The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies published a report that examines the health and well-being, retirement preparedness and other life priorities of the American middle-class.
By the numbers: Responses were broken down by age group (ranging from age 20 to age 70) with household incomes between $50,000 and $199,999.
Go deeper: Respondents aged 70 and older provided the following insights:
- Retirement savings (non-retirees): Those not yet retired have a median of $157,000 in household retirement savings. Eighteen percent have saved $1 million or more, and 27 percent have saved less than $50,000.
- Retirement savings (retirees): Retirees age 70+ report a median of $286,000 in total household savings (excluding home equity). Eighteen percent have at least $1 million, while 19 percent have under $50,000.
- Life priorities: Nearly three in four adults (74 percent) aged 70+ identify enjoying life and maintaining good health and fitness as top priorities. Encouragingly, 89 percent say they are enjoying life.
- Work and retirement: 86 percent are retired, while 12 percent remain in the workforce. The median retirement age is 65. Among those not yet retired, 38 percent say they do not plan to retire.
- Retirement fears: Top concerns include declining health requiring long-term care (45 percent), cognitive decline or dementia (39 percent), and loss of independence (39 percent).
- Long-term care confidence: Just 16 percent of retirees feel very confident they can afford long-term care. Nearly half (49 percent) expect to rely on family or friends if care is needed, and 22 percent have no plan in place.
