While 58 % of respondents to a PGIM survey agreed that there ’ s a national retirement crisis , only 48 % of retiree respondents with no assets at all ( aside from Social Security ) described their personal situation as a crisis . That perception dropped to 22 % if they had $ 10,000 to $ 50,000 in addition to Social Security , and to 11 % for those with between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 .

Age also plays a role in whether respondents fear a personal retirement calamity . The closer someone was to retirement , the less likely they were to worry . Among workers in their 30s , 48 % said they felt their personal retirement situation was in crisis , but only 24 % of respondents who were already in retirement said that was the case .

Many advisors would probably pale at the

Forty-eight percent of retiree respondents with no assets at all ( aside from Social Security ) described their personal situation as a crisis . That perception dropped to 22 % if they had $ 10,000 to $ 50,000 in addition to Social Security . prospect of advising a client facing retirement who thinks they ’ ll be OK with only $ 75,000 . But David Blanchett , managing director and head of retirement research at PGIM DC solutions , has a different take .

“ What I worry about is when I read a survey where now people are saying they need $ 1.9 million to retire . When most people see that , they ’ re going to think , ‘ What ’ s the point ? I totally give up ,’” he says . “ It doesn ’ t take five bajillion dollars to get to retirement and be OK . There is a middle ground .”

He says workers who have access to defined contribution plans will mostly be fine — since they work for larger companies , have larger salaries and access to an employer match . Workers who don ’ t have those benefits have a much harder time saving for retirement .

“ If you have nothing and you ’ re living off Social Security , it ’ s easy to feel like you ’ re one step away from disaster ,” he says . On the other hand , those with $ 50,000 or $ 100,000 saved , he says , often feel like they can manage . “ You can ’ t pull a lot of money from that , but all of a sudden if you need a new roof , it ’ s not going to devastate you financially .”

And the good news , he says , is that Social Security is weighted so that poorer recipients receive more in relation to their working income than richer recipients .

“ It ’ s not like where we were 80-plus years ago where if you didn ’ t save anything you were absolutely destitute ,” he says . “ Sometimes I feel like we ’ re in an arms race for who can do a survey to find people who need the most money to save for retirement . Now it ’ s $ 1.9 million ; soon it will be $ 2.5 million .

“ I just think that ’ s an incredibly destructive way to communicate what you need to have in retirement to be OK , as very few Americans can get there .”

— Jennifer Lea Reed

10 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM