Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
“I wish I saved more for retirement.” “I regret taking Social Security too early.” “I should have had better health insurance.” “I would tell my younger self to take that vacation.”
These are among the common regrets described by the more than 3,800 older Americans who since mid-September have responded to Business Insider’s informal, nonrepresentative surveys and emailed reporters. Reporters wrote 17 stories, including four in-depth profiles, and created a video detailing six Americans’ regrets.
America’s Retirement Regrets
The biggest retirement regrets overallThe most common regrets about investing for retirementA baby boomer living on $1,470 monthly in Social Security returned to work to support her children and grandchildren: ‘I try to help as much as I can’The most common regrets about navigating retirement include taking Social Security prematurely and stopping work too earlyAfter losing her job, a boomer is ‘walking a tightrope’ between retiring early and searching for workMany retirees regret that they’re back on the job marketWhat older widows and widowers wish they knewHow younger Americans can avoid older Americans’ most common regretsHow loneliness and money are connected in retirementWhat older Americans whose retirement plans were derailed by a medical crisis wish they’d done differentlySkipping college and switching jobs: The most common career regretsParents’ biggest financial regretsSome older Americans regret saving too much for retirementWe asked experts how to fix the programs meant to keep seniors out of povertyWorking at Costco put her life back on track after losing her son put her retirement plans in fluxA boomer retired early, moved to the beach, regretted it, and returned to workVIDEO: Older Americans read a letter to their younger selves
By mid-October, more than 1,000 people had completed the initial survey; that figure grew to more than 1,700 by the end of November. Now the survey has over 2,500 responses. By December, reporters had received roughly 1,000 emails in response to the coverage. We also used more than 300 responses from a survey that asked people over 50 about their regrets as they struggled to find work and interviewed more than 100 older Americans as well as financial planners and retirement researchers.
Article credits
Reporters: Noah Sheidlower, Allie Kelly
Editors: Bartie Scott, Emily Canal, Andy Kiersz, Jamie Heller
Copy Editors: Jonann Brady, Emma LeGault, Nick Siwek, Kevin Kaplan
Design and Art: Jenny Chang-Rodriguez, Rebecca Zisser, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol, Derek French, Natalie Ammari, Bryan Erickson
Photographers: Laura McDermott, Rita Harper, Saul Martinez
Video credits
Producers: Sarah Andersen, Barbara Corbellini Duarte
Reporters: Noah Sheidlower, Allie Kelly
Videographers: Brian Hansen, Clancy Morgan, Austin Meyer, Gregory Neiser
Video Editors: Mark Adam Miller, Karim Islam
Motion Designer: Dorian Barranco
Copy Editors: Mark Abadi, Marisa Frey
Deputy Executive Producer: Havovi Cooper
Executive Producer: Barbara Corbellini Duarte
Head of Video: Erica Berenstein
