2025 Retirement Crisis: 79% of Americans Concerned, Urge Congress to Secure Social Security Funding

Essential Insights

• In 2024, 79% of Americans acknowledge a retirement crisis, a sharp rise from 67% in 2020, highlighting growing concerns about financial stability in later life, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security.
• An overwhelming 87% believe Congress must take immediate action to strengthen Social Security funding, while 90% emphasize that this should be a top priority for the incoming president and lawmakers.
• Most workers feel having a pension would significantly increase their retirement independence, yet only a small portion currently have access to employer-sponsored pensions.
• Insufficient retirement savings pose a serious threat, potentially increasing federal and state public assistance expenses by $1.3 trillion over the next two decades, warns a study from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

As financial worries mount, more than half of Americans (55%) express concern about their post-retirement financial security, with 73% attributing heightened anxiety to inflation pressures.

Social Security's trust fund reserves are projected to be depleted within the next ten years, risking benefit cuts exceeding 20% unless Congress implements legislative solutions promptly.

Pensions: A Key to Retirement Independence, Yet Increasingly Rare

Seventy-seven percent of workers believe the decline of pensions hampers achieving the American Dream, and 83% advocate for universal pension availability to ensure retirement self-reliance.

While defined-benefit pensions once dominated employer-sponsored retirement plans, they have been largely replaced by defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s in the private sector.

Currently, approximately 56 million workers lack access to any employer-sponsored retirement plan, correlating with lower personal savings rates, according to Pew Charitable Trusts.

This retirement savings gap threatens taxpayers, potentially escalating public assistance costs by $1.3 trillion over 20 years, underscoring the urgent need for policy intervention.

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