The Encore Quiz: How Much Do You Know?
by Glenn Ruffenach
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
provided by WSJ.com


Think you're ready for life after the office? Here's your chance to prove it.

ON YOUR MARK...

What percentage of current workers say they expect to retire at age 65 or older?

a. 37%
b. 47%
c. 57%
d. 67%

Answer: C. That figure has been increasing steadily for more than a decade. In 1995, when the Gallup organization asked workers to pinpoint the age when they expected to retire, fewer than half of respondents -- 46% -- said they planned to leave the office at age 65 or older. Last year, in response to the same question, 27% of surveyed workers said they planned to retire at age 65 -- and fully 30% said they planned to retire after 65. (In 1995, only 12% of respondents said they planned to retire after 65.)

What percentage of retirees say they left the work force earlier than planned?

a. 31%
b. 41%
c. 51%
d. 61%

Answer: C. Setting a date when you plan to retire-and working toward that goal-is a good idea. But fully half of retirees, according to a survey published last month by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said they ended up leaving the work force earlier than planned.

The point: Workers may not realize that they may have limited control over when they retire, according to the institute. People "who retire earlier than planned are more likely than those who retire on time or later than planned to say they are not confident about having a comfortable retirement or about having enough money for basic expenses in retirement," the institute said.

If you retire at age 65, what percentage of your life can you expect to spend in retirement?

a. 16%
b. 18%
c. 20%
d. 22%

Answer: D. Many people significantly underestimate their life expectancy -- and, thus, the risk that they will outlive their retirement savings. An American who reaches age 65 has an average additional life expectancy of 18.7 years, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Thus, if you retire at age 65, and die at age 83, you would have spent almost one-quarter of your life in retirement. And remember: 18.7 years is the average life expectancy. (The figure is 17.1 years for men and 20 years for women.) About half of those who reach age 65 can expect to live longer than 18.7 years.

What percentage of the U.S. population is and will be made up of people age 65 and older?

Today

a. 12%
b. 14%
c. 16%
d. 18%

2050

a. 17%
b. 19%
c. 21%
d. 23%

Answers: A (today) and C (2050). Currently, about 12% of the population, or 37.3 million people, are age 65 or older, according to the Census Bureau. (That includes 15.7 million men and 21.6 million women.) By 2050, one in five Americans, or 86.7 million people, are projected to be 65 or older.

Between now and 2050, the population age 65-plus will jump 132%, while the population as a whole is expected to increase by only 40%.

LIFESTYLES

What percentage of current workers say they expect to work for pay in some capacity after they retire? And what percentage of current retirees say they have, in fact, worked for pay at any point in retirement?

Current workers

a. 33%
b. 43%
c. 53%
d. 63%

Current retirees

a. 25%
b. 35%
c. 45%
d. 55%

Answers: D (current workers) and A (current retirees). Although about two-thirds or more of current workers regularly tell researchers that they plan to earn a paycheck in later life, only one-quarter of current retirees actually have done so. In short, workers may be overestimating their ability to continue working in their retirement years, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. (Reasons for working: stay active, 87%; enjoy work, 79%; make ends meet or buy extras, 78%; insurance/benefits, 77%).

Among people in the institute's 2008 retirement survey who said they worked for pay at some point in later life, those who worked most often said they enjoyed working (93%) or wanted to stay active and involved (91%). But 75% also identified at least one financial reason for having worked.

What percentage of men and women age 65 or older are married and living with their spouses?

Men

a. 43%
b. 53%
c. 63%
d. 73%

Women

a. 42%
b. 52%
c. 62%
d. 72%

Answers: D (men) and A (women). In 2007, almost three out of four older men lived with their spouses, while fewer than half of older women did. In contrast, women were twice as likely as men to live alone in later life (39% and 19%, respectively).

Surveyed adults ages 55 to 74 said they spend the greatest percentage of their leisure time doing which of the following?

a. Socializing and communicating
b. Watching television
c. Reading
d. Relaxing and thinking
e. Traveling

Answer: B. Watching television is far and away the activity that occupies the most leisure time -- about half the total -- for Americans age 55 and older.

What percentage of people change their residence after reaching age 65?

a. 4%
b. 8%
c. 12%
d. 16%

Answer: A. Only 4% of older adults moved in 2005, according to the Census Bureau, compared with almost 14% of the total population. Among older movers, 55.3% moved within the same county; 27.2% moved between counties in the same state; and 16% moved to a different state.

What percentage of adults age 65-plus volunteer 100 hours or more of their time annually?

a. 26%
b. 36%
c. 46%
d. 56%

Answer: C. Almost half of older Americans today spend at least 100 hours each year on volunteer work, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. That's up from about 32% in the mid-1970s.

In all, almost one-quarter of Americans age 65-plus (23.5%) devote some time to volunteer work each year, up from 14% in the mid-1970s. Research "suggests that volunteering improves physical and mental health and may even lengthen life expectancy," the corporation states.

MONEY

What percentage of workers in the U.S. say they or their spouses currently are saving for retirement?

a. 64%
b. 69%
c. 74%
d. 79%

Answer: A. Put another way, slightly more than one-third of workers currently aren't saving for retirement. That figure has remained fairly constant in recent years, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Twenty-two percent of surveyed workers and 28% of surveyed retirees indicate they have no savings whatsoever-for retirement or any other purpose.

What percentage of workers age 55-plus report having $250,000 or more in savings and investments (not including the value of their primary residence or defined-benefit plans)?

a. 23%
b. 29%
c. 35%
d. 41%

Answer: A. Less than a quarter of workers who are approaching retirement have accumulated $250,000 or more in savings and investments, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

"One reason for the modest totals," according to the institute, "may be that...only 47% of workers report they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that can live comfortably in retirement."

What percentage of current retirees say their spending in retirement is roughly equal to their spending before retirement?

a. 22%
b. 32%
c. 42%
d. 52%

Answer: C. Many current workers -- about 54% of those surveyed, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute -- anticipate that their spending in retirement will be "a little lower" or "much lower" than before they retire.

Current retirees, though, tell a different story. One in three said their spending since leaving the office is about the same as when they were working-and 19% of surveyed retirees indicate their spending is a "little higher" or "much higher."

What percentage of U.S. households contribute savings to a traditional or Roth IRA?

a. 14%
b. 24%
c. 34%
d. 44%

Answer: A. Although most households are eligible to contribute to an individual retirement account, only about one in seven households deposited funds in a traditional or Roth IRA in 2006, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group.

What percentage of U.S. households are at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement?

a. 24%
b. 34%
c. 44%
d. 54%

Answer: C. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimates that close to half of households run the risk of being financially unprepared for retirement -- even if they retire at age 65, which is higher than the current average retirement age. The reasons, according to the center, include longer life expectancies, the shift away from traditional pensions in the workplace, and the fact that "most of the working-age population saves virtually nothing outside of their employer-sponsored [retirement] plan."

If health-care expenses are factored into the math, about 61% of households are at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

The center concludes: "A little more work, a little more savings, and a little more exercise could go a long way to strengthening retirement security."

HEALTH

What percentage of men and women ages 55 to 64 are considered obese?

Men

a. 16%
b. 26%
c. 36%
d. 46%

Women

a. 19%
b. 29%
c. 39%
d. 49%

Answers: C (men and women). More than one-third of Americans in their late 50s and early 60s are judged to be obese, meaning they have a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or greater. (BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by his or her height in meters squared.)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is a risk factor for many chronic conditions, including four of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S.: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and several forms of cancer.

What percentage of companies with 500 or more employees offer health benefits to early retirees -- and to Medicare-eligible retirees?

Early

a. 21%
b. 31%
c. 41%
d. 51%

Medicare-eligible

a. 21%
b. 31%
c. 41%
d. 51%

Answers: B (early) and A (Medicare-eligible). Less than one-third of large employers today offer health coverage to early retirees, according to Mercer, a New York consulting firm. That compares with almost half of employers in 1993. And only about one in five large employers offer coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees, down from 40% in 1993.

What percentage of adults age 65-plus said they had no leisure-time physical activity in the past month?

a. 22%
b. 32%
c. 42%
d. 52%

Answer: B. Fully one-third of older Americans are inactive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regular physical activity, the agency states, "can help prevent or control many of the health problems -- high blood pressure, depression, obesity and diabetes -- that often reduce the quality and length of life for older adults."

What percentage of people, once reaching age 65, will require some type of long-term care?

a. 49%
b. 59%
c. 69%
d. 79%

Answer: C. A study published in 2006 in the health journal Inquiry by Lewin Group (a consulting firm in Falls Church, Va.) and professors at Pennsylvania State University and Georgetown University found that almost seven out of 10 Americans will need care at home or in a facility (assisted living or a nursing home) at some point after turning 65.

The average need for care is three years. About 45% of expenses will be paid out of pocket, the authors estimate. Government programs and private insurance will pick up the balance.

SOCIAL SECURITY

At what age do Americans qualify for full Social Security benefits?

a. 65
b. 66
c. 67
d. Varies by year of birth

Answer: D. Uncle Sam is gradually increasing the age at which individuals become eligible for full Social Security benefits to 67. For those born between 1943 and 1954, for example, full retirement age is 66. For those born in 1960 or later, the age-67 standard applies.

That said, only 18% of surveyed workers, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, are able to give the correct age at which they will be eligible for full benefits. Fully half (51%) of those surveyed last year said full benefits are available at, or before, age 65. (About 20% of workers had no idea when they qualify for full benefits.)

What percentage of the average retiree's income comes from Social Security?

a. 9.8%
b. 19.8%
c. 29.8%
d. 39.8%

Answer: D. For people age 65 and older, almost four out of every 10 dollars in income comes from Social Security, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Those in the lowest income quintile get 87.6% of their income from Social Security; those in the highest quintile get 18.5%.

What is the average monthly Social Security payment for retired workers?

a. $1,079
b. $1,379
c. $1,679
d. $1,979

Answer: A. As of December 2007, the 31.5 million retired workers in the U.S. received an average monthly benefit of $1,079. This year, more than 50 million Americans -- including retired and disabled workers and their dependents, as well as survivors -- will receive nearly $614 billion in Social Security benefits.

TRAVEL

When asked how many domestic trips they had taken in the past year, the greatest percentage of older adults said:

a. None
b. One
c. Two to four
d. Five to nine
e. 10 or more

Answer: C. In all, 38% of surveyed adults age 62-plus said they had taken two to four trips in the past year, the largest single category, according to Focalyst, a research company based in New York.

Despite the often-expressed desire among many adults to travel frequently in later life, 29% of those surveyed said they hadn't traveled in the U.S. in the past year.

When asked how many international trips they had taken in the past three years, the greatest percentage of older adults said:

a. None
b. One
c. Two to four
d. Five to nine
e. 10 or more

Answer: A. Almost seven out of 10 (68%) surveyed adults age 62-plus said they hadn't traveled out of the U.S. in the past three years, according to Focalyst. Twelve percent said they had taken one trip overseas, and 16% said they had taken two to four trips. Four percent said they had taken five to nine trips, and 1% said they had traveled outside the U.S. 10 times or more.

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