MegaTrending: #Economic Insecurity

The other day, I read an article by an acclaimed writer who boldly admitted his private humiliation: he’s one of 47% of Americans the Fed reports would have trouble coming up with $400 to pay for an emergency. The article, “The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans” describes his personal financial struggles to keep up an image of prosperity, while quietly stressing about paying the bills.

Admittedly, shock was not my first reaction to his piece. Perhaps because I, like so many Americans, know what it means to live in fear of the next shoe dropping and being unable to pay the bills. As I have discussed with many friends who have experienced this challenge, we know broke. And frankly, if you don’t know broke, you have no idea.

I’m fortunate that those years are behind me, but I can relate to the extreme toll that it takes on a person and a family. After all, when you do the right things such as work hard, give back to others, and play by the rules, that should mean that you are successful. Too often, the fact is that does not equate to meeting the bills and getting ahead. That can make a person, well, angry.

It’s clear from the Presidential race that angry Americans are showing up in force to vote like never before. Not just angry Republicans, but angry Democrats. While they have different ideas about how to fix the nation’s woes, the common thread that they share is a sense of populism. They want to know that they have a chance to get ahead, and they want to know that their children and grandchildren will grow up in a world full of opportunity.

Critically important to achieving financial security is long-term savings and investment, which often leads to the subject of retirement planning. After all, that’s what we all look forward to, right? The day we can turn in our running shoes from the rat race. That’s the dream, at least for many.

I talk a lot about the need for individuals to plan early for retirement, and that they need access to financial assistance along the way. Americans aren’t saving enough for today, let alone the future. At the Financial Services Roundtable, we polled the public to ask their views, and 68% said the Presidential candidates do not talk enough about how to address retirement security.

According to a story recently published in Time, aging and retirement security is one of the megatrends facing the world, not just the United States. In America, retirement challenges are not just a problem for our older citizens, but it’s a challenge that spans generations. It’s a problem for the millennial who is saddled with student debt and can’t start saving early to take advantage of compound interest over time. It’s a problem for the sandwich generation who is strapped simultaneously with childcare expenses, housing, healthcare, college savings, eldercare, and their retirement savings. It’s also a challenge for Baby Boomers who are underprepared for their golden years and need to figure out how to make ends meet.

At FSR, we promote Save10 and acknowledge employers who help their employees save at least 10% for retirement. We encourage auto-enrolling employees in a retirement plan because we know it results in better savings. These are positive steps, but we must also address whether employers are in a position to help their employees save. We must take a look at the barriers to savings and investment that are driving the economic insecurity facing so many Americans. We’re ready to have that serious conversation. This trend is not going away, and we need our candidates to make it a priority.