Stock Market Gains From Past Three Years Wiped Out
The financial turbulence of the past year has swallowed the gains from the 2005 to 2007 stock market boom for the typical investor approaching retirement age. Today, those age 50 and older with a retirement account have around $89,300, down from a high of $105,800 last year, according to calculations by Richard Johnson, Mauricio Soto, and Sheila Zedlewski of the Urban Institute.
Median Retirement Account Accumulation for Households Ages 50 and Older:
- 2004: $80,900
- 2005: $88,300
- 2006: $93,300
- 2007: $105,800
- 2008: $89,300
Source: Urban Institute calculations, 2008
Note: Estimates are for September 30 of each year, expressed in constant 2008 dollars. The calculations assume households hold a portfolio of 50 percent stocks and 50 percent in fixed-income instruments and rebalance portfolios at the end of the third quarter of each year to the 50-50 allocation.
"Middle-income boomers counted on the retirement accounts and the high values of their homes.... Today, their retirement account balances are significantly lower, home values keep declining, and employers don't seem too thrilled about hiring," says Soto. "These are the kind of changes boomers didn't want to happen right before their retirement."
Tags: investing | retirement | stock market
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (6) | Print
Reader Comments
Investors Be Damned!!!
Everyone seems to be concerned about business investors when it is the personal investors who rely most upon their investments for living not simply playing the market. While I understand the arguments about job creation and such, the modern outsourcing craze negates old arguments of business tax breaks, trickle-down economics, increased revenues, etc... in favor of shipping our jobs & money to foreign nations in the name of globalization. Somewhere in this world, someone is eating food which was paid for with American dollars received either from an outsourced job or outsourced investment on our national debt. Greedy investors will do anything for money including starving our citizens yet forget that without America and our citizens their precious investments will soon disappear and the market which they enjoy abusing does not exist in any other nation as they are all constrained by governments except America. Lets first talk about saving and try to salvage what's left of our retirement accounts and let the greedy investors stand in line for a change.
1 Not so fast, The markets could recover. If you sold you lost. If you held on you may recover.
2 As to the recent wild markets:
It seems suspicious that the financial crisis occurred during the US election season. On his new TV show Mike Huckabee (FOX NEWS) suggested that there could be malicious manipulation that caused the wild swings in the markets recently. That this could be economic terrorism. Coincidently, a recent Al Qaeda tape cheered the crisis. Could Huckabee be correct; was this an act of terror against the modern world financial system? Sounds logical
Add your thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.advertisement
