With persistent inflation and fears of a looming recession, retirement is one of the biggest financial concerns for Americans right now.
America’s view of retirement is the “most pessimistic” since 2012, according to a new report from the analytics and consulting firm Gallup. Only 43% of non-retired Americans expect to live comfortably in retirement, down five percentage points from last year. 48%) and 10 percentage points from 2021 (53%).
Furthermore, 71% of non-retirees reported feeling at least “moderately worried” about funding their retirement, including 42% who said they felt “very worried”.
Related: 1.2 million dollars in 6 months. Retirement strategy secrets revealed
The prospect of pension declines comes amid months of economic uncertainty and the looming question of whether Social Security will dry up over the next decade, a concern that has only accelerated since the debt ceiling debate and the possibility of a default.
With the US hitting the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in January, Congress is now tasked with negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling or default. The default would mean that the US would not be able to pay all of its bills on time, and government-supported programs, including Social Security, could be affected.
59% of retired adults surveyed cited Social Security as their primary source of retirement funding.
In a separate Gallup survey released last week, when asked about their level of concern about eight financial risks, not having enough money for retirement was “most troubling” for Americans.