April 3, 2024 — Happy Spring, PEF members and retirees! I’m sharing the below article on retirement insecurity with you during this year’s budget negotiations because it emphasizes the importance of a defined benefit pension and our need in New York State to fix Tier 6.
Retirement Insecurity 2024: Americans’ Views of Retirement
By the National Institute on Retirement Security
A national opinion poll finds that working age Americans are increasingly worried about retirement, and they see a return to pensions as a way to restore the American Dream of retirement. Eighty-three percent of respondents say that all workers should have a pension so they can be independent and self-reliant in retirement, and more than three-fourths of Americans agree that those with pensions are more likely to have a secure retirement.
The survey results are detailed in Retirement Insecurity 2024: Americans’ Views of Retirement conducted by Greenwald Research.
When asked if the nation faces a retirement crisis, 79% of Americans agree there indeed is a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020. More than half of Americans (55%) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement. Regarding Social Security, nearly all Americans (87%) agree Congress should act now to shore up funding rather than waiting ten years to enact a solution. Ninety percent say it should be a priority for the next president and Congress to tackle Social Security’s funding shortfall.
The report’s key findings are as follows:
- Americans express strong support for pensions. More than three-fourths of Americans have a favorable view of pensions, while 77% agree that the disappearance of pensions makes it harder to achieve the American Dream. Eighty-three percent of Americans say that all workers should have a pension so they can be independent and self-reliant in retirement.
- High retirement anxiety continues among Americans. When asked if the nation faces a retirement crisis, 79% of Americans agree there indeed is a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020. More than half of Americans (55%) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement. When it comes to inflation, 73% of respondents said recent inflation has them more concerned about retirement.
- Americans want policy leaders to give their retirement concerns a higher priority. The vast majority of Americans (87%) say leaders in Washington don’t understand how hard it is for workers to save for retirement, up from 76% in 2020. Also, 86% say Washington leaders need to focus more on retirement and give it a higher priority on the policy agenda, again up from 2020 (76%). Most Americans (84%) say government should make it easier to offer pensions to their workers, up from 76% in 2020.
- Americans want action now to safeguard Social Security. Eighty-seven percent of Americans say Congress should act now to shore up funding rather than waiting another ten years to find a solution. Also, 87% say the program must remain a priority no matter the state of federal budget deficits. When it comes to expanding Social Security, slightly more than half of Americans (52%) agree with this concept.
Americans are worried about long-term care costs in retirement. Eighty-seven percent are concerned generally about rising costs, while 80% are worried about the rising cost of long-term nursing care. A large share of Americans (66%) are worried about rising healthcare costs in retirement, 75% are concerned about rising housing costs in retirement, and 66% are worried about increasing costs to get help with everyday chores like cleaning and cooking.