2004, Volume 07, Issue 2
Retirement Quiz
Your GBR Quizmaster is retiring. Therefore it seemed appropriate to create a quiz a about retirement. Even if you are years away from retiring yourself (and perhaps especially if you are years away from retiring and therefore have time to take some action), there are some things you should think about now. Some of these questions have to do with personal retirement issues and some with the trends or issues in the U.S. as a whole. This quiz focuses on financial concerns, although certainly there are other very important issues to consider as well when making the decision about whether or not it is time to retire.
Take a chance and take the quiz. The answers have links to other resources on the Internet as well as an explanation for the particular question.
| 1. One of the first things to consider when planning for retirement is how long your resources need to last. That is, how long will you live after retiring? On average, American women now live longer than do men, so women may need to be even more concerned about this than men. The American woman who retires at age 65 in 2004 has an average life expectancy of approximately: | |
| A) | 10 years. |
| B) | 15 years. |
| C) | 20 years |
| D) | 25 years. |
| 2. Retirement plans vary. A defined benefit plan promises you specific benefits – usually based on your pre-retirement salary. In defined contribution plans the company contributes some amount to a retirement plan such as a 401(k) but has no further obligation when the employee retires. Among companies that offer retirement plans, increasingly the trend is to move to: | |
| A) | Defined benefit plans instead of defined contribution plans. |
| B) | Defined contribution plans instead of defined benefit plans. |
| C) | An increase in social security payments rather than a separate company retirement plan. |
| D) | Employee stock option plans rather than pensions. |
| 3. In late 2003 it was estimated that private employer pension plans in the U.S. were approximately ____________ short of what they needed to keep the promises they have made to current and future retirees. | |
| A) | $4 billion |
| B) | $40 billion |
| C) | $240 billion |
| D) | $400 billion |
| 4. Over 90% of aged U.S. citizens now receive social security benefits. The average monthly benefit paid to a new retiree in 2002 was: | |
| A) | $572 |
| B) | $914 |
| C) | $1,158 |
| D) | $2,045 |
| 5. When you pay into the U.S. social security system, your money is put into a separate account under your name to earn interest. When you retire you receive that money back in payments that are actuarially adjusted for your age at retirement. | |
| A) | True |
| B) | False |
| 6. Social Security payments replace the highest proportion of previous income for: | |
| A) | Lower income workers. |
| B) | Middle income workers. |
| C) | Higher income workers. |
| D) | None of the above. Social security replaces the same proportion of previous income for all recipients. |
| 7. When planning your retirement budget, don’t forget taxes (which may not be withheld from your current sources of income). What about social security? Is social security income taxable? | |
| A) |
Yes |
| B) | No |
| C) | Maybe |
| 8. Most baby boomers say they plan to: | |
| A) | Retire as soon as possible, travel, and pursue hobbies. |
| B) | Keep working at least part-time past the traditional retirement age, whether at their current job or some other. |
| C) |
Retire from their current positions at or before the traditional retirement age and become activists in some cause, but not work at a paying job. |
| D) |
Never retire as such. |
| 9. Most retirement experts believe that retirement income does not need to replace pre-retirement income dollar for dollar because (presumably) children are grown and on their own, there are no longer work-related expenses, mortgages get paid off, etc. However, to maintain your pre-retirement lifestyle they suggest that you need ____________ percent of your pre-retirement income. | |
| A) | 50% |
| B) | 60% |
| C) | 70% |
| D) | 80% |
| 10. While the expenses in many areas of life may go down in the retirement years, costs in one area generally are higher. That area is: | |
| A) | Health Care. |
| B) |
Liability Insurance. |
| C) | Utilities. |
| D) | Automobile expenses. |
| 11. Thanks to Medicare, there is some medical coverage for almost all Americans who are 65 or older. Which of the following expenses does Medicare not cover? | |
| A) | Hospital care. |
| B) |
Physician’s services. |
| C) | Long-term custodial care, i.e, living in a nursing home or receiving home care assistance to help with daily activities of living that one can no longer do alone. |
| D) | Medicare covers all of the above. |
| 12. When it comes to deciding where to live in retirement, according to polls most baby-boomers say they want to: | |
| A) | Move to a planned retirement community. |
| B) |
Stay in their own homes (age in place). |
| C) | Downsize to a smaller home in the same community. |
| D) | Move to be close to adult children. |
Comments (1)
Interesting ...Interesting 7/3/2008 12:27:40 PM
