Introduction

This guidebook includes step-by-step instructions for community educators to conduct educational programs to change the retirement planning behavior of Americans. The target audience for the
guidebook is community educators, both those who have never offered a retirement planning program as well as experienced educators who want to improve their outreach. The guidebook
will enable educators to motivate Americans to plan for their future financial security.

The guidebook includes the following:

• Detailed instructions on how to develop, implement, and evaluate a retirement educational program;
• Instructions on how to identify audiences and match the message to the audience;
• A list of existing educational resources that address financial security in later life; including a brief description of the resource and how to order;
• Strategies for how to effectively use these resources with consumers to improve their planning skills; Strategies that work in delivering successful retirement planning educational programs;
• Strategies to motivate people to plan and save for retirement.

Background and Existing Situation

The average life expectancy is 74.1 years for men and 79.5 years for women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Many people will live 20 to 25 years past retirement age (National Center for Health Statistics, 2001). A challenge for Americans is to arrange their financial resources so that they have adequate income throughout those retirement years.

The median income of the retired population was $13,588 in 1999. For the currently retired, Social Security on average accounts for 40 percent of their income. Pension and retirement plans accounted for 20 percent, income from assets accounted for 20 percent and income from earnings accounted for 18 percent (EBRI, 2001).

According to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly benefit for retired workers was $844.50 per month in 2000 (Social Security Bulletin, 2001).

A survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) revealed that the percentage of respondents saying that they have saved for retirement decreased from 75 percent in 2000 to 71 percent in 2001. Forty-six percent of the respondents said they have tried to calculate how much money they need for retirement. Seventeen percent of workers were not at all confident of having enough money for retirement. (EBRI, 2001).

One source of income of interest to retirees is pension and retirement plans. In 1999, 60.8 percent of full-time, full year wage and salary workers ages 18-64 were participants in a retirement plan through their employer. The worker characteristics with the greatest impact on retirement plan participation in 1999 were age, education, and income. The employer characteristics with the greatest impact on retirement plan participation in 1999 were firm size and industry.

Pension income varied greatly in 1999. In 1999, 28.3 percent of men age 50 and older with a graduate level education received retirement annuity and/or pension income, compared with 24.9 percent of men without a high school diploma. In 1999, the median annual income from a pension plan for a male with a graduate level education was $13,195, while a male with no high school diploma received $5,500. In 1999, 45.7 percent of men over age 65 received annuity and/or
pension income, compared with 28.8 percent of women over age 65. Males also received, on average, a higher benefit payment. In 1999, males age 65 and older received $14,046,compared with females' average amount of $8,224 (EBRI, 2001).

Americans need to evaluate their current financial resources to determine if they will have adequate income during retirement years. If projected retirement income is not adequate, income needs to
be reallocated to save for retirement years. It is essential that Americans be educated regarding the necessity of investing to provide for their retirement years. Retirement planing education is even more vital for those whose employers provide on formal retirement planning opportunities.

American workers need to know the importance of saving for the future and to begin as early in life as possible. Job changers need to preserve their retirement accounts as they move from job to job. Public education retirement planning programs developed and presented through public and private partnerships can promote retirement savings among American workers.

References

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) (2001) EBRI Retirement Income Research: 2001 Findings. Retrieved November 12, 2001 from http://www.ebri.org/findings/ret_findings.htm

National Center for Health Statistics (2001). Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2000. October 9, 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2001 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Social Security Bulletin. Annual Statistical Supplement. 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2001 from http://www.ssa.gov/statistics/Supplement/2001/index.html

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