The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) showed that 51% of households are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.  According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College report, the NRRI jumped from 7% from last year due to:

• the bursting of the housing bubble;
• the stock market crash; and
• the ongoing rise in Social Security’s Full Retirement Age

The Index results from comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as a percent of pre-retirement income – with target rates that would allow them to maintain their living standard.

Even if half of today’s household work until they turn 65, the NRRI shows that in 2009, half of today’s households will not have enough retirement income to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.

As the study says, ensuring retirement security for an aging population is one of the most compelling challenges facing the nation.

The National Retirement Risk Index: After the Crash