The current state of retirement in the US is, in a word, bleak. A poll by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that just 21% of respondents are “very confident in their ability to have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement."

About 90% of registered voters believe the US is experiencing a retirement crisis, according to BlackRock's latest Rethinking Retirement report. The Federal Reserve says that one in four Americans has no retirement savings, and the Morningstar's Center for Retirement and Policy Studies has said that 45% of Americans will run out of money in retirement.

In the episode of Decoding Retirement, Robert “Bob” Powell and Anne Ackerley, BlackRock’s senior advisor on retirement, discuss the looming crisis, the role of stocks in retirement planning, and strategies for turning assets into income.

In the ‘Ask Bob’ segment, Powell breaks down the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and identifies and explains the key factors that impact your credit score.

Retirement planning doesn’t mean locking up your money for a rainy day and forgetting about it. Planning your future means reacting to events today. Decoding Retirement gives you the tools to navigate the years ahead, and take action now! Each week, Robert 'Bob' Powell will dissect the big headlines, decode key themes, and unpack the possible domino effect for your money. When it comes to retirement planning, Robert Powell and Yahoo Finance will not let you fall behind!

Find this episode and more episodes of Decoding Retirement at https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/decoding-retirement.

Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected].

Yahoo Finance's Decoding Retirement is hosted by Robert Powell, and produced by Zach Faulds.

Robert Powell holds several prominent positions within the financial industry. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the Investments and Wealth Institute's (IWI) Retirement Management Journal, the world's first peer-reviewed journal solely dedicated to retirement income. He also hosts the Exceptional Advisor podcast by IWI. Powell is both a Certified Financial Planner® and Retirement Management Adviser® certificant.

Anne Ackerley is a senior advisor to the retirement business at BlackRock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices