Recent polls have shed light on some of the fears that pre-retirees have before their 65th birthday. Perhaps the folks with the most pressing worries are those getting close to that age who don’t see a clear way through. These are some of the things that people who are nearing retirement age admit to fear, as well as some ideas that many of them pose to solve some of the shortcomings they could face.
Inflation Concerns
One of the biggest fears reported by people in Nationwide’s ninth annual Advisor Authority survey was the fact that inflation would kill their savings. Over 57% of those polled mentioned that their retirement portfolios could fail to keep up with inflation within the next 12 months. That’s certainly not a way to live a long and happy retired life. One of the biggest issues with this concern is that for people around the age of 55 and up, there aren’t necessarily too many options to choose from to make their situation better.
Retirement Just Isn’t Feasible
These inflation concerns help reveal the true problems that people are facing. Simply put, they don’t have enough money to retire at 65. What is perhaps most concerning is the fact that those polled do have some type of investment that they’ve been preparing as their retirement fund. Still, almost 70% of those surveyed mentioned that exiting the workforce at 65 was not in the cards for them. This number includes some of the folks who are willing to stay on board even with healthy portfolios. Even this silver lining, however, doesn’t make the percentage any less alarming.
Living Well Within Your Means Pre-Retirement
As mentioned, some people are really struggling to find tangible solutions to their retirement problems. That’s caused many of their fears to naturally grow. A quarter of those who participated in the survey mentioned that they intended to live well within their means while they were in the workforce, trying to avoid as many “luxuries” as they could. The concerning element to this is that for many people, even saving money while they are still in the workforce won’t guarantee them a comfortable retirement.
Daily Expenses Could Kill Many Solutions
This is a concern that ties into the problem of inflation. Up to 30% of people claimed the increased cost of living was one of the main reasons they were unable to invest more in their retirement funds. Another of their main concerns is the idea that even with traditional investment methods, there’s no guarantee that the money will be inflation-proof in any account. This has led many financial planners to make bolder recommendations than they would’ve in years past. One of the main things people are being advised to avoid is requesting funds from their social security account before they can achieve the full benefits. That’s one of the traditional retirement funds that could still generate a decent base for retirement. It needs to be handled wisely, but with increased daily expenses, doing that is becoming increasingly difficult.
Affording Retirement Is Already At a 50/50 Split
None of the data presented in the Nationwide survey is too comforting. The worst statistic is the one that states that around 49% of people near or within the retirement age are having conversations with their financial planners about whether they can even afford to retire. Many people who have retired are considering re-entering the workforce because of a lack of funds. The low payments some of these people are getting from Social Security are seen as one of the main culprits. The reports indicate that most people are getting less out of their social security than they expected, making it harder for them to make ends meet.
