Research
June 2011
Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D.
A presentation on Obstacles to Saving for Retirement was given by Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh for the National Press Foundation's Retirement Issues 2011 forum on June 14, 2011. This presentation is available for download below. More presentations and information from this forum can be found at the National Press Foundation website.
January 2010
Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D.
Anna L. Wheatley
Among pre-retirees, confidence about having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement typically reflects the state of one’s current savings behavior, known savings vehicles and expected major sources of retirement income. African Americans and whites have differing assessments of their own retirement security, and their differing views suggest that the recent economic downturn may...
January 2010
Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D.
Anna L. Wheatley
African Americans are more likely than whites to expect that Social Security will be their major source of income during retirement. Th is was true in both 1998 (35 percent of African Americans versus 17 percent of whites) and 2009 (37 percent of African Americans versus 27 percent of whites). African Americans also are more likely than whites to support the Social Security system as currently...
July 2009
Ariel/Hewitt Study
Ariel Education Initiative
In an era when financial security during retirement depends largely on personal savings and investments, African American and Hispanic employees of companies that offer 401(k) plans risk financial insecurity during their "golden years." Compared to Asian and white employees, African American and Hispanic workers are less likely to participate in 401(k) plans, and when they participate they are...
News
December 2011
Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D.
In its deliberations to develop a plan to reduce the federal deficit by more than a trillion dollars over the next decade, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction considered a proposal to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in all government programs using the Chained Consumer Price Index-Urban (C-CPI-U), rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
Implementing this proposal...
October 2011
Social researchers and financial experts agree that women investing for retirement--especially those from African-American, Latino and other ethnic communities--are facing tough choices in the wake of the last decade’s financial downturns.
Today’s tough economy leaves female retirees—regardless of whether they’ve had financial guidance—to grapple with decisions...
October 2011
Researchers and financial experts alike agree that women’s post-retirement investment practices are topics worthy of exploration. But until such data and suggested best practices emerge, it’s tough choices for today’s female retirees who, with or without financial guidance, face tough decisions about how to invest their hard earned savings.
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On the topic of how women in...
October 2011
As the United States transitions to a “majority-minority” population over the next three decades, Social Security must be modernized to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and economically insecure workforce, according to a report released today by the Commission to Modernize Social Security, made up of national policy experts representing African American, Asian American,...
July 2011
Wilhelmina A. Leigh, Ph.D.
For today’s working adults, retirement is more likely to be based on the safety-net level of benefits from Social Security, supplemented with personal savings and investment.
The catch is, however, that too many African-Americans are saving too little for retirement. The fact that 70 percent of African-American workers had saved less than $25,000 for retirement, according to a 2007...
July 2011
While it is true that no ethnic group is showing signs of saving enough for retirement, one of the sad truths is that minorities in lower-wage jobs who need the most options for retirement savings have the fewest.
With Hispanics comprising the largest population and employee sector in San Antonio, this is not a good sign for wealth creation and better living standards here.
According to a...