Retirement Income Journal
The information forum of the decumulation industry.

The Social Security Administration is no longer sending its Social Security Statement – which provides personal estimates of Social Security death, disability, retirement benefits – to anyone under age 60. These are budget-cutting times in Washington, and the program cost $55 million a year.  With a few tweaks, however, the program could be the single-most effective initiative for improving the retirement prospects of U.S. households. 

Americans suffer from pathological passivity when it comes to retirement planning.  A study sponsored by the Financial Security Project at Boston College (URL) found Americans approaching retirement are seriously worried about their prospects and angry at the government, their employers, and the financial services industry, with the combination of worry and anger producing paralysis, not action.  They don’t seek information and don’t take action that could improve their prospects.

For this to change, information must be “pushed” – delivered directly to their doorstep. The information must be clear, readily digestible, and actionable, explaining what recipients could do to improve their prospects.   And it must be delivered in a context that makes it easy for recipients to process this information, develop a plan, and move from plan to action.