As people enter retirement, they start thinking about adjustments they may need to make to their lifestyle. For some, it may mean downsizing their home or moving to a more affordable location. A prestigious university research center reports that 50 percent of Americans won’t be able to afford the same lifestyle in retirement.
Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research (CRR) reports Americans will need to replace 80 percent of their working income in retirement to maintain their same lifestyle. Analysts believe retirees will have to cut back on both necessities and luxuries just to survive in challenging economic times. For many people, that may mean giving up things they looked forward to, such as travel and dining out.
You may find this hard to believe, thinking your expenses should be less in retirement. You no longer have dependents to support, you pay less in taxes, and you may even have paid off a mortgage. It all depends on what you’ve done in terms of savings and investments. The change that occurred with the move from “defined benefit” pension plans to “defined contribution” retirement accounts put a greater burden on financing much of many seniors’ retirement.
Retirement Should Be a Time of Ease
You shouldn’t have to worry about your income during retirement. Council of Seniors is dedicated to getting Congress to pass The SAVE Benefits Act. Because the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has been short in recent years, this bill is crucial. If we succeed, the amount of $581 will be returned to eligible seniors.
Please sign our petition right now and tell others they can help too! Let’s send Congress a wake-up call about the growing number of Americans expecting action now.
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