In all things related to the United States economy, inflation is doing a lot of damage. Even more to people with their retirement close. Rising general prices across the board in all areas of America means that many American families are unable to pay all of their bills. This coupled with stagnant Social Security means that everything ends up being a mess. Luckily, the COLA helps a little for all those couples and seniors, but it may not be enough. Still, it won’t be until next year 2023 that we’ll see this COLA increase, something that worries many retirees.
But you don’t have to be retired to have a concern about Social Security and retirement. U.S. citizens who have not yet retired are concerned about the money needed to have a good retirement. According to a study conducted by the financial planning firm Northwestern Mutual, there is an increase in money needed over the year 2021. The 20% increase is remarkable and perfectly reflects the concern of Americans. Therefore, most workers think that in order to have a good retirement with Social Security it is necessary to save $1.25 million.
Unfortunately, not everyone can access this large amount of money, so it can be a major obstacle to the golden years of most United States citizens. According to Northwestern Mutual’s vice president and client direct, “It’s a period of uncertainty for many people, driven largely by rising inflation and market volatility.”
The average expected age of claiming Social Security has also increased
Not only have we seen an increase in the average age at which people expect to save money before claiming Social Security, but we also have to take into account that there is an increase in the average age at which people expect to claim Social Security. We also have to take into account that there are a large number of people who plan to retire later. This is because claiming early retirement reduces the monthly benefit, which means that many families cannot afford to do so.
As for the survey, four out of 10 people say they will not be able to retire before the age of 67. This thought, it seems, is very common among Americans who see their golden years farther and farther away. Inflation is making all this a reality. Christian Mitchell himself also stated in this regard that “We’ve also seen upticks in spending year over year, not only as a result of inflation, but also because people have regained a sense of normalcy in their lives after the early days of the pandemic. These factors are leading many people to recalibrate their thinking about how much they will need to retire and how long it will take to get there.”