Retirement Insights

Can U.S. Households Last Through Retirement?

Can U.S. Households Last Through Retirement?

Research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

The National Retirement Risk Index is a well-known, long-term view into the ability for individuals to meet their income needs in retirement. The index’s underlying methodology has undergone improvements to incorporate new research findings and methodological advances.

The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) measures the share of working-age households that is “at-risk” of being unable to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living in retirement. The exercise involves comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as a percentage of pre-retirement income – with target rates that would allow them to maintain their living standard.

The key finding is that roughly half of the nation’s working-age households are at risk of falling short even if they work to age 65 and annuitize all their assets.