(FED Week) - The latest version of an annual survey shows that retirement confidence overall remains strong but that both the pandemic and inflation are having an impact—particularly on those who feeling less confident to begin with.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute survey found that 73 percent of workers are at least slightly confident of having enough money to live comfortably in retirement, including 28 percent who are very confident, both with 1 point of 2020. Among retirees the figures were 77 and 33 percent, respectively, the former down by 3 points.
Those feeling not confident were much more likely to have problems with debt and/or their health, along with relatively lower levels of retirement savings—people the study characterized as “already among the more vulnerable and less retirement-ready.”
Slightly above half of workers said the pandemic has not affected their views but of the rest, those saying their view is more negative outnumbered those who said their view is more positive by two to one. Among retirees, more than two-thirds said their view has not changed but of the rest, negatives outweighed positives by more than three to one.
Of those feeling less confident, inflation was the number one factor for both current employees and retirees, named by a third of the former group and half of the latter.
By FED Week
