How Americans Save , by Sophie M. Korczyk 1 . Neither economic theory nor statistical evidence on saving patterns suggests any absolute barriers to saving. While savings for retirement increase with age, nearly 4 in 10 SCF households with a head younger than age 35 report some form of retirement savings. Not surprisingly, retirement savings increase with income . Racial and ethnic disparities are less pronounced in relation to retirement savings than all savings .
Homeowners save more for retirement .
At the same time, research by William Gale of The Brookings Institution suggests that two-thirds of baby boomers are saving at least as much as they should for retirement. Although this conclusion initially appears more encouraging than Bernheim's, Gale goes on to warn that fully half of these baby boomers would fall below adequate savings levels if they sustained any deterioration in their current circumstances. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, however, the retirement incomes of boomers will match or surpass those of their parents as long as average real wages continue to grow. Nonetheless, certain groups of baby boomers are particularly vulnerable to insecure old ages as a result of inadequate retirement saving. Younger baby boomers who lack a high school diploma are less likely than others to have employer pensions.