At age 87, Rebecca Reed likes to spend her days socializing with friends and, in her words, “eating bonbons and watching TV.” Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the money for it—and he’s not sure he ever will.
According to a recent Business Insider interview, Reid will have to continue working as a church secretary and editorial assistant. Although he plans to retire at 90, he has doubts.
Looking back, Reid can see how she got into this situation: she let her late husband take care of their joint finances, and she wasn’t informed of what was really going on.
The two had separate checking accounts, and after her death in 2011, he learned she had basically no savings. Due to her husband’s complicated situation with his ex-wife and children, she also could not benefit from his insurance.
On top of all that, she was horrified to discover that she still had a mortgage on her home — and the payments were $1,000 a month.
Reed was forced to file for bankruptcy and relied on support from his family to get by.
Although this helped for a while, life threw her curveballs, including two car accidents (one with a broken shoulder), and a termite infestation that required her to replace her roof (1).
She was not saved much earlier in life because both her daughter and her daughter’s husband died in the early 2000s, when they were in their 40s. They left Reed and her husband — who must be nearing retirement — to raise their 11- and 13-year-old grandchildren. Both are now thriving in adulthood (2).
Today, Reed is on a strong financial footing. He paid off his house and has income coming in from his two jobs. He receives $3,000 a month from Social Security. However, he is not in a position to retire yet.
She can’t afford the $6,000 a year it costs to insure her home in New Orleans. She’s choosing to risk going without insurance, which means that one storm could wipe out almost everything she’s worked for (1).
Reid says it can be a challenge to be the only one left working among her siblings and friends. They should plan events around her work schedule.
Sometimes she thinks about both quitting her job and tightening her budget, but then another thought holds her back.
“To do the things I want to do, I need more income,” she says (2).
Reed is far from the only older adult in America who has had to put retirement plans on hold.
In fact, US Census data shows that the proportion of workers over 55 has jumped from 10% in 1994 to 24% in 2022 – the fastest growth for any demographic (3).
Many surveys reveal that Americans are feeling less and less confident about retiring in their 60s. For example, the Alliance for Lifetime Income and Ipsos Group’s 2025 report found that 30% of non-retirees between 61 and 65 are thinking about postponing retirement as a result of current economic and political uncertainty (4). Data from financial planning firm TIAA also found that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe retiring between 65 and 70 is not realistic (5).
Heading into 2026, insurance company Allianz Life found that 27% of Americans feel less confident about reaching their retirement goals than last year. Gen Xers, who are in their late 40s to early 60s and see retirement on the horizon, are feeling particularly depressed about the prospect: 38% say they feel worse than they did last year (6).
Read more: The average net worth of Americans is a staggering $620,654. But it makes almost no sense. Here’s the number to calculate (and how to make it skyrocket)
Although there’s no denying macroeconomic pressures are hampering retirement dreams, some Americans may have an unrealistic idea of what they’ll need to retire.
A survey by Northwestern Mutual shows that most Americans need at least $1.26 million in their retirement savings (7).
However, most Americans saving for retirement fall short of that goal. According to data from financial services firm Empower, the company’s US clients have a median retirement balance of $544,439 (8) at age 60. Fidelity’s internal data shows that the average 401(k) balance for people ages 61 to 79 is just under $250,000 (9).
So, in fact, very few Americans have seven figures saved for retirement — but that doesn’t mean they have to toil until they finally drop. Instead of shooting for an arbitrary “magic number,” each person’s retirement goal will be unique and depend on their lifestyle.
There were many things out of Rebecca Reed’s control, but two simple strategies could have helped prevent her current financial headache.
The first set aside savings earlier, even if it was small, which would have allowed her and her then-husband to take advantage of compounding over time.
Ideally, this would have provided him with a good cushion to handle emergencies. Maybe she’d be eating those bonbons by now if she’d squirreled away a little more for a rainy day.
An equally important issue was Reid’s ignorance of her family’s finances before her husband’s death. Reed didn’t realize his financial obligations until they fell on his shoulders. And when that happened, he didn’t have the resources to handle the sudden flood of expenses.
Communicating about money is more important than ever as more couples choose to keep their finances separate. According to census data, the proportion of married couples without joint accounts increased from 15% in 1996 to 23% in 2023 (10).
Although merging your money may not be the solution, couples should consider scheduling time to check in on their finances to prevent nasty surprises down the line.
A simple way to create transparency and start building for retirement is to download a money management app. These software tools link to bank and card accounts to give you a clear visual display of where your money is going. With this data, it’s easy to see where everything currently stands, and how much you can spend on retirement and other savings priorities.
It’s important to set a realistic retirement savings goal rather than just guessing how much you’ll need. A popular formula for a rough estimate is the Rule of 25: Multiply your expected annual expenses during retirement by 25.
If you’re still not sure how much you need, consider reaching out to a registered financial professional for more personalized guidance on your case.
The more you know about your finances, the better you’ll be on track.
Join 200,000+ readers and get the best stories and exclusive interviews from MoneyWise – insightful insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reporting. For details, see our Editorial ethics and guidelines.
Business Insider (1)(2); US Census (3, 10); Coalition for Lifetime Income (4); TIAA (5) Allianz Life (6); Northwestern Mutual (7); empowerment (8); loyalty (9)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
As someone who has covered the retail sector for more than a decade, I can…
Michael Burry is sounding the alarm about what could happen if Bitcoin continues to slide…
Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of film director Woody Allen, sent an email to convicted sex…
MILAN - When sports fans hear an athlete has torn his ACL, the immediate assumption…
A 34-year-old woman posing as a student at various Boston public schools tricked children into…
In our reality check stories, Herald-Leader journalists explore deeper questions about facts, results and accountability.…