This should get your attention if retirement is in your near future. MarketWatch reports a recent survey shows that almost half of all U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less -- almost no money in the bank.

 

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The survey was carried out by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and it tracked retirees from 1993 through 2008.

It found that that a substantial number of people die with
virtually no financial assets — 46.1 percent with less than $10,000 in savings.  Worse, many of these people have no housing wealth and rely almost entirely on Social Security for support.

The hard truth is that today's retirees can expect to see their income drop to nearly nothing.  Those with only a small pension but little or no money in savings are in for a shock.

This survey shows that people need to be saving and planning for their retirement many years in advance.  You cannot start it too early.

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