America is facing a retirement crisis

A new survey by a global investment firm recently found a rare point on which Republicans and Democrats seem to agree: America is facing a retirement savings crisis.

Only about half of American households have retirement savings accounts. The Social Security program may soon run out of funds, and these benefits were never intended to cover the full cost of retirement.

In an August poll, BlackRock asked 1,000 registered voters for their views on retirement security in America. The responses crossed party lines.

When the poll asked voters if they believed there was a retirement savings crisis in this country, 93 percent of Republicans said yes, joined by 86 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of independents.

Three-quarters of Republicans said they were worried about “not being able to maintain their standard of living” in retirement, joined by three-quarters of Democrats and a slightly smaller share of independents.

On retirement security issues, Republicans and Democrats agree

The survey found broad bipartisan agreement on several other retirement security values:

• Republicans said they expect to need $2.1 million in savings to retire, on average, compared with $2 million for Democrats and $3 million for independents.

• Despite these high savings goals, about two-thirds of Democrats, Republicans and independents in the survey report having less than $150,000 saved for retirement.

• A quarter of Democrats and Republicans who responded to the survey said they have no emergency savings, along with 29 percent of independents.

• The average Democrat and independent expect to retire at 64, and the average Republican at 63.

BlackRock officials provided a detailed breakdown of survey responses by party affiliation in response to a request from USA TODAY. They said 45 percent of respondents were Democrats, 42 percent were Republicans and 13 percent were independents.

Retirement fears cut across party lines, even in times of conflict

Retirement experts say retirement security is a universal concern, one that cuts across party lines, even in times of political crisis.

“Aging and preparing for a financially secure retirement is a problem for ‘everyone’ and an opportunity for ‘everyone.’ We’re all in this together,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO of the nonpartisan Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Retirement security legislation has also enjoyed “a long history of collaboration on both sides of the aisle,” Collinson said. She cited the Secure Act 2.0 of 2022, which has garnered bipartisan support. This measure rewrote many rules for saving for retirement with the goal of increasing retirement security.

The story continues

The BlackRock survey provides new evidence about two major dilemmas facing Americans who are in or nearing retirement.

The first is a huge gap between how much Americans are saving for retirement and how much they think they’ll need.

The second problem is a gap between when Americans expect to retire and when they actually do. The average American retires at age 62, according to two major retirement surveys. But the average worker over 50 expects to retire closer to 67.

From Harris and Trump, significantly different plans for Social Security

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have markedly different platforms on Social Security, a fund that is expected to run short in about a decade.

Harris is committed to “strengthening Social Security and Medicare over the long term by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.”

She would likely follow the lead of President Joe Biden, who has promised to raise new revenue by going after wealthy tax cheats and raising tax rates for wealthy individuals and corporations.

Harris may also be hinting at the idea of ​​extending the Social Security payroll tax to higher incomes, according to an analysis by Bankrate, the personal finance website. Workers pay no Social Security taxes on earnings above $168,600 in 2024.

Trump has “taken a more ambiguous position” on Social Security, Bankrate reports, pledging to protect benefits but not detailing exactly how. Trump argued that economic growth and job creation would naturally boost payroll tax revenue, supporting Social Security.

The Republican Party’s 2024 platform includes a pledge to “fight and protect Social Security and Medicare without cuts, including without changes to the retirement age.” Trump has previously advocated raising the American retirement age to 70.

When candidates talk about Social Security, older voters listen

Election-year polls consistently suggest that older voters are paying attention to what the candidates are saying about Social Security.

In a series of polls this summer, AARP found that voters over 50 in battleground states are more likely to vote for candidates who are “committed to protecting Social Security,” among other things.

“What they’re looking for is an acknowledgment” from the candidates “that they’re going to do everything they can to preserve Social Security for future generations,” said John Hishta, AARP senior vice president. “This is a unifying issue that cuts across party lines.”

An annual Transamerica retirement survey suggests the threat to Social Security is among the top five retirement fears of middle-class Americans in 2024.

“Our research shows that millions of Americans — tens of millions of Americans — are at risk of not being able to fund a secure retirement,” Collinson said. “And Social Security is the No. 1 issue on people’s minds.”

According to Transamerica research, the top priorities listed by middle-class Americans for the president and Congress are to fix Social Security’s funding shortfalls, make health care and prescription drugs more affordable, and make sure all workers can save for retirement in place of work.

More: What if every worker in America were automatically enrolled in retirement savings?

Wealthy Americans share many of the same fears about retirement. In a 2023 report, Transamerica found that retirement security increases with income, but only up to a point. Even among Americans with household incomes above $200,000, the report found, only 42 percent said they were “very confident” they could maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

“Even for objectively high net worth individuals, the idea of ​​retiring and starting to spend your own assets and the threat of running out of money is scary,” said Peter Lazaroff, a certified financial planner in St. Louis. “And it doesn’t matter what your politics are.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans and Democrats agree: America faces a retirement crisis