On Wednesday, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies released its 2024 retirement outlook for the middle class . It delved into the financial concerns and retirement preparations for those with annual household incomes of $50,000 to $199,999 using a sample of just over 10,000 people — about 5,000 of whom fell into the middle-class category.
As it turns out, middle-class workers have plenty of worries about retirement. Their greatest fear is outliving their savings and investments.
Among those with household incomes of $50,000 to $99,000 and those with incomes of $100,000 to $199,000, 40% of both groups said that sticking around longer than their nest eggs was one of their greatest fears in retirement.
That comes as middle-class Americans expect to live to a median age of 90, over a decade more than the US's current life expectancy of 77.5. Americans aged 65, which is about the average retirement age , can expect to live an average of 18.4 more years — a significant amount of time to rely on savings or Social Security.
It makes sense, then, that middle-class Americans are worried about the future of Social Security, which often fills the gap between retirees' savings and their financial needs . Broadly, 39% of those in the middle-class cohort said that one of their greatest fears in retirement was that Social Security would be reduced — or simply cease to exist — in the future.
The uncertain future of Social Security has long had older generations concerned. According to the latest Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees report, the program will only be able to pay out full benefits for the next 11 years — meaning that after that point, benefits will dwindle if Congress does not step in.
That's particularly troubling for Americans who have relied primarily on Social Security benefits to stay afloat financially in retirement. In a recent NerdWallet study of 2,100 adults, just 30% of respondents said they believe Social Security alone will allow them to live comfortably in retirement.
One 63-year-old previously told Business Insider that she's "incredibly scared" Social Security won't be enough to cover her expenses. "I think I'll probably need to work until I die because there's no money," she said.
The report also found that worries about Social Security are a primary reason some middle-class people plan to work after retirement. Of the 52% who plan to work after they retire, 55% plan to do so because of the extra income, while 33% are concerned Social Security benefits will be lower than expected.
With the presidential election quickly approaching, the fate of Social Security and Medicare is a hot-button issue for both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. While Trump has vowed to protect benefits for older Americans, Democrats have accused the GOP of threatening to cut the benefits and raise the retirement age. The issue is likely to get more heated as November gets closer.
Politicians give much less than a shit about people on social security, but they do care about keeping their high perk, high retirement, do nothing cushy jobs. By the time this actually happens social security should have between 75 to 80 million people on it's rolls. Do you really think any politician is willing to gamble on pissing off over twenty percent of the voters to keep from spending money that isn't theirs?
Run Forest Run
08-28
Trump will lease federal land to oil companies and use the revenue to shore up SS and reduce our national debt. Harris and the democrats plan to just let SS run dry. They have no plan other than to criticize those trying to solve a major problem. It’s not going to go away.
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