TIAA-CREF has undertaken an initiative to increase the availability of U.S. Hispanics/Latinos to retirement planning information, which includes the creation of a Spanish-language website.
The website focuses on educating viewers, with emphasis on life stages, such as "starting out," "mid-career," "approaching retirement" and "in retirement." There is also a glossary of financial terms, answers to frequently asked questions about retirement and examples of retirement-savings tips.
Romano Richetta, senior vice president of participant services at TIAA-CREF, said Hispanics/Latinos see the need for retirement preparation, but they participate less in workplace retirement plans and invest less money in plans than do other groups. This is apparently because some believe they can rely on family members, the Social Security program, their real estate investments or savings accounts to fund their retirement.
TIAA-CREF cited a study by the Hispanic Institute and the Americans for Secure Retirement coalition that found slightly more than one-quarter of Hispanics are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. On the other hand, 42.5% of non-Hispanic whites and 40% of African-Americans have such coverage.
In turn, Hispanics are finding their savings do not stretch far enough. On average, Hispanics spend 54.4% of their retirement income on food and housing; non-white Hispanics spend only 11.4%.
Meanwhile, Scottrade's 2010 American Retirement Survey finds that non-mortgage debt is an obstacle for 61% of Americans to save money for their retirement.
Craig Hogan, director of consumer intelligence for Scottrade, commented "Allowing debt to impede investing is a big concern because it will likely result in Americans having to work longer and retire later, or not at all."
Among the finding, 50% of Gen Xers spend more than 20% of their household income paying mortgage and non-mortgage debt each month, while 47% of Baby Boomers exceed the 20% threshold.
