What women think about retirement regardless of the facts they don’t think about

What Do Women Think About Retirement? is a research infographic that presents women’s views of retirement based upon a National Institute on Retirement Security nationwide public opinion survey. The research finds:

• U.S. women are worried about retirement. When asked if the nation faces a retirement crisis, 80 percent of women agree there indeed is a retirement crisis and 81 percent say employers should contribute more money to workers’ retirement plans. More than three-fourths (76 percent) say retirement is only getting harder, and it’s getting harder due to inflation (77 percent), rising healthcare costs (77 percent), debt (58 percent), and fewer pensions (58 percent).

• Women express strong support for pensions. Eighty-two percent of women say that all workers should have a pension so they can be independent and self-reliant in retirement, and 75 percent say the disappearance of pensions has made it harder to achieve the American Dream. Seventy-five percent say those with a pension are more likely to have a secure retirement, and about three-fourths (73 percent) have a favorable view of pensions.
• Women want action now to safeguard Social Security. Nearly all women (89 percent) say it is important for the next administration to work with Congress to develop a Social Security funding solution. Also, 87 percent of women say the program must remain a priority no matter the state of federal budget deficits, while 86 percent say Congress should act now to shore up Social Security funding rather than waiting another ten years to find a solution.
• Working age American women are worried about long-term care costs in retirement. Eighty-one percent of women are worried about the costs of long-term care, and only 38 percent feel confident they will be able to pay for any needed long-term care costs. Most women (86 percent) agree that the government should do more to help Americans get access to quality long-term care when the need arises.

The findings are based upon a national survey of working age Americans conducted by Greenwald Research and is a supplement to a recent report, Retirement Insecurity 2024: Americans’ Views of Retirement. Read the report.

National Institute on Retirement Security

Let’s do a reality check.

Retirement is no harder than it was thirty years ago. Inflation, comes and goes, debt should be managed and health care costs while too high, are better managed than twenty years ago. Pensions were never a part of most workers retirement and the workforce is better off with portable 401ks

A pension is based on longevity with one employer. That is not how workers see employment.

Social Security should be a priority and should be so as a self-funded insurance/retirement program. Social Security requires more funding from workers and employers, not general revenue. SS has nothing to do with federal deficits and it needs to stay that way.

The concern over LTC costs while real for some is overstated for most. The government doing more means more spending. Ideas like this need to suggest sources of revenue.