Statistics show that huge numbers of Americans aren't saving enough for retirement or aren't saving at all. With household debt and the cost of living on the rise, here is what retirees fear more than death...

1. The Retirement Crisis
What retirees fear more than death...
Douglass Gaking
gakingfinance.wordpress.com

2. Americans Are Not Saving Well
● 33% have no retirement savings (“Older Americans”)
● 56% have less than $10,000 in retirement savings (“Older Americans”)
● 30% of people 55 and older have no retirement savings (“Older Americans”)
● The median working-age American household has $2,500 in retirement savings (Douglass)

3. What That Means for Retirees
● Only 31% of seniors 65 and over have $200,000 in a retirement account. (“Older Americans”)
● About 25% of Americans 65 and over rely on Social Security as their only source of
retirement income. (“Older Americans”)
● 60% are “more afraid of outliving their savings than actually dying.” (“Older Americans”)

4. (Jordan)

5. (Jordan)

6. (Jordan)

7. Health Care
Costs are Rising
Twice as Fast as
Social Security
(“Retirement Healthcare Costs”)
“A 65-year-old couple retiring today
can expect to pay an average of over
$320,000 in Medicare premiums
over the course of their retirement.”
(Connick)
(Jordan)

8. This is Only Part of the Problem...

9. People Can’t Afford Their Homes
According to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies: (“39 million Americans”)
● “39 million households can't actually afford their homes”
● “1/3 of households are spending 30% or more of their take-home pay to cover their
housing costs.”
● “19 million families are spending more than 50% of their income on housing.”

10. Average Household Credit Card Debt is $8,000
(Comoreanu)

11. Student Loan Debt Among Seniors is Rising
(Rieder)

12. What is going to happen
to seniors who can’t
afford their homes and
health care?

13. Works Cited
Backman, Maurie. “Older Americans Are More Afraid of Running Out of Money Than Death.” The Motley Fool. 24 Jun. 2017,
www.fool.com/retirement/2017/06/24/39-million-americans-cant-afford-their-homes.aspx?source=iedfolrf0000001.
Backman, Maurie. “39 Million Americans Can’t Afford Their Homes.” The Motley Fool. 24 Jun. 2017.
www.fool.com/retirement/2017/06/24/39-million-americans-cant-afford-their-homes.aspx?source=iedfolrf0000001.
Backman, Maurie. “Retirement Healthcare Costs Are Rising Twice as Fast as Social Security.” The Motley Fool. 24 Jun.
2017.
www.fool.com/retirement/2017/06/24/retirement-healthcare-costs-are-rising-twice-as-fa.aspx.
Comoreanu, Alina. “2017 Credit Card Debt Study: Trends & Insights.” WalletHub. 11 Sep. 2017.
wallethub.com/edu/credit-card-debt-study/24400/#raw-data.

14. Works Cited
Connick, Wendy. “The Average Retiree Will Spend a Shocking Amount on Healthcare.” The Motley Fool. 1 Jul. 2017.
www.fool.com/retirement/2017/07/01/the-average-retiree-will-spend-a-shocking-amount-o.aspx.
Douglass, Michael. “45% of Americans Face a Retirement Crisis: How 3 States Are Fighting Back.” The Motley Fool. 20 Sep.
2015, www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/09/20/45-of-americans-face-a-retirement-crisis-how-3-sta.aspx.
Jordan, Mary, and Sullivan, Kevin. “The New Reality of Old Age in America.” The Washington Post. 30 Sep. 2017.
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/seniors-financial-insecurity/?utm_term=.5d781b322d42.
Rieder, Rick. “The Economic Side Effects of the Student Loan Crisis (in 3 Charts).” BlackRock Blog. 28 Jun. 2017.
www.blackrockblog.com/2017/06/28/student-loan-crisis/.