Americans' retirement accounts lost $2 trillion in past 15 months

By Julie Hirshfeld Davis, Associated Press Writer
October 7, 2008 (AP)

WASHINGTON — Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday. The upheaval that has engulfed the financial industry and sent the stock market plummeting is devastating workers' savings, forcing people to hold off on major purchases and consider delaying their retirement, said Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office.

As Congress investigates the causes and effects of the financial meltdown, the House Education and Labor Committee was hearing from retirement savings and budget analysts on how the housing, credit and other financial troubles have battered pensions and other retirement funds, which are among the most common forms of savings in the United States.

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http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2008-10-07-retirement-accounts-losses_N.htm