Market Losses Hit Older Americans Hard
The losses, reported by one in four to have been more than 25% but less than 50% of the money in their retirement accounts, have 60% anticipating an impact on their expected retirement lifestyle.
Those impacts include 43% that think they will be less comfortable in retirement than previously expected, 40% anticipating fewer vacations in retirement than expected, 35% who will not be able to do things they expected to do in retirement and 20% expecting difficulty paying for health care and prescription drugs in retirement.
Additionally, 67% report the losses have cut into their current lifestyles, with many reporting a change in the current spending. Among those changes:
- 59% – budgeting money more carefully
- 34% – taking fewer vacations
- 30% – postponing major purchases
Returning to Work
Another impact due to stock market losses is the postponement of retirement altogether, with 21% saying their stock market losses have made them postpone retirement and 10% say they have returned to, or are still looking for, work.
Of the individuals who have already postponed retirement, 72% had at one time expected to retire before the age of 65. As a result of their stock market losses, only 31% now expect to retire before the age of 65 and about 22% now expects to retire after the age of 69.
However, 38% of those reporting losses are current retirees. Of those, 33% have returned to the workforce due to the losses and 28% are still working.
Conducted by International Communications Research (ICR), the national survey conducted the telephone survey polled 1,013 individuals between the ages of 50 and 70 who indicated owning stocks.