At a Glance | January 17, 2019 Retirement Deficits for Gen Xer Widows and Widowers and the Impact of Auto Portability 1 GENDER A ND INCOME IMPAC T Gen X Retirement Savings Shortfalls By Pre-Retirement Wage Quartile Measuring retirement income Widowed Female adequacy is important. EBRI Widowed Male recently bifurcated married $11.4k Highest Income Quartile households at retirement age $8.5k into “widows,” those in which $30.1k Third Quartile the male dies first, and $27.9k “widowers,” in which the $55.9k female dies first. Relative Second Quartile $48.1k retirement deficits of widows vs. widowers depend on $86.5k Lowest Income Quartile pre-retirement wages. $67.8k 1 Y E A RS UNTIL RE TIREMENT Gen X Retirement Savings Shortfalls By Future Years of Defined Eligibility When looking at future years Widowed Female of defined contribution Widowed Male $7.1k plan eligibility in married 21–30 years $6.7k households, the readiness gap between widows and $13.1k 11–20 years widowers is starkest for those $11.2k with the fewest years of future $18.9k eligibility. 1–10 years $15.3k $31.8k No years $25.3k AUTO POR TA BILIT Y A SSIS T Impact of Auto Portability By Future Years of Defined Eligibility Widowed Female The implementation of auto Widowed Male portability reduces the 31% retirement deficit. With auto 21–30 years 38% portability, a participant’s account from a former 29% 11–20 years employer’s retirement plan 37% would be automatically 22% 1–10 years combined with their active 29% account in a new employer’s plan. 1. Retirement Savings Shortfalls (RSS) — The present value of the deficits that households are simulated to generate in retirement . Note: The baseline of the model used for this analysis assumes all workers retire at age 65, that they immediately begin drawing benefits from Social Security and defined benefit plans (if any), and, to the extent that the sum of their expenses and uninsured medical expenses exceed the projected, after-tax annual income from those sources, immediately begin to withdraw money from their individual accounts (defined contribution and cash balance plans, as well as individual retirement accounts (IRAs)). Source: Jack VanDerhei. “How Retirement Readiness Varies by Gender and Family Status: A Retirement Savings Shortfall Assessment of Gen Xers.” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 471 (Employee Benefit Research Institute, January 17, 2019). © 2019 EBRI