By FATIMA HUSSEIN (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Approximately one-fourth of U.S. adults over 50 who have not retired expect to never retire, and 70% are worried about prices increasing faster than their income, according to an AARP study. AARP survey finds.
A report released by the organization reveals that about 25% of individuals over 50 have no retirement savings, highlighting the growing concern among older Americans about financial stability. achieved a soft landing after two years of record inflation.
Rising everyday expenses and housing costs, including rent and mortgage payments, are the main obstacles preventing people from saving for retirement.
This data is significant in an election year as President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump seek to gain support from older Americans with their policy proposals.
The AARP's study, based on interviews with over 8,000 people and conducted in partnership with the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, indicates that one-third of older adults with credit card debt have balances exceeding $10,000, and 12% owe $20,000 or more. Additionally, 37% are concerned about covering basic living expenses such as food and housing.
Indira Venkateswaran, AARP’s senior vice president of research, emphasized the challenge of limited access to retirement savings options coupled with rising prices, which is making it increasingly difficult for people to decide when to retire. She also noted that everyday expenses remain the primary obstacle to saving more for retirement, and some older individuals express the belief that retirement is not in their future.
The proportion of individuals over 50 who do not anticipate retiring has steadily risen, reaching 23% in January 2022 and 24% in July of the same year, based on the semiannual study.
David John, senior strategic policy advisor at the AARP Public Policy Institute, noted the trend of more older workers staying in the workforce, partly due to inadequate retirement savings. He stated that this is a persistent issue expected to continue in the future.
Based on the 2022 congressional elections, census data released Tuesday shows that voters 65 and older made up 30.4% of all voters, while Gen Z and millennials accounted for 11.7%.
Biden has tried to court older voters by regularly promoting a $35 price cap on insulin for people on Medicare. He trumpets Medicare’s powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications.
Trump, in an interview with CNBC in March, indicated he would be open to cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The former president said “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.”
Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that Trump “will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term.”
In the AARP survey, 33% of people over 50 think their money situation will be better in a year.
A big problem that will impact Americans’ ability to stop working is the financial condition of Social Security and Medicare.
The most recent yearly report from the program’s trustees indicates that the financial safety nets for millions of older Americans will run out of money to pay full benefits within the next decade.
Medicare, the government-supported health insurance that includes 65 million older and disabled individuals, won't be able to pay full benefits for inpatient hospital visits and nursing home stays by 2031, as projected by the report. And just two years later, Social Security will not have enough cash on hand to pay out full benefits to its 66 million retirees.
An AP-NORC poll from March 2023 discovered that most adults in the U.S. are against suggestions that would reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits, and a majority are in favor of increasing taxes on the richest people in the country to maintain Medicare as it is.
