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After One Year Of Covid-19, America’s Retirement Crisis Is Little Changed
March 16, 2021 5:00 AM Taylor Tepper - Forbes Advisor
Posted:
Updated:
March 17, 2021 7:15 PM
A year has come and gone since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States in March 2020, upending all of our lives.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their lives, millions have lost their jobs and practically every kid (and parent) in America has endured school at home for months on end. We’ve changed how we work, how we shop and how we socialize.
But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: retirement. Despite concerns that folks might raid their 401(k)s or companies would axe benefits en masse, most workers saved for retirement in 2020 much as they would any other year.
(Image: iStock/FG Trade)
The surging COVID-19 is no doubt disrupting the lifestyles of many Americans, including those already in retirement.
A new survey revealed stunning new findings about how seniors are being thumped by the pandemic. Consider about one in five retirees has engaged in a part-time job, including 9% forced into those roles due to the crisis. Some 60% say they struggle to pay for basic needs, including medical bills (47%), groceries (43%), and credit card bills (37%). One in four fear they will outlive their savings.
Those are among the discoveries in State of Retirement Finances: 2021. The research was done by Clever, a real estate education platform for home buyers, sellers and investors. All told, 1,500 Americans were quizzed in October and November 2020, on their retirement funds, debt and financial worries. Ten percent of the respondents were African Americans.