Here’s Why Americans Think Retirement is So Scary

Years ago, people looked forward to retirement — playing golf or cards with friends, partaking in early bird dinners, and spoiling their grandchildren. But, nowadays, many people dread it. A recent survey by Zety.com found that 40 percent of respondents fear retirement more than death. This is largely because of financial insecurity. The survey results showed that 87 percent of respondents believe the most frightening aspect of retirement is having a lack of income.  

Social Security Impact

Fueling that insecurity is growing concern over the future of Social Security. Created following the Great Depression when poverty rates among older Americans exceeded 50 percent, Social Security has become a lifeline for millions of seniors. This dependency has many people worried that Social Security might not be there when they need it most.

The Zety.com survey found that 32 percent of respondents think the government will no longer be able to provide Social Security benefits when they retire. Another 32 percent fear the amount they can claim from Social Security will not be enough to live on. And one-third of respondents think Social Security will have to reduce benefits in the future.

Saving Social Security

Americans would not think like this if they had more faith in Social Security’s future. The Seniors Trust believes the best way to ensure Social Security solvency is for Congress to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. This landmark piece of legislation will buttress the long-term solvency of Social Security by expanding benefits for seniors – not cutting them.

When passed, this legislation will make four major changes to Social Security for retirees:

• Benefits will be increased for most recipients by about $200 per month.

• The Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) will be used to calculate Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) instead of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) used currently. The CPI-E takes the unique spending habits of seniors into account — particularly regarding the cost of healthcare — and offers a more realistic COLA for retirees.

• Social Security minimum benefits will be increased to provide higher payments to seniors and greatly reduce senior poverty.

• Enhanced benefits would be set to greatly reduce senior poverty to guarantee the long-term solvency of the Social Security program.

If you want to see seniors get bigger Social Security benefits, please join our efforts to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. An easy way to do that is by signing our petition to Congress. It’s time our lawmakers put an end to Americans’ retirement fears.