Retirement Insights

How Widespread Unemployment Might Affect Retirement Security

How Widespread Unemployment Might Affect Retirement Security

Research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Before the COVID-19 virus, half of households were at risk of falling short in retirement. The virus-related surge in unemployment has likely increased the share of households at risk. In addition, even the unemployed who were already at risk before the pandemic are in worse shape now as they face a larger savings gap. The results stress one more reason to get people back to work quickly: the shorter the unemployment spell, the less harm to retirement prospects.