5 Facts About Retirement That'll Keep You Up At Night

Americans are increasingly unable to save for retirement. These scary retirement statistics will have you second-guessing your current plans.

With most Americans living paycheck to paycheck (even with high incomes), there is a major lack of retirement savings among workers. A healthy retirement account will save you many stressors in the future, but with so many not actively optimizing their accounts, you may be in for a major wakeup call. These 5 facts about retirement will keep you up at night.

More than half of Americans are forced into an early retirement

Thinking about retiring between the ages of 65–70? While that is the ideal age for many, sometimes life gets in the way. Around 58% of Americans who are at or over the traditional retirement age were forced due to health-related issues or job loss. Americans are planning to work longer to offset a lack of retirement savings, but planning for this is unwise. You never know if you’ll be the one to have a major health issue or a job loss that will force you into retirement before you planned.

More than half of Americans have no retirement plan

More than half of Americans are forced into an early retirement, which makes the fact that more than half of working Americans have no retirement plan even scarier. Many workers don’t know how much money they’ll need to save for retirement, with half having no savings plan at all. If you don’t have a retirement plan in place, make it a priority—otherwise you’ll be in financial trouble when you want to stop working.

Social Security will probably not keep you afloat

Social Security is going to be cut in 2033 by 23 percent due to funds rapidly depleting. This is a major source of income for retirees, making the cut all the more scary. Social Security is not something that should be relied on as your retirement plan—in fact, it could completely cease to exist in the coming decades. Look at Social Security as a supplement to your retirement plan and don’t rely on it being there in the future.

Life expectancy is increasing, but retirement portfolios are not

It’s a great thing that Americans are living longer, except if you’re not saving enough for retirement. As stressed by Senior Finance Advisor in 2020,

The average retiree can expect to spend nearly two decades in retirement. The Administration on Aging reports that adults aged 65 have an average life expectancy of an additional 19.2 years; 20.4 years for females and 17.8 years for males.

A healthcare study by the Journal of General Internal Medicine noted that end-of-life medical expenses, in the last 5 years of life, range from $38,000 to over $100,000 depending on individual needs and the level of care provided. Sadly, many retirees’ retirement portfolios are not structured to cover growing medical costs in later years.

Seniors are declaring bankruptcy at an alarming rate

Historically, those filing for bankruptcy are younger and have massive amounts of credit card debt. But, the rate of seniors filing for bankruptcy is on the uptick. Due to the limited opportunity seniors have to make money, retirees declaring bankruptcy is a troubling trend. Some seniors find themselves returning to the workforce to help pay for medical bills and other unexpected emergencies.

Don’t let retirement planning keep you up at night

It is possible to retire comfortably, but you need to take the time to come up with a plan and stick to it throughout your working career. A retirement planner is someone who can do all of that work for you. From deciding what investments you should make to how much of your income should be stuck into a 401(k), let them take care of the hard work while you can feel better about your golden year.

Related Articles:

• Investment Time Horizon: Life Expectancy Retirement Planning
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• 7 Early Retirement Tips