Did you really save so little for your retirement? An analysis of retirement savings and unconventional retirement accounts

Survey data show that many respondents save for retirement in unconventional retirement accounts, such as
investments in real estate. We show that finding the retirement motive important does not directly translate in additional retirement savings. We show that the annuity stream generated by conventional and unconventional accounts from age 65 onwards is small and that most savings are residual and are not being put aside for a specific motive. Also self-employed retirement savings are low, even though this group has generally no occupational pension.