Nearly 90 Percent of Seniors Say America Has Retirement Crisis: Survey

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Nearly 90 percent of American seniors believe the United States is facing a retirement savings crisis, according to a recent survey.

The American Advisors Group’s (AAG) found that 89 percent of seniors said they were worried that the United States is in the grip of a retirement savings crisis.

AAG surveyed more than 1,500 seniors aged 60–75 across the United States to gain better insight into the issue.

Nearly half of older Americans said they were struggling to build their savings.

Forty-seven percent of respondents described the conditions of their retirement savings as poor, while 44 percent said they failed to save enough to retire comfortably.

A sizable majority of 57 percent said they were somewhat or not optimistic that their savings would last through retirement.

Older Americans Hurt By Inflation

Many older homeowners said they are cutting expenses, as they fear outliving their retirement accounts, according to the AAG study.

After inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1 percent in June, price increases have since leveled off, but still remain elevated due to high energy costs.

Millions of Americans are still dealing with high prices for essential items like food, gas, and shelter.

“The retirement savings crisis is a real thing,” AAG Chief Marketing Officer Chris Moschner said in a statement. “Our data highlights the severity of the crisis and the actions seniors are taking to make ends meet.”

Average retirees have $21,000 less in savings this year than they did in the beginning of 2022, according to a February survey by Clever Real Estate.

The average savings of seniors dropped 10 percent, from $191,659 to $170,726.

Meanwhile, the share of retirees with nothing saved increased from 30 to 37 percent, according to the realtor survey.

Retirees Adapt to Worsening Prospects

Eighteen percent of retirees have skipped meals and 24 percent have skipped medical treatments or appointments to stretch their savings, according to the Clever study.

Forty percent of the respondents to the AAG survey said it was harder to make ends meet due to rising costs, and 47 percent found it more challenging to put funds aside for retirement.

Sixty percent of seniors told AAG they had cut back on discretionary expenses, spending less money on dining out, travel, and entertainment.

More seniors are now intending to work longer to save for retirement by choice.

By 2030, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 11.7 percent of people age 75 and older will still be working, compared to 8.9 percent in 2020.

Out of those intending to delay retirement, 92 percent said they had not saved enough for retirement, with 60 percent of them having less than $500,000 in savings.

Of the 40 percent of adults aged 65 years and older with disabilities, the number of respondents who told Voya that they may not be physically or mentally able to work as long as they want was at 36 and 13 percent, respectively.

An AAG survey from last May reported that that 62 percent of adult respondents were worried that inflation will cut into their elderly parents’ retirement savings, with as many as 35 percent prepared to support them financially.

Many Americans with retired parents of senior citizen age have embraced the idea of using their parents’ home equity as a financial solution, the survey said.