If the majority of voters, blue and red, really want to worry about something that has an almost 100% chance of destroying their lives, they might want to start with the following. Wonder which party they’ll blame?
“Forget about 62 or 65. More and more Americans are embracing the new reality of retiring at 70 — or later.
Many people look forward to retirement after spending years struggling through the daily grind. Unfortunately, a growing number of Americans may have to wait even longer to make their grand exit from the workforce. Although the average retirement age in the U.S. is just 63, according to a recent study by human resources consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, almost a quarter of Americans believe they won’t be able to retire until age 70 or older. Worse yet, 5% are convinced they’ll never be able to retire at all.
Even workers who plan to retire at 65 aren’t so sure of themselves. Those surveyed admit that, while they’d like to retire at 65, they think there’s a 50% chance they’ll wind up working until 70.
A lot has to do with insufficient savings. With Social Security only designed to replace about 40% of the average American’s pre-retirement income, most of us have to save independently to ensure a reasonably comfortable retirement. Yet an almost frightening one-third of Americans, many of whom are 55 and over, admit to having absolutely no retirement savings whatsoever.
And we’re stressed about it, too
For some people, the idea of working longer may not seem like such a bad thing. Financial benefits aside, studies have shown that working longer can actually lead to better health and a longer life. Yet among those surveyed by Willis Towers Watson, 40% of workers who anticipate retiring after age 70 have higher-than-average stress levels. Along these lines, 40% of workers planning to retire at 70 or later feel stuck in their jobs — ouch.
And it’s not just older workers who feel they’ll have no choice but to postpone retirement. Almost 25% of employees under 30 think they’ll wind up retiring in their 70s or even later. Meanwhile, 28% of workers in their 30s don’t think they’ll retire before 70, and 33% of 40-somethings feel the same way. It paints a pretty bleak picture, especially considering that younger workers still have a good number of years to save.” Fool.com
