1 in 5 adults aged 50+ have no retirement savings, 26% feel retirement’s off the table
One in five adults aged 50 and above have zero retirement savings, and the 61% who do are worried it’s not enough, according to a survey shared Wednesday by the AARP.
Roughly one in four (26%) said they expect they’ll never be able to retire.
“America is facing a serious retirement crisis,” AARP executive vice president Nancy LeaMond said in a statement, calling upon states and the federal government to help promote saving for retirement, especially in the absence of employer-sponsored plans.
Pollsters interviewed 8,000 people for the survey, which AARP conducts twice a year.
Daily expenses and housing costs are the main culprits, those surveyed said. Adding to retirement fears was worry about prices rising faster than income, a concern expressed by 70% of respondents.
More than a third said they worried about meeting their basic expenses for things like food and shelter, and 26% feared the future cost of family caregiving.
The data also showed an increase in the percentage of people who feel they can’t retire — from 23% in January 2022, to 24% last July, to 26% this January.
Having a workplace retirement plan helps facilitate saving, but nearly 57 million people don’t have access to one, AARP said. That’s nearly half of private-sector employees aged 18 to 64. Those who do have such programs are 15 times more likely to save for retirement than those who don’t.
Debt was weighing down many respondents as well, with 30% of older adults carrying month-to-month credit card balances of $10,000 or more, and 12% at or above $20,000, an increase from 8% about a year ago, AARP said.
“Every adult in America deserves to retire with dignity and financial security,” AARP senior vice president of research Indira Venkateswaran said. “Yet 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.”
With News Wire Services