Not so golden: Wealth gap lasting into retirement

This July 8, 2014 photo shows William Kistler at work in his office in Denver. Sixty-three-year-old William Kistler views retirement like someone tied to the tracks watching a train coming: It's looming, it's threatening and there's little he can do."There is not enough to retire with," said Kistler, a Golden, Colorado, resident who said he is unable to build up a nest egg for his wife with his modest salary helping seniors navigate benefits. "It's completely frightening to tell you the truth. And I, like a lot of people, try not to think about it too much, which is actually a problem."(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)Associated Press

With traditional pensions becoming more rare in the private sector, and lower-paid workers less likely to have access to an employer-provided retirement program, there is a growing gulf in the retirement savings of the wealthy and people living on lower incomes.

That, experts say, could exacerbate an already widening wealth gap across the United States, as more than 70 million baby boomers head into retirement -- many of them with skimpy reserves.

Because retirement savings are ever more closely tied to income, the widening gulf between the rich and those with less promises to continue -- and perhaps worsen -- after American workers reach retirement age.


-- Associated Press