Summary
Faced with inflation, taxes and concerns over the size of Social Security benefits, most Americans are more afraid of going broke in retirement than they are of death.
In total, 64% of respondents across generations said they are more stressed about running out of funds in their golden years than the prospect of death.
Americans say they need $1.26 million to finance a comfortable retirement, yet the median amount saved is $87,000. “Certainly for boomers…inflation is a big deal.”
I never expected to retire, I’ll work the rest of my life.
Death isn’t scary, once you’re dead, you’re just gone. Being poor means uncertainty, vulnerability and discomfort (plus, as a bonus, often death). The one thing poverty has going for it is the possibility of getting really lucky and escaping before it kills you.
Right, this is a facet that a lot of people don’t get. I’m also more worried about smacking my toe on a table leg than I am of death, because I’m just not at all worried about death. When the game is over, it’s over.
Not having enough money to live sounds horrible though.
I feel for them, truly. We American workers have been promised pensions that were taken because it was too expensive, Social Security that’s now being reduced or threatened with reduction to save money, and told to gamble our retirement in the stock market which is crashing to save money. The folks that were up for retirement this year have been screwed by Trump and his tariffs. The folks already retired are getting screwed by the cost of living. And everyone else years or decades away from retirement are looking at the gates of Oblivion.
I used to work in a factory a few years ago while trying to get a tech job (had to pay the bills) and I remember this old guy that worked there with me. He was in his mid 70s, was slow, and tired. Definitely couldn’t keep up with the fast pace environment that required 20, 30, 40yo people to do the job so he had the simplest most insignificant tasks to do. I asked him, one day, why he was still working when he should be at home retired. He said he needed the health care and if he had a medical emergency then there was always someone here that could save his life. That was pretty sad.
I knew a fellow that was in his 80s that worked at the same shitty company I did. It was also pretty clear to me that he just couldn’t keep up. Very sweet guy too. Conscious of racism, opposed a lot of bad policies (and took direct action in his younger years).
He told me one day that he worked there so he could afford care for his wife. Soon after his wife passed, so did he. Didn’t really get to retire.
Another victim of capitalism. But I don’t know of a better system proven over time.
Death is retirement. Suicide when I can no longer work. They don’t leave all of these guns and fentanyl around for nothing.
There’s a third option where the people responsible retire with us
Getting awfully Blade Runner in here.
If I got a gun, they can retire me.
Wait. That’s not normal?
We sure don’t vote like it.
Lol death can’t be worse than capitalism
You guys are retiring?
Of course they are, who cares about going broke in death?
I’m 46. My expectation is that retirement will be completely impossible. I expect to die at my desk or in between visits to my desk.
This wouldn’t be a problem if Americans learned how to be responsible citizens and vote responsibly.
At this point, voting responsibly means not voting for felon rapist traitors.
So pretty low bar.
“Certainly for boomers…inflation is a big deal.”
This sorta stuff is why I think blaming Boomers is not helpful. This inflation has been inevitable since the Nixon Shock, and it was the “Greatest” generation - not the Boomers - who elected Nixon. We’ve built a high GDP economy that doesn’t serve the working class at all.
This is going to be every generation if we don’t organize in a big way.
