Many Americans who are confident about their plans for retirement might want to reconsider, especially if those plans rely on Social Security or part-time employment.
Recent survey results indicate that almost two-thirds of Americans are at least somewhat confident about their plans for retirement. Experts, however, fear that much of that confidence might be misplaced.
The Deseret News discusses this in "Are Americans feeling too good about their retirement finances?"
As the article notes, the same survey found that 42% of Americans have not even saved $10,000 for their retirements. Instead of saving and investing money, Americans may be relying on Social Security and the possibility of working part-time during their retirement years.
Both are problematic.
While many seniors can and do work part-time after they retire from their regular employment, the option to do so is not available for everyone. Every year approximately half of the people who retire do so earlier than they had anticipated due to their failing health or the health of a spouse. This suggests that many of the people who are planning to work part-time may not be able to do so.
Retirees may also need to compete with younger workers for the part-time employment. Relying on Social Security is also problematic as it is not meant to be a full pension system. Social Security offers benefits that are less than needed to provide as a cushion against elder poverty.
It is important that people adequately plan for retirement without a false sense of security. Retirement plans should be made with the help of experts in coordination with elder law and estate planning attorneys.
Reference: Deseret News (March 27, 2016) "Are Americans feeling too good about their retirement finances?"
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