Spain is sending a limited number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais reported.
It will stop short of sending launchers for the system, however.
It follows Ukraine's urgent plea to NATO for more air defense systems.
Spain will send a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine as pressure builds from NATO and EU allies to increase aid to the country, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported, citing unnamed government sources.
"The transfer of a small number of missiles has come after the defense ministry refused to hand over to Ukraine the battery it has had deployed since 2013 on the Turkish-Syrian border," the report said.
"It will be a very limited number, as the Spanish war reserve is around 50 units, and interceptors are very expensive," it added.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
It comes after German defense minister Boris Pistorius hit out at Spain and Greece for not having sent their Patriot systems to Ukraine.
"Let's say if a country has, for instance, six Patriot systems or four and is not in the front line to the east, it can easily hand over a Patriot system," he said in a TV appearance earlier this week, The Telegraph reported.
When pressed as to whether this was aimed at Spain and Greece, he added: "We're talking to them right now. I honestly can't understand."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an urgent plea to NATO states earlier this month, saying that Ukraine needed "seven more Patriots or similar air defense systems" to defend its cities from Russian strikes.
"Putin must be brought down to earth, and our sky must become safe again," Zelenskyy said. "It depends fully on your choice… (the) choice whether we are indeed allies."
On April 21, Zelenskyy added on X: "'Patriots' can only be called air defense systems if they work and save lives rather than standing immobile somewhere in storage bases."
Spain has decided not to send any of its launchers for the Patriot system to Ukraine, however, the El Pais report said.
It currently has three Patriot systems, all purchased from Germany in 2004 and 2014, the report added.
The news comes as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece would not be able to offer air defense systems such as the Patriot or the Soviet-developed S-300 to Ukraine.
"Greece has supported Ukraine in various ways, including defense means," he said.
"However, from the very beginning, we stated that we cannot give out defense systems that are crucial for our deterrence capabilities," he added.
Germany pledged to deliver one of its Patriot systems to Ukraine following a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Zelenskyy in April in which the Ukrainian President described "the massive Russian air attacks on the civilian energy infrastructure."
"We stand unwaveringly by Ukraine's side," Scholz wrote in a post on X announcing the move.
Despite a US housing shortage, Florida and Texas have too much supply, Redfin said.
The states accelerated construction to take advantage of pandemic-era demand.
But many are now priced out, while Florida's rising insurance costs are pushing down demand.
A lack of US housing has fenced off most would-be buyers, but two states are dealing with the opposite problem — an overflow of homes.
According to Redfin, Florida and Texas have properties stagnating on the market, as demand is shifting away from these areas.
Cape Coral and North Port, Florida saw the country's biggest surge in homes for sale, with volumes up around 50% from a year ago in March. The number of homes also jumped 25% in McAllen, Texas, Redfin reported on Thursday.
Both states have been building more homes than in any other part of the US, in a race to make room for pandemic-era newcomers.
"Two years ago, the North Port metro was one of the most competitive housing markets in the country because it was affordable for remote workers and there was a shortage of homes for sale, but none of those things are true today," local Redfin sales manager Eric Auciello said in the report.
Instead, buyers are now finding themselves priced out, and price growth has slid as a result. Of the country's top 10 metros where sellers were most likely to slash listed prices, seven are located in these two states.
"Out-of-town homebuyers no longer see Florida as a place to get amazing value. Now they're moving to North Carolina or Tennessee to get a good deal. Many local blue-collar workers have been priced out of homeownership, too," Auciello noted.
Adding to Florida's headwinds is a rising insurance crisis, with close to three-quarters of the homeowners noting rising insurance costs or changing coverage.
This has become a growing concern for the national housing market, as worsening climate risks amplify costs to insurance providers. A September study from First Street calculated that, amid hiking premiums and the loss of coverage in certain areas, home values could significantly erode.
"We're at an inflection point. A hefty insurance bill isn't always a big deal for a luxury buyer, but it can be a really big issue for someone buying a waterfront home on a smaller budget," Auciello said.
Both markets are also exposed to the same strains as the wider housing environment. High mortgages, now at around 7%, are keeping many homeowners from upgrading to a better home.
Nationally, the stubborn mortgage highs have caused new listings to fall 6% month-over-month in March, marking the biggest drop since January 2022, Redfin said.
Meanwhile, a shortage of homes has pushed the median US sale price 5% year-on-year, to $420,357. That's only 3% a record high price of $432,496.
Some members of Trump's team want to restructure the Federal Reserve, the WSJ reported.
That could include allowing the president to have a direct say on interest rate decisions.
It would also allow him to get rid of Fed Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends in 2026.
The nation's central bank might look quite different if former President Donald Trump wins the upcoming election.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday night that members of Trump's team are creating plans that would restructure the Federal Reserve and allow Trump to influence the Fed's actions, according to people familiar — a move that would erode the Fed's independence from political entities.
According to the Journal, the proposals would give Trump a say on interest-rate decisions, along with giving him the authority to oust Fed Chair Jerome Powell from his position before his term is up in 2026.
Trump's advisors cautioned that the campaign has not confirmed these plans:
"Let us be very specific here: unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official," Trump senior advisors Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita told the Journal.
The Journal also reported that the proposal would require the Fed to be subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget when issuing new rules — a process that other federal agencies have to undergo and would be another effort to diminish the central bank's independence on matters of banking regulation.
Trump has previously been critical of Powell's handling of interest rates during the pandemic. To help the Fed achieve its 2% inflation target, the Federal Open Market Committee has hiked interest rates 11 consecutive times since March 2022. In September, the Fed paused the hikes and held rates steady since then, and Powell has emphasized the importance of being confident in economic data before cutting rates this year.
Trump hasn't been on board with Powell's timing. In Februrary, Trump told Fox News that Powell is being "political" by potentially choosing to cut rates right around the time of the presidential election.
"I think he's going to do something to probably help the Democrats, I think, if he lowers interest rates," Trump said, adding that "it looks to me like he's trying to lower interest rates for the sake of maybe getting people elected."
Powell has long maintained that the Fed is not a political entity, saying during an April discussion that "our analysis is free from any personal or political bias, in service to the public."
"We will not always get it right — no one does," he said. "But our decisions will always reflect our painstaking assessment of what is best for our economy in the medium and longer term — and nothing else."
None of this can be done without Trump back in the White House
The former president is the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, having handily defeated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and others in the ongoing GOP primary election.
Despite many polls showing Trump ahead of President Joe Biden in head-to-head matchups, the outcomes change when 3rd party candidates are introduced into the mix, especially Democrat-turned-Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After losing to Biden in 2020, Trump has an unexpected advantage this time around: much more interest from young voters than before. Biden previously led Trump with the group by a nearly 20-point margin, but recent polls show that lead has fallen to just 1 to 2 percentage points.
There is, however, a catch: younger voters are historically much less likely to vote than older ones, and several GOP-led state legislatures introduced bills in recent years restricting which forms of identification can be used at the voting booth, which could further reduce young voter turnout.
Trump has also been hampered in recent weeks by his many legal troubles, such as the ongoing hush-money case in New York and his team's appeal to the Supreme Court on Thursday to give presidents sweeping immunity for their actions in office.
But did the recall work? Crashes kept happening, the feds say, and now they're investigating.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Friday it's opening up a fresh probe over the "crash events."
The NHTSA said in its notice Thursday that Autopilot issues had played an apparent role in "at least 13 crashes."
In at least one of those cases, someone died, the NHTSA said.
That's after Tesla recalled the vehicles to fix Autopilot with an over-the-air software update after regulators said the driver-assist tech wasn't doing enough to stop driver misuse.
As part of its new investigation, the NHTSA will use tests of the recalled vehicles and look into why Tesla's fix made owners opt-in, making it something that could be "readily reversed."
Tesla also sent later updates to Autopilot that weren't a part of the recall, the NHTSA said.
"This investigation will consider why these updates were not a part of the recall," the agency wrote.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The EV brand has been struggling with flagging sales and reported burning through cash in its latest earnings report. Still, the stock soared after CEO Elon Musk made big promises about two new products: more affordable cars and the company's foray into self-driving robo-taxis.
It's not clear how regulators will react to Tesla's fleet of ride-hailing vehicles when — or if — they arrive.
The Amazon founder said in 2018, at an event hosted by Insider's parent company, that he tries to teach employees about "work-life harmony," rather than it being a balance.
"I get asked about work-life balance all the time," Bezos told Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. "And my view is, that's a debilitating phrase because it implies there's a strict trade-off."
"It actually is a circle," Bezos said. "It's not a balance."
"I find that when I am happy at work, I come home more energized, I'm a better husband, a better dad, and when I'm happy at home, I come in a better boss, a better colleague," Bezos said in a separate interview at Vox's Code Conference in 2016. (Bezos was married to MacKenzie Scott at the time.)
Bezos has also said many people "have very high standards for how they want their work-life to be."
"If you can get your work life to where you enjoy half of it, that is amazing. Very few people ever achieve that," he said in a 2020 interview in Mumbai with actor Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar.
"The truth is, everything comes with overhead. That's reality. Everything comes with pieces that you don't like," he added at the time.
Bezos' so-called work-life circle has changed since he made the remarks. The billionaire stepped down from his role as CEO of the e-commerce giant in July 2021. Bezos was replaced by Andy Jassy, his former AWS chief, and Bezos directed his focus to other endeavors, like space exploration with his company Blue Origin, philanthropy, and a jet-setting social life with fiancée Lauren Sanchez.
Bezos, who is currently the second-richest person in the world, has taken a nontraditional approach to work: He has said he made time for breakfast every morning with his family, doesn't set his alarm before going to bed, schedules surprisingly few meetings, and set aside a few minutes every day to wash his own dishes.
Katie Canales and Zoë Bernard previously contributed to this article.
The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond intercepted a missile fired by Houthi militants at a merchant ship.
Royal Navy
A UK warship on Wednesday destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile likely targeting a commercial ship.
It marked the Royal Navy's first such kill since the Gulf War, according to a report.
A 1991 engagement marked the first time ship-launched anti-air missiles successfully destroyed an enemy missile in naval combat.
A UK warship on Wednesday shot down a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen, marking the Royal Navy's first such kill since the Gulf War more than 30 years ago.
The HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, used its advanced Sea Viper missile interceptors to down the deadly Houthi threat while the warship was protecting a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to a new report.
US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said on Wednesday that a coalition vessel had "successfully engaged" an anti-ship ballistic missile over the Gulf of Aden earlier in the day, marking the first confirmed Houthi attack in over a week.
The missile was likely targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged, owned, and operated merchant vessel with American and Greek crew members aboard, CENTCOM noted in a statement. There was no reported damage or injuries, it added.
A view shows HMS Diamond in the Red Sea on Operation Prosperity Guardian, in this handout image taken on January 6, 2024.
Chris Sellars/Handout via REUTERS
The coalition vessel has since been identified as the Diamond by The Times, which reported new details of the engagement on Thursday. Grant Shapps, the UK defense secretary, confirmed the incident and told the outlet that it was the first time a missile was intercepted in combat by a Royal Navy warship since 1991.
During the Gulf War, the Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester used Sea Dart missiles to destroy an Iraqi silkworm anti-ship missile that was targeting an American warship. That engagement marked the first time anti-air missiles successfully destroyed an enemy missile threat during a battle at sea.
It is not immediately clear what type of missile the Houthis used on Wednesday. The rebels are confirmed to have employed a variety of missiles and drones of Iranian origin since they started attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden last year.
The UK Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Business Insider's queries on the engagement.
The Diamond first deployed to the region in December as part of a US Navy-led task force that has been squaring off against relentless Houthi threats off the coast of Yemen. The warship spent several weeks back home earlier this year to receive maintenance and additional supplies, but it has since returned to the region.
The HMS Diamond, a UK warship, responds to a Houthi attack on Jan. 9, 2023.
Royal Navy
During these deployments, the Diamond has used its Sea Viper missiles and 30mm gun to destroy a handful of Houthi drones on multiple occasions. Several other European warships have also destroyed Houthi threats in the air, alongside American vessels.
Meanwhile, shortly after the Diamond's engagement on Wednesday, which ended a period of relative calm in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that lasted a little more than a week, US forces destroyed four drones over Yemen.
CENTCOM said it was determined that the Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile and drones presented "an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region."
"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels," CENTCOM added.
Rob Walton at a Walmart annual meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images
Rob Walton, eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is stepping down from the company's board.
He first joined Walmart in 1969 and has served on the board for more than 40 years.
The company said Walton "helped shape some of the most important moments in Walmart history."
Rob Walton, eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton's three children, is stepping down from the company's board of directors in June.
Walton chose not to seek re-election and will retire from the board when his term ends in June, the company said Thursday.
Before joining Walmart in 1969, Walton worked with his father at his earlier five-and-dime store, and has served on the board for more than 40 years, including over two decades as chairman.
The company said Walton "helped shape some of the most important moments in Walmart history."
"His leadership has been critical as we've grown our business over so many years. There's no doubt Sam would be very proud," Walmart chairman Greg Penner said in a statement. "On behalf of our associates and the Board, I'd like to thank him for his unparalleled and amazing service."
Even in retirement, Walton will have significant influence over Walmart through his co-ownership of Walton Enterprises, which is the largest holder of Walmart stock.
He also amassed a considerable fortune in his 79 years, with a net worth of roughly $80 billion, according to Bloomberg.
More Americans are becoming ALICEs — people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed but struggle to afford rent and groceries. The subject of the story is not pictured above.
Oscar Wong / Getty Images
Cherie Tobias, 48, lives above the poverty line but struggles to afford necessities, like food.
She's considered an ALICEs — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed.
Tobias makes $25,064 as an Applebee's server but can't pay for medicine and electricity.
Cherie Tobias, 48, hasn't been grocery shopping in over a year because she can't afford it.
She's a server at an Applebee's in Hastings, Michigan, and works at least 40 hours a week for $25,064 annually, per documents viewed by Business Insider.Still, Tobias said people "aren't tipping like they used to," and most of the time, she can only afford one meal a day.
As the main income earner for her household, Tobias works to support her 19-year-old son, her fiancé, and her fiancé's mother. She struggles to pay her bills and typically is only able to eat something when she uses her employee discount at Applebee's or has enough money to buy a few stand-alone ingredients at a time from the store.
Tobias said her financial situation makes her feel "hopeless, desperate, defeated, and ready to give up." Still, because her income technically places her above the federal poverty line, she doesn't qualify for government assistance.
"I make too much to get help," she told Business Insider.
Tobias is one of a growing number of Americans who are ALICEs — people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. Many ALICEs make too much money to qualify for government assistance programs like SNAP benefits but don't make enough to afford daily life in the US comfortably.
The federal poverty line is $20,440 a year for a family of two, and is not adjusted to reflect cost-of-living differences in individual cities or states. Many ALICEs live paycheck to paycheck.
About 29% of US households are ALICEs, compared to 13% of Americans who live below the federal poverty level, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey data and cost-of-living estimates analyzed by United Way's United For ALICE program.
For Tobias, her economic position feels like being stuck in a cycle of asking for help that never arrives.
"I don't want to be rich," she said. "I just want to be able to get by comfortably without the stress."
Tobias works full-time but struggles to afford utilities and healthcare
Electricity and mortgage bills are Tobias' top expenses. Her fiancé is disabled, and all of his disability payments go toward paying for the couple's house.
Tobias said she is responsible for covering her family's other needs, and she just received a "shutoff notice" for her electricity in the mail. She's hoping to file for state emergency relief so she can keep her lights on.
Because of a car accident a few years ago, Tobias also has health issues. She has Medicaid, but her income level means she doesn't qualify for strong coverage.
And, any financial assistance she had from pandemic relief funds is no longer available, she said.
Applebee's doesn't provide Tobias with health insurance and she can't afford her own plan — she estimates she spends $2,000 on out-of-pocket healthcare costs a month, which includes buying prescription medications. On her last trip to the pharmacy, Tobias said she was only able to afford one of the three prescriptions she needed.
Soon, if she can afford it, Tobias hopes to move her family out of Michigan and find stability somewhere else. She has a college degree and has submitted almost 50 job applications but hasn't been hired yet.
Stability for Tobias would mean opening the cupboard knowing there's food there for the day, she said. She would also be grateful to go to the pharmacy and pick up all of her necessary medicine in one trip.
She wishes there was more support for people in economic positions like hers.
"We need help, especially those of us that are trying to go to work every day," Tobias said. "No matter how we feel, no matter how much pain we're in, we're going to try to push through to provide — but we go home defeated."
Are you making above the poverty line but still struggling to afford daily life? Reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@insider.com.
Mint Butterfield, center, is the child of Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Wired, Marin County Sheriff's Office, Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Mint Butterfield, the teen child of two tech founders, has gone missing in California.
Butterfield, 16, may have run away to San Francisco's Tenderloin district.
Authorities are appealing for help finding Butterfield.
Mint Butterfield, the teen child of tech founders who set up Slack and Flickr, went missing over the weekend.
The 16-year-old was last seen Sunday evening in Bolinas, California, north of San Francisco.
Since then, law enforcement put out several alerts for Butterfield, saying the teen's safety is at risk.
Per the Marin County Sheriff's Office, Butterfield, who uses they/them pronouns, was last seen by their mother, Flickr cofounder Caterina Fake, at home on Sunday evening.
Butterfield left a note, the sheriff's office said, and took a suitcase with them. They didn't have a phone or a car, per a press release.
The press release said that Butterfield may have gone to San Francisco, where they and Fake have a second home.
According to the press release, Fake believes Butterfield could have headed for San Francisco's Tenderloin district, an area known for homelessness, crime, and drugs.
The sheriff's office said it considers Butterfield's safety to be at risk because of a previous threat of suicide.
Its detectives, as well as the San Francisco Police Department, had searched for them in the city, but without success, the release said.
Butterfield's father is Stewart Butterfield, who cofounded Flickr in 2004 with Fake and went on to cofound the workplace-messaging service Slack. He and Fake are divorced.
Representatives for the Marin County Sheriff's Office, Stewart Butterfield, and Fake did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Butterfield was deemed a "voluntary missing person" in the press release, which said there is no evidence to suggest the teen "was taken against their will."
DailyMail.com reported that Butterfield may be somewhere else, citing a social-media post by a family friend.
The friend, per the report, said Butterfield was seen in Larkspur Landing, north of San Francisco and about a 50-minute drive from Bolinas.
Business Insider was unable to verify the report. The press release said that some media outlets had published false information, but didn't give specifics.
The Marin County Sheriff's Office described Butterfield as being 5 feet tall with "brown/reddish curly hair" and pierced eyebrows. They were last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, flannel pajama pants, and black boots.
Adam Schermerhorn, a public information officer with the Marin County Sheriff's Office, told People on Thursday that authorities were "still actively investigating leads" and working with Fake to acquire digital devices and other items belonging to Butterfield "that could have information."
Schermerhorn said they "do not have any reason to believe there is foul play" or "anything criminal" related to Butterfield's disappearance.
Stewart Butterfield and Fake were married from 2001 until 2007, the New York Post reported, and sold Flickr to Yahoo in 2005 for an estimated $30 million.
Their divorce was finalized in 2007, the same year Butterfield was born, according to the Post.
Correction: April 26, 2024 — An earlier version of this story described Mint Butterfield as the child of "tech billionaires." Only her father, Stewart Butterfield, is known to be a billionaire.
Many Americans may not have enough money for retirement.
The Image Bank/Getty Images
Americans say they don't have enough money for retirement, with a solid chunk having no savings at all.
It's part of a growing retirement crisis, where many can't afford to throw in the towel.
At the same time, the economy is about to see the "peak boomer" generation retire and deplete their savings.
Pam Tourangeau said at 68, she doesn't have a big nest egg.
She's still working part-time as a therapist but said she's slowing down: "Fatigue is a big part of getting older."
She remembered that her ex-father-in-law had a large pension when he retired — a practice that's far more uncommon these days. As the Congressional Research Service found, defined contribution plans, which are retirement plans like 401(k)s that rely on employee contributions and are subject to market fluctuations, began to overtake defined benefit plans, which include pensions, in the mid-1980s.
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"They don't do that anymore," she said. She feels like boomers have gotten stuck in a generation gap — too young to receive pensions but too old to really be part of the tech boom.
"I was just doing all the love, peace, and let's be happy kind of thing. But money wasn't our focus," she said. "Now, all of a sudden, it's become a problem."
Tourangeau is part of a generation of older Americans who don't feel confident in their financial situation. It means the retirement crisis could get worse.
On Wednesday, AARP released the results of a January survey delving into retirement outlooks for Americans aged 50 and above. It found that many of them are not feeling confident with their finances. Particularly, one in five older Americans surveyed reported having no retirement savings, and over half of them do not think they'll have enough money to keep them afloat in retirement.
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Inflation is straining their finances even more — according to the survey results, 37% of aged 50 and older respondents were worried about affording basic expenses like housing and groceries, with 70% worried that everyday prices are rising faster than income. With all those economic stressors, 26% of older people not currently retired say they never expect to retire.
"Every adult in America deserves to retire with dignity and financial security," Indira Venkateswaran, AARP Senior Vice President of Research, said in a statement. "Yet far too many people lack access to retirement savings options and this, coupled with higher prices, is making it increasingly hard for people to choose when to retire."
"Everyday expenses continue to be the top barrier to saving more for retirement, and some older Americans say that they never expect to retire," Venkateswaran added.
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Many older Americans are still working. While the US civilian labor force level for those 55 and older is high, the labor force participation rate for those 55 and older has continued to be lower than the pre-pandemic rate in February 2020. Any of those who leave the workforce to retire may need to rely on any retirement savings they have built.
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Still, only a small share of older Americans not retired said they and their spouse or partner will need less than $50,000 for retirement.
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During a Wednesday briefing, Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy & engagement officer, told reporters that the survey "should be a wake-up call for every adult, young or old, as well as policymakers at both federal and state levels." She referenced a few legislative initiatives AARP supports that would bolster retirement security for older adults, including the bipartisan Retirement Savings for Americans Act, allowing the government to match contributions into savings accounts for low- and middle-income workers.
"We know that Americans are far more likely to save for retirement when they can do it through this kind of work-based option," LeaMond said.
That new data comes as the country is gearing up for an onslaught of retiring peak boomers. Those are Americans born between 1959 and 1964, who will begin turning 65 this year; they're the last boomers to enter retirement and the biggest boomer cohort to start throwing in the towel.
An analysis of Federal Reserve and University of Michigan Health and Retirement study data by Alliance for Lifetime Income's Retirement Income Institute found that just over half of the peak boomer population have $250,000 or less in assets. That means that many will likely run through their savings, and have to depend on Social Security to stay afloat — a benefit that's already potentially imperiled, with Social Security only having enough money to continue paying out full benefits for the next decade.