Retirement Facts: Low-Net-Worth: Under $100k

We took a break to bring physical activity to attention. This week we’re back and covering the retirement facts on the largest reported wealth segment – “low-net-worth.”

The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute defines low-net-worth as assets under $100,000. Of the total 125,981,701 households the Institute surveyed in 2017, 69% of them fell into this “low-net-worth: under 100k” wealth segment.

That’s 87,342,027 million households total – including 2 million households with zero financial assets.

The Institute’s focused look on the low-net-worth segment excluded those 2 million households and covered average financial assets, non-financial assets, debt, and net worth.

Non-financial assets include vehicles, other residential property excluding primary residence, equity in non-residential property, business equity, and other assets. Net worth is the sum of assets (what is owned) minus liabilities (what is owed).

Retirement Demographics

Of the 85,392,092 households counted in this section, 3.7 million households were partially retired and 15.4 million were fully retired.

Fully retired households had an average of:

• $18,700 in financial assets
• $185,662 in non-financial assets
• $48,500 in debt
• $156,118 net worth

The average debt for fully retired households was around 2.5 times more than the average financial assets.

Partially retired households had an average of:

• $22,889 in financial assets
• $210,488 in non-financial assets
• $87,836 in debt
• $162,638 net worth

The average debt for partially retired households was almost 4 times more than the average financial assets.

Age Demographics:

Aged 35 or Younger

Least in average financial assets at $15,510

Least in average non-financial assets at $91,360

Mid-range with average debt at $75,695

Least in average net worth at $54,475

Aged 36 to 49

Average financial assets at $19,912

Second lowest average non-financial assets at $170,226

Most in average debt at $102,566

Second lowest net-worth at $112,884

Aged 50 to 59

Average financial assets at $19,368

Mid-range non-financial assets at $187,094

Second highest debt at $86,938

Mid-range net-worth at $133,526

Aged 60 to 69

Average financial assets at $19,607

Second highest non-financial assets at $191,851

Second lowest debt at $74,891

Second highest net-worth at $142,567

Aged 70 or Older

Average financial assets at $19,702

Highest average non-financial assets at $203,264

Least in average debt at $49,195

Highest net-worth at $175,936

Debt

Overall, 65% of fully retired households (10,043,375 million) and 82% of partially retired households (3,052,450 million) had some type of debt. The average amount of debt for partially retired households landed at approximately $87,800 – nearly twice as much as average for fully retired households, $48,500.

The four main types of debt are mortgage, credit card, student loan, and vehicle loan debt.

Mortgage Debt

45% (4,821,872 million) of fully retired households had mortgage debt, with an average debt amount of $99,957.

65% (1,967,793 million) of partially retired households had mortgage debt, with an average debt amount of $77,409.

Credit Card Debt

43% (6,594,640 million) of fully retired households had credit card debt, with an average debt amount of $4,049.

57% (2,114,224 million) of partially retired households had credit card debt, with an average debt amount of $6,175.

Student Loan Debt

2% (357,889) of fully retired households had student loan debt, with an average debt amount of $35,557.

12% (435,778) of partially retired households had student loan debt, with an average debt amount of $29,688.

Vehicle Loan Debt

18% (2,771,419 million) of fully retired households had vehicle debt, with an average debt amount of $12,739.

46% (1,697,681 million) of partially retired households had vehicle debt, with an average debt amount of $16,524.