Americans are cutting back, oppose raising Social Security retirement age

An increase in the Social Security retirement age that would reduce benefits is both unnecessary and unpopular but a broad demographic spectrum of Americans are cutting back spending due ti personal financial concerns.

Food costs rank as the most pressing financial worry, with 22 percent of Americans naming it as their biggest personal financial concern right now, followed by retirement savings (18 percent), healthcare costs (17 percent), mortgage or rent payments (13 percent), college tuition (8 percent), energy bills (7 percent), credit card or loan payments (5 percent), and loss of a job (4 percent), according to a Quinnipiac University national poll.

The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Quinnipiac University School of Business and its Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Forum XII event.

“Persistent inflation, climbing interest rates and a volatile stock market are likely contributing to worries about everything from putting food on the table to getting medical care. One silver lining: concerns about losing jobs is at the bottom of the list,” said Quinnipiac University School of Business Professor of Finance and Director of GAME Forum, Osman Kilic, PhD.

There are differences among most listed groups, particularly when considering age.

The top three personal financial concerns broken down by age:

• 18 to 34 year olds: mortgage or rent payments (23 percent), college tuition (20 percent), and food costs (19 percent);
• 35 to 49 year olds: food costs (24 percent), retirement savings (17 percent), and mortgage or rent payments (15 percent);
• 50 to 64 year olds: retirement savings (25 percent), food costs (23 percent), and healthcare costs (19 percent);
• 65 years of age and over: retirement savings (26 percent), food costs (22 percent), and healthcare costs (20 percent).

With the exception of grocery shopping, a majority of Americans indicate they have cut back on a wide range of items and activities…

• dining out: 63 percent say yes, while 35 percent say no;
• entertainment or leisure activities like going out to movies, shows or sporting events: 62 percent say yes, while 36 percent say no;
• vacation plans: 61 percent say yes, while 37 percent say no;
• clothes shopping: 61 percent say yes, while 38 percent say no;
• consumer electronics: 52 percent say yes, while 44 percent say no;
• home improvement projects: 52 percent say yes, while 44 percent say no;
• grocery shopping: 44 percent say yes, while 56 percent say no.

When asked how difficult it would be to pay an unexpected bill of $1,000 right away, slightly more than half of Americans (52 percent) say it would be either very difficult (25 percent) or somewhat difficult (27 percent), while 47 percent say it would be not so difficult (20 percent) or not difficult at all (27 percent).

Today’s results are similar to an April 27, 2022 Quinnipiac University poll.

There are big gaps by race. Forty percent of Black adults and 35 percent of Hispanic adults say it would be very difficult to pay an unexpected bill of $1,000 right away, while 20 percent of white adults say it would be very difficult.

Roughly 4 in 10 Americans (42 percent) say they have less in savings compared to a year ago, 17 percent say they have more in savings, and 39 percent say they have about the same amount in savings.

More than one-quarter (27 percent) of Americans say they have more debt compared to a year ago, 21 percent say they have less debt, and 49 percent say they have about the same amount of debt.

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans (68 percent) say they are either very concerned (33 percent) or somewhat concerned (35 percent) that they will not have enough money to live comfortably during retirement, while roughly 3 in 10 Americans (31 percent) say they are not so concerned (16 percent) or not concerned at all (15 percent).

“When it comes to the golden years, Americans young, old and in-between share the same worry. There’s a cloud of doubt hanging over the quality of life they’ll have when they retire, especially among those between 35 and 64 years of age,” said Kilic.

A vast majority of Americans (78 percent) would oppose raising the full retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 70, while 17 percent would support it.

When Americans were asked whether they would support raising the full retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 70 if it meant that benefits would last longer, Americans would still oppose it 62 – 30 percent.