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Schwab Study finds Age - not Finances - drives Retirement Timing for Pre-Retiree Baby Boomers

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 11, 2010 -- Today, Charles Schwab released findings from its latest quarterly retirement pulse survey designed to understand how pre-retiree baby boomers approach fundamental questions about when it's time to retire. According to the results, 46 percent of 50- to 60-year olds have a target date or age in mind, 38 percent have a target nest egg in mind, and 34 percent have neither of these.

To understand how people actually behave when it comes to subjective targets, Schwab also surveyed a group of retirees.

Nearly half (47 percent) say they actually did retire when they reached their target date or age; another 27 percent said they retired once they had reached their financial target; and 38 percent of retirees said they had neither a financial nor date or age target in mind leading up to retirement.

"Although we tell our clients there really is no magic number -- in terms of age or size of nest egg -- for retirement, thinking about these targets can be a great catalyst to kick-start retirement planning and initiate an honest discussion about expectations," said Stacy Hammond, director of Real Life Retirement Services for Charles Schwab.

"At Schwab, we encourage clients to be realistic about retirement and explore ways to make it work for them as individuals -- whether by adjusting timing, cutting back on expenses or continuing to work part-time."

Boomers and Social Security

Schwab's latest retirement pulse survey also checked in with baby boomers about their feelings on Social Security and found that, compared to the general population, 50- to 60-year-olds have far higher expectations for Social Security in retirement:

Counting on Social Security to supplement retirement savings: 55 percent of 50- to 60-year-olds vs. 37 percent of all Americans Not counting on Social Security to be a source of income in retirement: 26 percent of 50- to 60-year olds vs. 46 percent of all Americans

"The traditional three-legged stool of retirement income -- Social Security, pension and personal savings -- has obviously changed dramatically," said Hammond.

"At a time when life expectancy and medical costs continue to rise and the debate around Social Security persists, we want to help boomers focus on their own ability to save and find ways to adjust their retirement lifestyles to achieve financial stability."

Investors can find more information about how to reach their retirement goals on Schwab.com/RealLifeRetirement or by following Schwab on Twitter @CharlesSchwab.

About the Study

The Charles Schwab Retirement Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between Oct. 7 and Oct. 19, 2010 using Random Digit Dialing of listed and unlisted numbers. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation.

The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.

For the study of 50- to 60-year-olds, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.9 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

For the study of the entire U.S. population over age 18, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 2.2 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW 15.21, -0.17, -1.11%) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 7.9 million client brokerage accounts, 1.5 million corporate retirement plan participants, 665,000 banking accounts, and $1.47 trillion in client assets.

Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors.

Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services.