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One Third of Americans Plan to Delay Retirement Because of Covid
June 14, 2021
In the early days of the pandemic, when businesses shuttered and millions were laid off, many Americans opted to take early retirement instead of looking for new work. Now, as the pandemic finally winds down, many are realizing they will need to work longer than they had planned.
According to a recent survey from Edward Jones, 1 out of every 3 Americans say they will delay retirement due to the coronavirus. Roughly 69 million Americans say now say that Covid has caused them to change the timing of their retirement. That is up from 68 million who said the same when a similar survey was conducted in May 2020.
The survey also found that about 14 million Americans have stopped making monthly contributions to their retirement accounts, an improvement from the 22 million who said they had stopped contributions in December.
The survey also found that more pre-retirees, at 44%, felt they were negatively impacted by the pandemic than those already retired, at 22%. That is because those already retired said they had Social Security benefits and Medicare to fall back on.
Overall, the survey found that 70% of Americans said the pandemic has been a financial wake-up call, and that it has prompted them to pay more attention to their long-term financial goals.
