Dreams and great expectations often have no basis in reality, especially if those who speculate rely on the coldness of numbers, but that is why there are studies in practically all areas, and this is no exception, which give us a pragmatic picture after an exhaustive analysis of all the variables.
When it comes to money and old age, calculations are very important, but as stated in the previous paragraph, the figures are especially optimistic, when the outlook says absolutely the opposite.
It's a generational issue at heart, because when it comes to retirement, the perspective of of certain human groups who were born in different decades is very different.
Saving is key, but something is wrong with citizens' calculations
This is according to a study by Northwestern Mutual, which surveyed more than 4,500 American adults over the age of 18 on this important issue that is on everyone's mind, but perhaps not with the same data, the same approach and above all, the same income or savings thinking about the future.
The reality is that factors such as inflation have complicated things, and although it has experienced a slowdown (around 2.4% annually) after the peak of the covid-19 pandemic when it reached 9.1%, this element does not allow anyone to be so optimistic.
The reality is that there are two major concerns for respondents: just over half are worried about running out of money in old age, despite saving; and many also experience distress about rising prices, which do not allow them to save, or at best, to save less.
Expectations are not high... they are sky-high
Another revealing fact from this survey is that the savings expectation remains too high, considering that the 2022 Consumer Finance Survey put the average savings of Americans at $87,000 in the not-too-distant year of 2022.
The whopping $1.26 million is that magic number that many imagine, but very few can make a reality to face unemployment comfortably in the United States. The good news is that at least the expectation has come down from the data collected by the same firm in 2024.