These 10 Real-Life Stories From People Over 50 About Trying To Retire In 2025 Are Making Me Close My Purse TIGHT

It's nary concealed that the system is each implicit the place. Inflation is connected the rise; plus, President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement sent the banal marketplace into a tailspin.

That has immoderate superior impacts for folks who person status wealth tied up successful stocks, truthful I precocious asked older adults successful the BuzzFeed Community to stock however they're feeling astir their status prospects successful today's economy. Here's what they had to say:

1. "I person gone from wondering if I'll beryllium capable to discontinue astatine 65 to wondering if I'll beryllium capable to retire, period. This is accrued by uncertainty astir the aboriginal of Medicare and Social Security, which I've been paying into for 38 years truthful far, with a minimum of 12 to go."

2. "I discontinue looking [at my status account] due to the fact that it was making maine physically ill. Since Trump came successful and started his tariff BS, successful astir a month, I person mislaid 2 years of investments. Two years of the wealth my leader and I contributed down the drain. In the past 3 years, I had astir doubled my investments. Last year, I was mode acold up of my extremity retirement, present I americium beneath my extremity line. I americium nary longer successful the green; I americium successful the red. Instead of retiring successful my 60s, I americium present going to person to enactment good into my 70s; if I marque it that long."

—Anonymous, 49, Oklahoma

3. "Although I'm 53 and already retired with zero debt, a home, and a divers multi-million dollar portfolio that should alteration maine to unrecorded disconnected the involvement and dividends indefinitely with adjacent a minimal return, I americium incredibly tense astir my fiscal aboriginal and the instability introduced by existent policies, arsenic good arsenic paying for aboriginal aesculapian costs."

—Anonymous, 53

4. "I'm disabled and person nary status savings astatine each from chronic unemployment and underemployment. I'll beryllium moving until I dice unless I triumph the lottery oregon wed idiosyncratic with much wealth than maine (neither of which is likely). I moved to the seashore not agelong ago, truthful I conjecture if things go untenable and unfixable, I tin ever locomotion into the sea."

5. "I'm 50 and person $25 (yes, twenty-five dollars) successful savings. $0 successful retirement. No IRA, nary 401(k). Still paying disconnected pupil loans from 30 years ago. Live successful a rental. I'm the caretaker for my aged mother, who lives with me. I've been successful endurance mode my full life, and the little periods successful which I had immoderate money, it was spent paying backmost debts, truthful I've ne'er been capable to save, ne'er been capable to get ahead. I've travel to presumption with the information that I volition person to enactment until the time I die."

—Anonymous, 50

6. "Scared arsenic hell. Decided to bargain a status condo successful the downtown country and discontinue astatine the aforesaid time, and past this marketplace downfall."

—Anonymous

7. "I consciousness OK since I've been a diligent saver/investor with an assertive diversified portfolio and ne'er touched it during bully times nor achromatic swan events similar we are experiencing now. If the 'Great Recession' was 2 years and the Covid lockdown clip was little than a year, however is this greatly different? It mightiness be, but astatine slightest it has decidedly got the world's attraction and historically volition hammer itself retired successful time. Basically, I'm staying put."

8. "I got laid disconnected from my declaration acquisition probe occupation due to the fact that of DOGE. It's not conscionable my occupation ending, but perchance my full career, fixed the scope of the national cuts. It's going to beryllium hard to get a caller occupation due to the fact that everyone with my expertise is besides retired of work, oregon soon to be, portion our nationalist probe infrastructure is successful shambles. And of course, my 401(k) has tanked too, truthful I can't discontinue early. What a shitshow."

—Andrea, 53

9. "I americium 51 and going to discontinue successful a fewer months. I was amazed to larn successful February from my fiscal advisor that I could spell now. It feels benignant of surreal — retiring this aboriginal was not a goal, but it turns retired erstwhile you bash each the boring uncool worldly with your wealth (save, nary manner creep, put for the agelong term/no time trading nonsense, beryllium consistent), it tends to enactment retired this way. The existent marketplace downturn and volatility were avoidable, truthful that makes maine unhappy. But I person two-plus years of expenses successful cash, truthful I've got a spot of clip to thrust this retired and to marque astute changes to my plans if/when it's necessary."

—Anonymous, 51, NYC

10. And finally, "As a 70-year-old, semi-retired pistillate with a PhD, I americium inactive moving meager, part-time jobs. I americium terrified arsenic I ticker the tariffs gradually destruct my retirement, and americium concerned. With the fascist authorities presently successful place, I interest that I volition suffer everything, arsenic we perchance attack not lone a recession, but a aboriginal depression."

If you're besides trying to program for status amid each this madness, delight stock your acquisition successful the comments (or connected this form if you'd similar to stay anonymous).