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Retirement Planning



Can you afford the future?
When you dream of your future, what is it like? Where are you living? How are you spending your days? How are you enjoying your free time? Most of us later in life want to be at least as financially comfortable as we are now. In fact, many people hope to steadily improve their financial prospects every year, so that one day they can afford to buy that beachfront home, take a luxury vacation or pursue a hobby full time. However, the future may cost more than you think.

How much will you need to save?
To enjoy “the good life” when you’re retired, you’ll definitely need substantial savings. In fact, you’ll actually need a lot of money simply to afford the everyday basics. Count on needing as much as 80%-90% of your current annual income each year, or nearly the full salary you earned while working.

How will you pay for retirement?
The money you may receive from Social Security each year will replace only a portion of what you’ll need in retirement. Today’s retirees, for example, receive only $497.60* on average each month from Social Security. In the past, Social Security and company pension plans were expected to fund an individual’s retirement. But as the retirement income gap grows larger, it is unlikely that these income sources will be enough for a comfortable retirement.

Survey of retirement income sources
The graphs below illustrates that while only 58% of current retirees utilize their personal savings for retirement income, 78% of current workers anticipate personal savings to play a role during retirement. 75% of workers expect to receive retirement income from an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan, while only 44% of those already retired actually receive income from such a source. A whopping 96% of today's retirees say they derive some of their income from Social Security, as opposed to only 77% of current workers who expect to rely on this source.

Traditionally, Social Security and company pension plans were primarily depended on to fund an individual’s retirement. As the retirement income gap grows larger, however, the current belief is that these established retirement income sources will no longer play as prominent a role. Personal savings, as well as employment during retirement, are expected to play a much larger role funding future retirement needs. 
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey.
Morningstar 2011

If you’re currently contributing to your workplace retirement plan, you’ve made a good start. But that’s just one part of a complete savings plan. Today’s investor may require a mix of income sources to ensure a financially secure retirement. One of the most important components of that mix is an IRA.

PNC Funds offers a variety of IRA solutions. Our no-fee Traditional, Roth and Rollover IRAs allow you to choose from our family of 33 mutual funds with a wide range of style categories, including domestic and international equities, taxable fixed income, asset allocation and money markets.

* U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Policy, SSI Monthly Statistics, February 2011, www.ssa.gov.