The reality of impending retirement has become a distant dream for many people, including young people just starting out in the workforce.
The TikTok audio, used by many other content creators, features people from multiple generations calling attention to the lack of retirement security afforded to Americans.
A Gen X woman explained that her retirement planning has nothing to do with her actual retirement.
In the original TikTok video, A Gen X woman named Jen. She said her retirement plan is simply to “pass away.”
“I’m definitely a Gen Xer and my retirement plan is to die,” Jen claimed. “I don’t know how many other Gen is.”
Jen’s evaluation of her retirement plans prompted similar reactions from others, especially other Gen X adults. In another TikTok video, a woman named sara As someone of Jen’s age, she explained that their retirement plans are the same: to work until they can no longer work.
“I think my tombstone will say: ‘She worked herself to death, but she had nothing to prove, because that’s the way it is. I’m at that point right now.’ [where] I’m starting to really hate my job, not my current job,” Sarah said.
“If someone came up to me and said, ‘Look, we have a cult, and in this cult, you just have to worship our leader and meet for an hour a day. ‘You live in a commune, we’ll take care of you, and you don’t have to pay the bills for the rest of your life.’ Sign me up and let’s go,’ she added. , about how she’s clearly fed up with how expensive things are now, and how most of her salary goes to paying bills and nothing else.
Sarah pointed out that she didn’t have much to spare and no longer had the will to work.
It’s not just Gen Xers who are feeling the weight of retirement, but Millennials and Gen Zers as well.
In a similar video of Jen and Sarah, A content creator and millennial named Nadia She explained that she had had a similar conversation about retirement with some friends and almost cried when she realized that she probably wouldn’t have enough money to retire until she was at least 75 years old.
“When you think about how much it costs people to retire, there’s absolutely no money in this country to grow past 75,” Nadia said. She told her girlfriend that because everything has become so expensive and there is not enough money available for retirement, if you don’t have enough money to live comfortably for 25 years when you’re 75, then don’t make an arrangement. I remember talking about that. To “ourselves who are not alive.”
Nadia has no intention of spending her retirement in “survival mode”, either having to pay someone to take care of her with money she doesn’t have, or struggling to make ends meet for the next few years. He argued that one can either spend it on something or spend it on something. . “Honestly, given the current state of the world, I have no interest in living beyond my means at that age. It’s just not possible.”
Both Gen X and Millennials confess a lack of belief that they can retire, and the same is true for Gen Z. According to Intuit research, Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z Americans say today’s economic climate makes them hesitant to set long-term financial goals, and two-thirds say they don’t have enough to retire anyway. I answered that I might not have the money.
Additionally, 73% of Gen Z say they would rather have a better quality of life than have extra money in the bank.
“Amid the tumultuous developments of the past several years, including a brief but deep recession and a period of high and persistent inflation, most Americans have lost the amount of money they need to meet their retirement savings goals. He insists that there is no such situation.” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, told CBS News. “Compared to the survey from about a year ago, there has been no progress in this regard.”
While the future of social security is uncertain, Trust fund reserves may be depleted In 2033, benefits will be reduced by approximately 25% across the board. According to a survey by insurance company Allianz LifeWith Social Security reserves depleting, 72% of Americans report not factoring Social Security benefits into their retirement income plans.
With fewer resources available to retirees and the steadily rising cost of living, it’s no wonder so many working-class Americans are beginning to believe they have to work until they drop. . It’s a discouraging reality, especially for people who dedicate their lives to work without caring for their own well-being, when there are many extreme consequences, both mentally and physically. With retirement looming for people of all ages, it’s time to fully address these systemic issues.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news and lifestyle writer whose work explores contemporary issues and experiences.