America’s dream of a cozy and well-funded retirement has turned into an old-age nightmare, with most saying that they will have to work past age 65 even if they don’t want to because they can’t afford to quit.
Some 55 percent of Americans said that they now plan to work past the standard retirement age, according to the latest YouGov survey.
Just 30 percent said they are confident enough about retiring on time and the remaining 15 percent are not sure.
“YouGov’s latest research shows that 55 percent of Americans who are not yet retired say that they are expecting to have to work past the age of 65 in order to make ends meet, while only 30 percent say that they are not expecting to. Unsurprisingly, people in households with annual incomes under $50,000 are much more likely to say yes (63 percent) than people in households with incomes over $100,000 (37 percent),” said the survey analysis.
YouGov, however, warned those even that depressing findings could be “optimistic” if Social Security fails, or doesn’t deliver as expected.
As for the politics of retirement, Republicans said Americans are responsible, Democrats said the government is. “Half of Americans say that it is primarily the responsibility of individuals to make sure that they have enough money for retirement, but 37 percet say that it is primarily the government’s responsibility. Democrats are an outlier on this issue, with 52 percent saying that it is primarily the government’s duty, compared to 30 percent of independents and Republicans,” said the poll analysis.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
