Many posts have discussed demographic trends, especially the decline of births and the aging of the population.
A silver tsunami is washing across our shores, as record numbers of Americans start hitting retirement age. The U.S. isn't ready.
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About 45% of Americans will experience retirement-funding shortfalls if they retire at 65, according to Morningstar's projections from last year.
....Out-of-pocket medical expenses are escalating, the cost of in-home care is growing more than three times faster than inflation, and an increasing share of the elderly are spending more than a third of their income on real estate too.
...Only about 14% of Generation X (those ages 45-60) have a pension plan, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security.
....On paper, retirement accounts might make older Americans appear wealthy. There are an increasing number of 401(k) millionaires, after all.
But with costs and debts rising — and lifespans lengthening — older Americans might run out of money, she says, or be forced to severely cut back spending. "We have shades of the retirement crisis right now."
Between the lines: There's massive inequality when it comes to retirement readiness — workers earning more than $150,000 a year contribute nearly 13 times more toward retirement than those earning under $50,000, a report out in November found....
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About 56 million Americans age 65 and older receive Social Security benefits, per federal data.
The lowest-earning workers rely on it. Social Security is the primary source of income for retirees with household incomes below $50,000, according to Transamerica's 2025 retirement survey.A cut of 20% to 25% in Social Security benefits would have a devastating impact on retirees who rely heavily or solely on those payments," said Kristi Martin Rodriguez, who leads the Nationwide Retirement Institute. "61% of current recipients say missing even half of a payment would leave them unable to survive financially."