One of the deep, long-term changes in American lives has been what social historians call the “standardization” of the life course. From the 19th into the 20th century, increasingly more young Americans were able to follow a common sequence: get educated, get a job, leave parents’ home, get married, have […] Read more »
Americans Settling on Older Retirement Age
Nearly four in 10 nonretired Americans, 37%, expect to retire after age 65. This percentage is consistent with recent years, but it is up from 31% in 2009 and nearly three times the 14% who said this in 1995. Thirty-two percent expect to retire before age 65; this is the […] Read more »
More Nonretirees Expect to Rely on Social Security
Although the Social Security program continues to face long-term funding challenges, U.S. nonretirees are more likely to say Social Security will be a major source of income in their retirement than they have been at any point in the last 15 years. The current 36% of nonretirees expecting to heavily […] Read more »
Brown, Gray, and Urban
… In our era, the United States is experiencing two demographic transitions: It is growing more diverse, especially in its youth population, and it is also aging, as the predominantly white baby boomers move toward retirement. … These two giant blocks—what I’ve called “the brown and the gray”—have become the […] Read more »
Americans’ Money Worries Unchanged From 2014
Gallup’s Financial Worry metric, which tracks the percentage of Americans worried about multiple common financial challenges, is steady this year at 50%, similar to 49% in 2014. While the metric is down from the 56%-to-61% range seen during the economically challenged period from 2008 through 2012, it remains higher than […] Read more »
Parents’ College Funding Worries Are Top Money Concern
More U.S. parents worry about having enough money to pay for their children’s college education than other Americans worry about any common financial concerns. The 73% of parents of children younger than 18 who worry about funding college tops the 70% of lower-income Americans who worry about having enough money […] Read more »