"Financial advisers measure replacement rates relative to final earnings ... The [Social Security Administration (SSA)] ... measures replacement rates relative to the wage-indexed average of lifetime earnings.... These are very different numbers that produce very different outcomes.... Retirement plans are in theory designed to help retirees maintain their standard of living as they move out of the labor force. The SSA's wage indexing overstates an individual's pre-retirement earnings, which raises the bar for what counts as adequate retirement income."  MORE >>