文章基本信息

标题：Supporting saving by low- and moderate-income families
本地全文：下载
作者：Peter Tufano ; Daniel Schneider
期刊名称：Focus
印刷版ISSN：0195-5705
出版年度：2010
卷号：27
期号：1
出版社：Institute for Research on Poverty
摘要：Families save for a wide variety of reasons, including iden- tifable reasons such as education and retirement and others they can’t even articulate, such as for unforeseeable circum- stances or future dreams. Defnitions of what constitutes “enough”—enough material possessions, enough services, enough savings—vary widely from person to person. In this messy world, where companies never exhort us to “spend less,” saving is hard work, and it is no surprise that household saving rates are low. 1 In 2007, the United States personal savings rate dipped to 0 percent—a ffty year record low. 2 While some debate the proper measurement of the saving rate, there is little dispute that large shares of Americans have saved very little for a long period. 3 In 2004, 10 per- cent of households had less than $100 in fnancial assets. 4 Large shares of the population are “asset poor,” lacking suf- fcient fnancial assets to survive at the poverty line for three months. 5 Over the last ten years, the asset poverty rate has generally been well in excess of 25 percent of the full popu- lation, and about 60 percent for blacks and for households headed by someone without a high school diploma. 6 Lack of savings may make it more diffcult for families to respond to emergencies, to invest in education and business opportuni- ties, and to retire comfortably.