18 Statistics That Don’t Bode Well for Retirees

We are quite sure that the Bible doesn’t talk about retirement. Most folks throughout human history spent their entire lives looking for food, shelter and safety.  But recently Western civilization came up with the idea of retirement.  It maybe started off reasonably.  Companies would give a pension to workers who stayed with them. Social Security would give them some and personal savings would give them some.  

Today, only 1% of employees have pensions, Social Security is a massive Ponzi scheme that will leave the last contributors unpaid, and most folks haven’t saved anything for themselves.  I hear retirees interviewed and they say, “How do they expect me to live on Social Security?”  I usually scream at the TV, “You were never supposed to!  You saved no money for yourself.”

#9 is very frustrating.  Pretty sure President Clinton took that money and used it to “balance the budget”.  

When faith and confidence in the US Dollar expires, the collapse will be heard and felt all over the world.

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#1 Back in 1940, the average life expectancy of a 65-year-old was about 14 years.  Now, it is over 20 years.

#2 The number of Americans that are 65 and older will rise to about 77 million by 2035.

#3 Americans that are retiring now will need an average of $1.22 million to last thirty years in retirement.

#4 Only about half of all U.S. households currently have retirement savings accounts.

#5 One recent survey found that 93 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Democrats, and 94 percent of independents believe that there is a retirement savings crisis in this country.

#6 47 million U.S. households with older adults are either "financially struggling" or are "at risk of falling into economic insecurity".

#7 Approximately 80 percent of Americans have thought about putting off retirement due to financial reasons.

#8 Over 90 percent of Americans are concerned that they may have to work more years than they originally planned.

 #9 There is supposed to be approximately 2.7 trillion dollars in the Social Security trust fund, but our politicians took all of that money and spent it instead.  Today, our Social Security trust fund is simply a colossal pile of government bonds.

#10 Social Security is the primary source of income for most Americans over the age of 65.

#11 According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, 33 percent of Social Security recipients receive all or nearly all of their income from Social Security.

#12 Nearly nine out of ten people age 65 and older are receiving Social Security benefits.

#13 In 2009, nearly 51 million Americans received $672 billion in Social Security benefits.  In 2024, nearly 68 million Americans received $1.5 trillion in Social Security benefits.

#14 More than 180 million U.S. workers have earnings covered by Social Security, and they pay approximately 1.2 trillion dollars in Social Security payroll taxes.

#15 As you can see from the previous two items, our Social Security payroll taxes are not enough to cover the amount being paid out in benefits.

#16 The average Social Security benefit for a retired worker in the U.S. was $1,922 per month in September 2024.

#17 Back in 1950, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers.  In 2010, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.  By 2035, it is being projected that there will be approximately 2.4 workers for each retiree.

#18 Close to 50 percent of all American workers do not believe that the Social Security system will pay them benefits when they retire.

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