Workers’ and retirees’ confidence has not fully bounced back from last year’s drop, but signs exist that a positive recovery is underway, according to results of the 2024 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research.
The survey, conducted online from Jan 2 through Jan. 31, included 1,255 workers and 1,266 retirees. All respondents were aged 25 or more years.
“The survey also showed that workers and retirees are confident that government programs such as Social Security and Medicare will provide benefits of equal value to today and believe they understand the Social Security program,” said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research for EBRI. “Confidence is similar across all ages. But in some cases, younger workers are actually more confident in certain aspects of retirement.”
Overall, 68% of responding workers and 74% of retirees said they are confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. That’s an increase from 2023, but the researchers noted that the increase is not a significant one over last year.
Copeland noted that baby boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — and millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — reported higher confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement than members of Generation X — those born between 1965 and 1980.
“Perhaps contributing to this upward trend is workers’ and retirees’ increased confidence in their income. According to the US Census, wage growth is now outpacing inflation growth,” according to the report. “Americans are starting to feel this shift, as 28% of workers and 32% retirees who are confident feel that way due to their finances: stable assets and steady income.”
Inflation remains a negative driver of retirement confidence, according to survey results. Thirty-one percent of workers and 40% of retirees who responded to the survey cited inflation as the reason for their lack of confidence.
