Studies conducted by Genworth reveal that Americans are “retiring earlier… but underestimating retirement expenses.” In fact, many retirees are at risk of outliving their retirement savings because of the uncertainties of traditional sources of retirement income that are no longer coming in.
A large factor involved in Americans not being able to save enough to put towards retirement has to do with the debt they have accrued in their lifetime. A survey conducted by Wells Fargo showed that most middle-class families place a higher priority on paying off their debt rather than saving for retirement—and understandably so.
In addition, the Genworth survey showed that 52% of people about to settle into retirement believe that their expenses will actually decrease, when in reality 65% of people saw an increase. In fact, only 12% of people who entered retirement said that they actually had enough money saved to maintain their lifestyles and certain additional higher expenses.
These numbers call for Americans to become educated on the best ways to save properly for their retirement. It is scary to think that the old ways of living and retirement are just that—old, and very quickly becoming a thing of the past. Americans have to get more creative and thrifty with new ways to save their hard-earned money.
Also there is the fact to consider that Americans are simply just retiring too early, when they should work (if they are able) for a few more years to contribute more to their retirement fund. For many, an early retirement may lead to many financial troubles up ahead.