The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the retirement timeline for 30 percent of Americans, according to research from Northwestern Mutual’s 2020 Planning & Progress Study. The study finds that 20 percent of U.S. adults age 18+ plan to delay retirement beyond what they expected, while 10 percent plan to accelerate their timelines and retire earlier than anticipated.
When asked what age people expect to retire, Millennials indicated the earliest target date, 61.3 years old, followed by Gen Z (62.5); Gen X (63.2) and Baby Boomers (68.8).
The study finds that the greatest obstacles to financial security in retirement have flip-flopped during the pandemic. Before COVID-19 began to spread widely, lack of savings (42 percent) was the top obstacle followed by healthcare costs (38 percent) and the economy (34 percent). Now it is the economy (49 percent) followed by lack of savings (33 percent) and healthcare costs (32 percent).
Findings also reveal that people are relying heavily on Social Security as a funding source during retirement but don’t have great faith it will actually be there when they need it. Social Security ranked as the top source of retirement funding, accounting for an average of 27 percent of Americans’ overall retirement funding. But one-fifth (20 percent) of people believe it is not at all likely Social Security will be there when they’re ready to use it. Read the full report.
One-Third of Americans Say COVID-19 Altered Their Retirement Plans
