The retirement crisis will eventually come to a head. And when it does, it’s not going to be pretty. As shown by the record number of seniors living in poverty, it’s no longer feasible to rely on “the system.”

In this week’s Two-Minute Retirement Solution, Steve McDonald tackles the problem head on. He proves that ignorance is certainly not bliss when it comes to fixing our nation’s alarming retirement dilemma.

Transcript:

This is your once-a-quarter “wake up and smell the roses” Two-Minute Retirement Solution. I do this only four times a year because I get too depressed looking at these numbers.

There are now around 40 million seniors in this country; one in six is living below the poverty level. That’s about 6.5 million people. To put that number into perspective, that’s roughly the population of Massachusetts.

And last year, half of all retired boomers reported that their personal financial situations were deteriorating.

By 2050, there will be 90 million seniors. There is no estimate of how many will be living in poverty.

Between 1985 and 2010, the number of 65- to 70-year-olds working for a paycheck almost doubled. And almost three-fourths of all Americans now plan to work in retirement.

Most, I am sure, have not yet accepted the fact that the jobs will not be there for them.

Over half of those entering retirement carry significant debt and have higher credit card balances than younger Americans. And the number of bankruptcies increased 178% since 1991. That’s only 25 years.

In 1945, there were 42 people working for every one collecting SSA benefits. Today, there are only 2.5 contributing for every one collecting.

In about 20 years, the number of people receiving Social Security benefits will increase from 61 million to 91 million. That’s almost 50% more.

The average check from Social Security is around $1,200 a month, and most U.S. workers have $25,000 or less in savings of any kind. If they withdraw equal amounts from their $25,000 for 15 years in retirement, their weekly income goes up by just $32.