NEW YORK — Four out of five workers aren’t saving enough to maintain their lifestyle after retirement, with women being at a disadvantage because of their longer life spans and lower pay, according to a study released Tuesday.
On average, employees are projected to replace just 85 percent of their income in retirement, compared with the 126 percent they would need when factoring in inflation, longer life spans and medical costs, the study by Hewitt Associates found.
The study looked at the projected retirement levels of nearly 2 million current workers of varying ages at 72 large U.S. companies and used actual employee balances.
People would need to save from 10 percent to 12 percent of their income throughout their career to keep up the same lifestyle after retirement, said Alison Borland, one of the study’s authors.
The study found just 19 percent of workers were on track to do so.
These workers typically started saving early in their career — sometime in their 20s — and didn’t cash out the savings when they switched jobs, Borland said.
