Financial News: Ready for retirement? You’re in the minority

If you’ve been lax about saving for your golden years, figuring you’d make up ground as your income rises and your debt shrinks, here’s some sobering news: More than four in 10 households (41 percent) are “at risk” for not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to a new report

from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College .That figure assumes people will work until age 65 and annuitize all of their assets, including the receipts from reverse mortgages on their homes. (Annuitizing refers to placing assets into a financial vehicle-an annuity, say-that provides a regular stream of income.)

Starting to sweat a little? Toss in the projected costs of retiree healthcare, and the rate of “at risk” households rises to 61 percent. “The bottom line,” say the study’s authors, “is that a little more work, a little more savings, and a little more exercise could go a long way to strengthening retirement security.”