Americans Headed for an Uncomfortable Retirement

Physician's Money

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The

Outlook

As a reader of , hopefully you have a good graspon what you need to do to prepare forretirement so you can live comfortablywith few to no financial worries. Butaccording to Standard & Poor's , a Federal Reserve survey showsthat the majority of Americans aren't takingthe proper steps to save as much asthey should to be content in retirement. Asevidenced in this consumer finance survey,the percentage of American families thatowned pooled investment funds (ie, mutualfunds, hedge funds, and real estateinvestment trusts) decreased over a 3-yearperiod from 2001 to 2004, while directstock ownership increased. Standard &Poor's strongly suggests the heavier utilizationof employee retirement plans andRoth IRAs for retirement savings. They recommendan asset allocation of 45% USstocks, 20% foreign stocks, 20% bonds,and 15% cash.