Fewer than half of black and Latino workers have retirement plans on the job, leaving the vast majority of them with no savings designated for their golden years, according to a report that was set to be released Tuesday.
Americans of all races face the growing prospect of downward mobility in retirement, the report said, but the problem is particularly acute for blacks and Latinos.
Blacks and Latinos generally do not benefit much from tax breaks and other policy initiatives aimed at bolstering security in old age because they typically have no money in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and other vehicles outside the workplace, said Diane Oakley, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), which conducted the study.
In addition, they are much less likely than whites to have defined-benefit pensions, particularly outside of public-sector jobs.
"Those are startling findings," Oakley said. "The typical household of color has nothing saved in a retirement account."