The survey, performed by Greenwald Reserch, drew responses from 1,443 people ages 45 to 79 with greater than $100,000 in investable property. It discovered 39% rising extra involved about their monetary future in the course of the first seven months of 2025 — whereas solely 15% turned much less involved.
Among the many coverage dangers examined, potential cuts to Social Security advantages emerged as the highest fear for retirees and near-retirees alike.
Fifty-four p.c of respondents mentioned a 20% minimize to Social Safety advantages beginning in 2035 would require “important sacrifices or a tighter price range” — the very best proportion amongst all coverage eventualities introduced.
“Since Social Safety gives nearly all of earnings for roughly half of U.S. retirees, any change to this system can have seismic implications for his or her family funds,” the report states.
The Social Safety retirement belief fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, in keeping with the report, after which present income would cowl solely about 75% of statutory retirement advantages.
Retirement delays, funding shifts
In response to heightened coverage uncertainty, 21% of pre-retirees now plan to retire later than they anticipated earlier than 2025, whereas solely 4% plan to retire earlier.
Moreover, 27% of respondents have moved to extra conservative funding portfolios for the reason that begin of the 12 months.
The survey discovered a direct correlation between publicity to information about Social Safety’s monetary challenges and choices to delay retirement. Those that consumed substantial protection of Social Safety’s difficulties had been 16.6% proportion factors extra prone to delay retirement in comparison with these with little publicity.
Medicare, inflation and tariffs
Whereas solely 39% of respondents mentioned Medicare premium will increase of 10% yearly for 3 years would considerably have an effect on their budgets, publicity to information about Medicare value progress was nonetheless related to heightened monetary considerations and plans to delay retirement.
Inflation ranked alongside Social Safety as the one areas the place a majority of respondents believed coverage may result in extreme life-style adjustments — a discovering the report mentioned “echoes the media protection exhibiting People deeply involved with the price of residing.”
Although near-retirees and retirees didn’t view federal debt ranges as notably threatening, considerations about tariffs confirmed robust correlations with monetary worries and funding conduct.
Fear over tariffs was related to decreased risk-taking in investments and a notable decline in financial savings, presumably as a result of tariffs drive up present prices, the report defined.
