A new report recently published by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies—titled Retirement Realities: The Experience of Retirees—spotlights aging and longevity-related experiences of today’s retirees.
Their real-life experiences, navigating health and finances and facing the need for caregiving and long-term care support, offer critical insights for strengthening retirement security for current and future generations of retirees.
The survey findings highlight that retirees are:
- Embracing happiness. Almost nine in 10 consider themselves to be a generally happy person (89 percent).
- Prioritizing what is important to them. More than two in three retirees cite enjoying life (70 percent) and being healthy and fit (67 percent) as their top priorities in life.
- Spending their time in meaningful ways. Almost six in 10 retirees indicate they are spending more time with family and friends (59 percent), while roughly four in 10 are traveling (44 percent) and pursuing hobbies (39 percent).
- Safeguarding their health. Seventy-five percent of retirees are concerned about their health in older age. Most are taking care of their health by seeking medical attention when needed (75 percent) and getting routine physicals and health screenings (71 percent) which top the list of healthy activities they are engaging in on a consistent basis.
Yes, but: The report also highlights how financial fragility is becoming more common.
- Only one in four retirees (27 percent) is very confident they will be able to maintain a lifestyle they consider comfortable throughout their retirement.
- Retirees have an annual household income (HHI) of $63,000 (estimated median) as of late 2024.
- When asked about their primary source of income throughout their retirement, more than half of retirees cite Social Security (53 percent). Twenty-one percent of retirees expect their primary source of income to come from retirement accounts (11 percent) and other savings and investments (10 percent), while 20 percent cited a company-funded pension.
- As of late 2024, retirees have saved $126,000 in total household savings excluding home equity (estimated median). One in 10 retirees (12 percent) have no savings, 25 percent have saved less than $100k, 18 percent have between $100k and $500k, 12 percent have $500k to less than $1 million, and 17 percent have $1 million or more.
