The Recession Hasn’t Killed Retirement

Many retirement surveys have been released recently that have cast a dark cloud over the prospect of retiring in the middle of the economic downturn. According to these surveys, retirement has been pushed out of reach for several years, or even indefinitely, for millions of Americans. However, the gloomy forecasts do not necessarily mean that retirement is no longer attainable because for several reasons.

First of all, surveys only account for what people think they will be capable of doing. Many surveys show a large gap between when a person says he or she will retire and when he or she actually does, mostly because many people will do whatever it takes to retire at age 65, whether or not the economy is in the middle of a downturn.

Also, the fact that there is a recession in the present time does not mean that retirement accounts will be irrevocably damaged. The long-term impact of the recession is thought to be relatively mild, meaning that workers should have plenty of time to build up their retirement savings if they took significant losses.

So far this year, the recovery in the stock market has allowed many 401(k) plans to recover nicely, even if nest eggs have gotten a bit smaller. Despite the fact that the economic downturn still rages and that unemployment and weak consumer spending plague the economy, saving for retirement diligently will still most likely allow you to retire safely.

Don't let the recession ruin your retirement plans (Flickr)