that’s always a long ways away.
