It’s not just Gen Z who can’t afford the cost of living right now. Even wealthy boomers who have retired with at least six figures in savings are feeling the pinch.
That’s according to a study from Prudential Financial. The Fortune 500 investment, money management, and retirement planning firm surveyed around 20,000 people over the age of 50 and found retirees are living well below their means.
Married 65-year-olds with at least $100,000 in financial assets withdrew an average of 2.1% of their savings annually—that is, nearly half the usual spending rate of retirees, according to the research.
David Blanchett, head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions, an affiliate of Prudential Financial and coauthor of the study, told the Wall Street Journal that since 1926, retirees have been able to spend 4% of their savings per annum without risking running out of money in the last 30 years of their lives.
But now, the prospect of living to upwards of 95 years old is becoming an increasingly likely reality for older people—and you can bet the cost of housing, health care, bills, and food is going to go up in that time.
It’s why instead of splashing out on those golden years with trips around the world on a cruise, spending below one’s means has become prevalent especially among wealthier retirees, the survey concluded.
Retirees feel unprepared for the jobless years—a ‘consumption puzzle’
Researchers are calling the trend the retirement consumption puzzle.
Essentially, even after grinding and gathering wealth for decades, retirees feel unprepared for the jobless years looming ahead and continue to squirrel away what money they have instead of finally enjoying it.
One paper bluntly concluded that “individuals do not plan rationally for an expected reduction in income at retirement.”
It bucks the general assumption that boomers—who hold more than half of America’s wealth—are kicking back their feet and enjoying a comfortable retirement in their mortgage-free McMansions.
In reality, according to Federal Reserve data, fewer than half of all boomers have saved enough for retirement, and worryingly, 43% of 55- to 64-year-olds had no retirement savings at all in 2022. That year, 30% of people over 65 were economically insecure and made less than $27,180.
It’s no wonder that many are actually going back to work to live out their retirement dreams.
The new retirement is no retirement
“Unretiring” has become a global phenomenom. In the U.K., nearly 20% of baby boomers and late Gen Xers are rejoining the workforce—or planning to. Meanwhile, the number of those who have continued to work past 65 in the U.S. has quadrupled since the 1980s, according to the Pew Research Center.
Now almost 20% of Americans 65 and older are employed, nearly double the share of those who were working 35 years ago. In total, there are around 11 million Americans 65 or older who are working today, accounting for 7% of all wages and salaries paid by U.S. employers. In 1987, they made up 2%.
Many blame being unable to afford the retired life they dreamed of—and by that, they aren’t talking about buying a beach house to live out the rest of their years sipping on cocktails in the sun. They mean attaining the lowest level of minimum financial certainty to meet their changing needs as they age. So instead of puttering around the house, they are working for longer to grow their pension pot, or taking up part-time gigs to sustain a better standard of life.
And the problem is bound to get worse as Gen Xers, the next generation of retirees, are currently struggling to stave off financial insecurity—let alone save for a cushy retirement.
A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com on December 31, 2024.
More on retirement:
- Not a single place in the U.S. made the cut for top retirement destinations—but experts warn to weigh these 3 factors before moving abroad
- Peter Thiel’s $5 billon tax-free account spurred a new 401(k) rule that now impacts high-earning Americans over 50
- Warren Buffett retires from Berkshire Hathaway in 100 days—and Apple could be on the chopping block
