Quote:
Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
They're saving or investing less than 2% of gross income.
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I thought that was Bilmore's question: are they saving less than 2%, or saving
and investing less than 2%, of gross income? Generally, saving rate data includes only pure savings, not investments (be it in 401(k)s, mutual funds, real property, insurance, pensions, annuities, whatever - i.e.: it does not include productive uses of capital or most common forms of private retirement savings.) It is one (though surely not the only) reason the US's savings rates are so low in comparison to many other countries - Americans have higher rates of home ownership and financial investment than people elsewhere, and those amounts are (usually) not included in "savings" calculations.
Also, it is more usual to calculate the savings rate based on disposable (after tax) income, not gross.
