One out of three US adults expects not to have saved enough money to retire, a recent survey showed. Another third is not sure whether they will have enough money.
The AARP study surveyed more than 8,000 American adults 30 years old or more, regarding saving for retirement and various aspects of financial security. It showed that only 36 percent of adults expect to have enough money to retire. Almost one-third (33 percent) said they will not have enough money to retire, an increase from 29 percent in January 2023. The increase, according to the study, was made because of people 50 years old or older, in other words, this age group was composed of the newly added people, people already close to retirement.
Another 31 percent said they are not sure if they will have enough money to retire.
“Far too many people lack access to retirement savings options and this, coupled with higher prices, is making it increasingly hard for people to choose when to retire,” said Indira Venkateswaran, AARP’s senior vice president of research.
“Everyday expenses continue to be the top barrier to saving more for retirement, and some older Americans say that they never expect to retire.”
Around 30 percent of men were saving 10 percent or more of their income for retirement.
“We are seeing an expansion of older workers staying in the workforce,” said David John, senior strategic policy adviser at the AARP Public Policy Institute. He said this is in part because older workers “don’t have sufficient retirement savings. It’s a problem and it’s likely to continue as we go forward.”
In other findings, 41 percent of respondents believe that their finances in twelve months will be better than at the start of 2024. This percentage was 39 percent in 2023, and 36 percent in 2022.
At the same time, respondents were feeling less financially secure this year, with 42 percent feeling this way, compared to 34 percent in 2022.
Regarding the male population, 42 percent of men 30 and older described their financial situation as “only fair” or “poor.” This was due to higher debt, more difficulty in saving money, and also difficulty in covering basic expenses.
It was worrisome that 40 percent of men were worrying about basic expenses, a big increase from the 33 percent in 2022.
However, men were feeling more financially secure than women in various different areas, for example, debt management and emergency savings.
As expected, lower-income adults and single adults were feeling more financially insecure compared to higher-income and married people.
Pew Research Center Survey
Another survey, conducted by Pew Research Center in 2023, showed that from Americans aged 65 or older, 1 in 5 were employed in 2023, a nearly double figure from 35 years ago.
This group’s earnings per hour have also increased quite a bit. In 1987, a person 65 years old or older was earning an average of $13 per hour. In 2023, this increased to $22 per hour.
With wages for the younger workforce (25 to 65 years old) not having increased much, the wage gap between older and younger has been narrowed a lot.
For comparison, the average pay per hour for the younger population is $3 higher, reaching $25 per hour in 2023.
The older workers (65 or more) are working full-time at 62 percent, while this was 47 percent for older workers in 1987.
Among older workers, 36 percent have an employer- or union-sponsored retirement plan, while only 41 percent of younger workers have access to such plans, down from 55 percent in 1987.
Also, 23 percent of the older workers (65 or older) are self-employed, while only 10 percent of younger workers are. Older workers are also saying they are more satisfied with their jobs and have less work-related stress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
