The vast majority of Americans have some serious concerns about retirement—and they should, considering many have little to nothing socked away in a 401k or other retirement savings account.
In its 2018 Planning & Progress Study: Living Long and Working Longer, Northwestern Mutual found 78 percent of U.S. adults to be “extremely” or “somewhat” worried about their ability to live comfortably in retirement. But oddly, this fear doesn’t seem to be motivating workers to act.
Around one-third of those surveyed said they have less than $5,000 in retirement savings and one in five have no savings at all, the annual study showed. Yet, less than a quarter have increased their savings (23 percent), put together a financial plan (18 percent), purchased investments (17 percent), consulted a financial advisor (17 percent) or discussed money concerns with family members (15 percent).
Compounding matters is the sketchy state of Social Security. Time (and the government) will determine its true fate, but three out of four Americans think it’s unlikely to be around during their golden years.
With hardly anything saved up and little hope in the government’s retirement benefits program, it’s no wonder two-thirds reported feeling fearful that they’ll outlive their money. As opposed to being proactive—46 percent of survey respondents said they aren’t currently taking any steps to remedy this issue—many figure they’ll just have to work later into life.
“In fact, more working Americans anticipate retiring at 70 years or older (38 percent) than in the more traditional 65-69 age range (33 percent),” according to the report. “Among the more than half (55 percent) of Americans who believe they will have to work past age 65 from necessity, 73 percent cited ‘not enough money to retire comfortably’ as the dominant driver.”
Other common explanations for delaying retirement included doubts about Social Security’s ability to meet financial needs (61 percent) and worries about rising costs like healthcare (52 percent).
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
