About one-quarter of U.S. adults age 50 and older who are not yet retired say they expect to never retire and 70% are concerned about prices rising faster than their income, an AARP survey finds.
About 1 in 4 have no retirement savings, according to research released Wednesday by the organization that shows how a graying America is worrying more and more about how to make ends meet even as economists and policymakers say the U.S. economy has all but achieved a soft landing after two years of record inflation.
Everyday expenses and housing costs, including rent and mortgage payments, are the biggest reasons why people are unable to save for retirement.
It doesn’t even matter if they did follow the right rules. Plenty of people did are still losing now because the rules have rapidly changed over the last 10-20 years, especially since the pandemic with inflation exploding out of control. Property taxes, insurance, medical costs, housing supplies, food are all skyrocketing. The SSA did up the Social Security payout slightly, but that doesn’t help 401k/IRA/pension output one bit.
It also points out another flaw in America. Why does every individual have to be a doctor, tax man, investor, banker? Rather than having people compartmentalized in skill-sets and enabling each other, we’re expected to know 100% of how many jobs work. It’s a waste of collective brain power, and I really believe it stifles creativity and innovation as we all try to just survive. Even with all this knowledge, if one is in the retirement phase when a 2020-2024 happens, one can’t really go back in time to correct for that.