First, there was the COVID-19 pandemic and then came inflation — a perfect recipe for financial disaster for many workers. From scaling back on dining out to dealing with empty shelves and higher prices at grocery stores and more expensive fuel at the gas pump, consumers have had to rearrange their lifestyles to keep their heads above inflationary waters, even if it means pressing pause on saving for retirement.
And many of them have. More than half of U.S. workers (55%) say they are behind when it comes to saving for retirement — and 54% of them cite inflation as the key culprit, according to a Bankrate survey.
Americans Fall Further Behind on Retirement Savings as Inflation Bites
— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) October 25, 2022
"A new survey found that 55% of people feel they haven’t saved enough, and inflation is preventing them from doing so."https://t.co/PlffcvvJWE
The impact isn't localized to one type of worker either: Nearly half (46%) of high earners ($100,000 or more) say they aren't contributing enough to retirement and a staggering 71% of baby boomers have fallen behind, too. On the other side of the coin, only 7% of respondents consider themselves "significantly ahead" of where they need to be and 20% feel they are "right on track."
The latest news of workers' retirement unreadiness comes on the heels of the IRS announcing raising contribution limits for retirement accounts in 2023 that will allow workers to add up to $22,500 to their 401(k) plans (up $2,000 from this year) and $6,500 to individual retirement accounts — a $500 increase from 2022. But the government's efforts to help U.S. workers save more may fall flat as long as inflation remains an issue.
