Louisiana church secretary, 87, made the 1 financial mistake too many women make. Now she's working 2 jobs for $12/hour. Why can't Americans retire?

Looking back, Reed can see how she got into this situation: She let her late husband look after their joint finances, and she wasn’t informed about what was really going on.

The two had separate checking accounts, and after his death in 2011, she found out he had basically no savings. She also did not benefit from his insurance because of a complicated situation with her husband’s ex-wife and their children.

On top of all that, she was horrified to discover that there was still a mortgage on their house — and the payments were $1,000 per month.

Reed was forced to file for bankruptcy and rely on support from her family to get by.

Although this helped for a while, life kept throwing her curveballs, including two car accidents (one resulting in a fractured shoulder), and a termite infestation that required her to replace her roof (1).

She wasn’t able to save much earlier in life because her daughter and her daughter’s husband both died in the early 2000s, when they were in their 40s. They left Reed and her husband — who should have been nearing retirement — to raise their 11- and 13-year-old grandchildren. Both are now thriving in adulthood (2).

Today, Reed is on a firmer financial footing. She paid off her house and has income coming in from her two jobs. She receives $3,000 per month from Social Security. However, she’s still not in a position to retire.

She also can’t afford the $6,000 per year it would cost to insure her home in New Orleans. She’s choosing to risk going without insurance, which means one hurricane could wipe out almost everything she has worked for (1).

Reed says it can be a challenge to be the only one left still working among her siblings and friends. They have to plan events around her work schedule.

Sometimes she thinks about quitting both jobs and tightening her budget to get by, but then another thought holds her back.

“In order to do the things I want to do, I need more income,” she says (2).

How many Americans can afford to retire?

Reed is far from the only older adult in America who has had to put retirement plans on pause.

In fact, U.S. Census data shows that the proportion of workers over 55 jumped from 10% in 1994 to 24% in 2022 — the sharpest rise for any demographic (3).

Plenty of surveys reveal that Americans are feeling less and less confident about retiring in their 60s. For instance, a 2025 report from Alliance for Lifetime Income and Ipsos Group 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 say retiring between 65 and 70 isn’t realistic (5).

Heading into 2026, the insurance company Allianz Life found that 27% of Americans feel less confident about reaching their retirement goals than they did last year. Gen Xers, who are in their late 40s to early 60s and seeing retirement on the horizon, are feeling especially gloomy at the prospect: 38% say they feel worse about it than last year (6).

What it takes to retire securely

While there’s no denying macroeconomic pressures are putting a damper on retirement dreams, some Americans may have an unrealistic idea of what they need to retire.

A survey from Northwestern Mutual shows most Americans believe they need at least $1.26 million in their retirement savings (7).

However, most Americans who are saving for retirement are far from that goal. According to data from the financial services firm Empower, the median retirement balance for the company’s American customers in their 60s is $544,439 (8). Internal data from Fidelity also shows the average 401(k) balance for people 61 to 79 is just under $250,000 (9).

So, in reality, very few Americans have seven figures saved for retirement — but that doesn’t mean they have to toil away till they finally drop. Instead of shooting for an arbitrary “magic number,” every person’s retirement target will be unique and depend on their lifestyle.

How not to work forever: Tips for retirement readiness

There were many things out of Rebecca Reed’s control, but two simple strategies could have helped prevent her current financial headaches.

The first is setting aside savings earlier, even if it was only a little, which would have allowed her and her then-husband to take advantage of compounding over time.

Ideally, that would have provided her with a better cushion to handle emergencies. Perhaps she would be eating those bonbons by now if she had squirreled a bit more away for a rainy day.