The Never-Ending Work Life: Consolidated Credit on the Racial Retirement Divide

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Jan. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- A study reports that Americans are remarkably underprepared for retirement and that there is a significant gap in the level of preparedness between people of color and Caucasians.  Consolidated Credit’s educational outreach team continually stresses the importance of taking the appropriate steps to properly prepare for retirement (http://www.consolidatedcredit.org/personal-finances/life-events/planning-your-golden-years/).

According to the National Institute on Retirement Security study (http://www.nirsonline.org/storage/nirs/documents/Race%20and%20Retirement%20Insecurity/race_and_retirement_insecurity_final.pdf) released in December of 2013,, 62 percent of all non-white households have no retirement plan or savings in place, and while no ethnic group can be seen as truly ready for retirement, Asians, Blacks, and Latinos trail significantly behind.

“The culture of living for today has led us down a dangerous path,” says Howard Dvorkin, CPA, founder of Consolidated Credit and author.  “Most Americans aren’t ready for retirement.  If you don’t plan ahead, there’s a very real potential that you’ll have to work longer than planned and rely on government assistance that will probably not provide for all of your needs.”

In Dvorkin’s new book, Power Up: Taking Charge of Your Financial Destiny (http://www.consolidatedcredit.org/about-us/bio/power-up/), he offers the following tips to readers:

•        Commit to saving at least 5 percent of your income for short-term saving and another 3-12 percent for long-term savings.

•        If you have a retirement option through your employer, such as a 401(k), take advantage of it!

•        Consider diversifying your retirement assets with a private retirement account, such as a traditional or Roth IRA.

•        Don’t just contribute and hope your money will grow.  Familiarize yourself with your savings interest rates, as well as how and where your money is being invested through your retirement accounts.

•        Even if you can take money out without penalties, avoid withdrawing money from your retirement accounts because you will never get the time back for the same economic growth.

To help Americans prepare for retirement Consolidated Credit has created a free retirement planning guide (http://www.consolidatedcredit.org/booklets/GoldenYears.pdf) equipped with financial tools and worksheets to help bridge the racial divide.

About:
Consolidated Credit is one of the nation's largest credit counseling organizations in the country and has helped 5 million people over 20 years with financial issues. Their mission is to assist families throughout the United States in ending financial crisis and solving money management problems through education and professional counseling.

Media Contact: April Lewis-Parks 954-377-9344 AParks@ConsolidatedCredit.org