Salient to Investors:

The Employee Benefit Research Institute said:

  • 48 percent of people who were aged 61 to 70 and in the bottom half of the income distribution withdrew substantially from their IRAs annually during 2002-10, along with 29 percent of people in the top quarter of incomes who were aged 61 to 70 – withdrawals ranged from 12 percent of funds for young seniors in the top quarter of incomes to 17 percent for those in the bottom quarter.
  • Older seniors (aged 71 and up) appeared to be more frugal, with many withdrawing just the minimum.
  • 32 percent of people aged 71 to 80 saved at least some of their IRA withdrawals, versus only 11 percent of those 61 to 70.
  • 80 to 90 percent of people in their 80s took only the required minimum distribution.

Sudipto Banerjee at EBRI said it was impossible to tell whether the same or different people were withdrawing money from their IRAs year after year.

Read the full article at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-16/younger-seniors-are-burning-up-their-iras#r=rss

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