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A 2024 survey of Americans’ views on retirement found that “79 percent of Americans agree there indeed is a retirement crisis, up from 67 percent in 2020. More than half of Americans (55 percent) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement. When it comes to inflation, 73 percent of respondents said recent inflation has them more concerned about retirement.”

The looming reality is that retirement has become a distant dream for many people, including young people who’ve only recently started entering the workforce. In a TikTok that was used by many other content creators, people spanning multiple generations called attention to the lack of retirement security Americans are given. In the original TikTok video, a Gen X woman named Jen (she didn’t reveal her last name) shared that her retirement plan is to simply “pass away.”

Gen X woman says her retirement plan is basically ‘work until I die,’ and far too many people relate

“I am obviously Gen X and my retirement plan is to pass away,” Jen insisted. “I’m not sure how many other Gen X people have that as their retirement goal, but I know that I will be working one day and fall over dead, and that’s how it goes.”

Jen’s assessment of her own retirement plan elicited similar reactions from others, especially from other Gen X adults. In another TikTok video, a woman named Sarah explained that, as someone in the same generation as Jen, their retirement plan is the same: work until she can’t work anymore.

“I’m assuming on my gravestone it’s gonna say: she worked herself to death and had nothing to show for it because that’s how it is. I am at the point [where] I’m starting to really hate work, not my current job,” Sarah said.

“I think I’m at a point where if someone approached me and said, ‘Look, we have a cult, and in this cult, you just have to worship our leader and have a meeting one hour a day. You live on a commune, and we take care of you, and you’ll never have a bill to pay for the rest of your life,’ I’d be like, ” Sign me up, let’s go,” she added, clearly fed up with how expensive things are now, and how most of her paychecks go toward paying bills and nothing else. 

Sarah pointed out that she can’t afford much and has no energy to work anymore. 

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It’s not just Gen Xers who feel the weight of retirement, but also Millennials and Gen-Zers

In a similar video to Jen’s and Sarah’s, a content creator and millennial named Nadia explained that she had been having the same conversation around retirement with some of her friends and was close to tears because she realized she would probably not have enough money to retire until she was at least 75.

“I definitely don’t have money to grow older than 75 in this country, based on how much it costs people to retire,” Nadia said. She recalled telling her girlfriend that, due to how expensive everything is becoming, and the lack of funds available for them when they retire, once they turn 75 and if they don’t have enough money to live comfortably for 25 years, they made a pact to “unalive themselves.”

Nadia claimed that she has no desire to be in her old age and in survival mode, either having to pay someone to take care of her with money she doesn’t have or spending the next several years suffering and trying to make ends meet. “To be quite honest, with how things are going in the world now, I have no interest in living beyond my means when I’m that old. I really can’t do it.”

While both Gen X and millennials have opened up about their lack of faith in being able to retire, the same can be said for Gen Z. According to research from financial technology company Intuit, roughly three-quarters of Gen Z Americans said today’s economy makes them hesitant to set up long-term financial goals, and two-thirds said they might never have enough money to retire anyway.

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On top of that, 73% of Gen Zers say they would rather have a better quality of life than extra money in the bank

“Amid the tumultuous developments of the past several years, including a short but severe recession and a period of high and sustained inflation, a majority of Americans say they are not where they need to be to achieve their retirement savings goals,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick told CBS News. “Compared to our survey about a year ago, there has been no progress on this front.”

Amid an uncertain future for Social Security as well, their trust fund reserves could run out in 2033, which would result in an across-the-board benefits cut of about 25%. In a study from insurer Allianz Life, due to Social Security’s looming reserves running out, many Americans report not factoring in Social Security benefits into their retirement income plans. 

With the declining resources available for retirees and the cost of living increasing steadily, it’s no wonder so many working-class Americans are starting to believe they just have to work until they drop. 

It’s a disheartening reality, especially when there are many extreme consequences, mentally and physically, for people who dedicate their lives to working instead of taking care of themselves. As the retirement crisis looms for people of all ages, it’s time these systemic issues are addressed in their entirety.

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