SAN ANTONIO – An estimated 4.1 million Americans are set to hit retirement age in 2024, in what some are calling the Silver Tsunami. But some may not be financially ready to retire, according to a study by Alliance for Lifetime income.
The study found many of them don’t have pensions, to help offset the gap that Social Security leaves behind.
A study by AARP found that gender, race and education play a big role in how financially ready those ready to retire are. White males have more assets than women and minorities and those with graduate degrees are better off than those with just a college degree or no high school diplomas.
Stephen Haney, 70, retired as a city worker a few years ago. He is enjoying retirement, although he says he wasn’t ready to retire when he did. He says it’s a big decision people should not take lightly.
“The key to all of it is before retiring, creating a budget, you know, exactly where you’re spending all your money so that you know the money coming in and whether or not that’s covering all of your expenses,” Haney said. “Then do some hard thinking. Do I really want to do this? And then if I do, then what am I going to do from here on? Some people decide to change careers, start a new career. Some people like to travel. So think of what you want to do. And most important, you want to stay active after you retire.”
Finances are what’s holding some people from shying away from retirement. We asked KSAT viewers to give us their opinion on what’s holding them back from retirement, and here’s what we found: during the 6:30 a.m. GMSA show Tuesday morning, 69% of viewers said they’re putting off retirement due to rising costs.