Getting older is inevitable, but two recent surveys show that some people aren’t prepared for a future when they will be retired.
One study, from Ipsos, surveyed 1,227 U.S. adults aged 60 or more on behalf of the National Council on Aging. The other, the 2019 Planning & Progress Study, was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual and included 2,003 American adults aged 18 or more years.
Participants in both surveys said their main concern was retirement finances.
In the Ipsos survey, more than half (56%) said they were worried about healthcare costs exceeding their retirement income, and almost half (48%) worry about outliving their savings.
In the Northwestern Mutual survey, more than one in five (22%) participants said they have less than $5,000 saved for retirement, and 15% said they have no retirement savings at all. Further, nearly one in five (17%) baby boomers has less than $5,000 saved for retirement, and 20% have less than $5,000 in personal savings.
Because of those concerns, the Northwestern Mutual poll found, nearly half of working adults (46%) most likely will work past the traditional retirement age of 65.
“People are skating on some very thin ice financially,” said Emily Holbrook, senior director of planning at Northwestern Mutual. “While there are some signs of improvement since last year, we still have a long way to go, and for most Americans, there’s no way to get there without a plan.”
Despite needing a strategy, more than half (56%) of Americans said they don’t know how much they’ll need to retire comfortably, and 41% said they have taken no steps to address the fact that they might outlive their savings, the Northwestern Mutual survey discovered.
Holbrook said, however, that signs exist that financial discipline becomes more of a priority as people age.
