Halloween—that time of year when Americans break out their creepy masks, horror movies, and scary decorations.
While many people will say their biggest fear this year is not finding the perfect costume or eating too much candy, for many Americans, there is another frightening specter to grapple with this fall season: their lack of retirement readiness.
In fact, for many employees, the association between retirement planning and a vague but persistent feeling of dread is all too real.
In a world where pension plans are in decline and there are big questions about the future of Social Security, much more pressure is being put on the shoulders of individuals to provide for themselves during life in retirement—and workers are feeling the pressure and even a little scared.
3 Scary Facts about Retirement
Speaking of frightening things, in the spirit of Halloween, we’re giving you these 3 scary facts about retirement. Read on, if you dare…
1. More than half of Americans are at risk of falling short in retirement.
According to a recent survey, some 52% of American households are at risk of not being able to cover essential expenses in retirement.¹
According to the survey, the retirement score for the “typical American household” is 78 out of 100, which falls into the “fair” zone.¹ In other words, average retirement savers are on target to have 78% of the income that they will need to cover retirement costs.
2. Some 3 in 4 older adults foresee Social Security “drying up.”
The latest Social Security survey shows older Americans are increasingly concerned about the program’s solvency in the near term, with 75% of adults aged 50 and older saying they believe that Social Security will run out of funding in their lifetime.²
This is up from 66% in 2014, showing how pessimism about the program has been around for many years but has grown worse over the past decade.
3. Nearly 3 in 4 retirees regret their savings behaviors.
According to a recent report, 73% of retirees wish that they would have saved more on a consistent basis.³
Reflecting on their working years, 66% of retirees wish they would have been more knowledgeable about retirement saving and investing; 49% would have liked to have received more information and advice from their employer on how to achieve their retirement goals; and 48% said that debt interfered with their ability to save for retirement.³
Other findings show that 45% realized that they waited too long to concern themselves with saving and investing for retirement, while 42% agree that they should have relied more on outside experts to monitor and manage their savings.³
Wow—after all those dark and dreary numbers, we bet you could use some positive news about retirement. Well, here’s some good news. It’s never too late to change your financial picture.
Halloween comes and goes, but retirement planning is an ongoing priority. It’s time to get rid of the fear. It’s up to you to take charge of your finances and make better decisions going forward. Don’t let your retirement be a frightening experience!
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Sources:
¹Retirement Savings Assessment 2023, Fidelity
²2023 Social Security Survey, Nationwide Retirement Institute
³2023 Life in Retirement Report, Transamerica
