HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Episode Summary: "Is Retirement Really in Crisis? What The Data Says" (with Andrew Biggs)

Release Date: September 26, 2025
Guest: Andrew Biggs, Senior Fellow at AEI, former Social Security Administration official, author of The Real Retirement Crisis: Why Almost Everything You Know About the US Retirement System Is Wrong

Overview

This episode challenges the prevailing narrative that America is in a "retirement crisis." Host Jean Chatzky is joined by retirement expert Andrew Biggs, who presents data-driven insights that contradict much of the doom-and-gloom messaging in the media. Biggs argues that, while challenges exist, retirees today are enjoying record-high incomes and the real crisis lies not with personal savings, but with government programs like Social Security and Medicare. The conversation covers retirement preparedness, saving and spending patterns, longevity, and how individuals and policymakers might approach the road ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is There Really a Retirement Crisis?

• Media Narrative vs. Data:
  • "It's very common to read that Americans aren't saving enough for retirement. The retirement is getting worse...When you look at the data though, they tell a very different story." (Andrew Biggs, 05:33)
  • Today’s retirees have “the highest incomes on record, in fact, the highest incomes in the developed world, according to the OECD.” (Andrew Biggs, 07:02)
• Retirement Savings and Participation:
  • Retirement plan assets are six times higher than in the 1970s.
  • More workers are saving, thanks to auto-enrollment and increased plan access.

2. Working and Claiming Social Security Later

• Delayed Retirement:
  • Labor force participation rates for those 55-64 are the highest ever.
  • On average, people now claim Social Security at age 65, two years later than in the 1990s, “an extra 12, 13% of your Social Security benefit that lasts...as long as you live.” (Andrew Biggs, 06:34)

3. Is “Saving More” the Same as “Saving Enough”?

• Measuring Retirement Security:
  • Crisis is often overstated. Across median and even lower-income retirees, incomes and poverty rates are at historic highs.
  • “80% or 8 out of 10 retirees say yes” to having enough money to live comfortably; only 5% report financial difficulty. (Andrew Biggs, 09:34)
  • “If today's retirees don't face a crisis and we're saving more for retirement today than we did in the past...we're not likely to have a retirement crisis in the future.” (Andrew Biggs, 10:15)
• Longevity’s Impact:
  • Longer retirements require more savings, but increased saving and working longer offsets much of the risk.

4. The Real "Crisis": Government Underfunding

• Issue with Social Security and Medicare:
  • “If there is a crisis, it’s almost entirely on the government side.” (Jean Chatzky, 12:05)
  • Social Security is underfunded by $25 trillion. Most of the “retirement savings gap” is governmental, not personal.
  • “The idea that we face some unique crisis in our retirement system...just strikes me as scaremongering.” (Andrew Biggs, 11:43)

5. Social Security’s Future and Possible Changes

• Social Security's trust fund depletion would theoretically result in a 20% benefit cut, but Biggs emphasizes “Congress isn't going to allow that kind of cut overnight. It's probably not going to allow that kind of cut at all.” (Andrew Biggs, 14:53)
• Suggests higher-income retirees may need to accept lower benefits over time; believes benefit cuts for low-income retirees are unlikely.
• Budgetary Pressures: The real issue is federal budget sustainability, not immediate retiree poverty.

6. Medicare and Healthcare Costs in Retirement

• Key pressure isn’t just the cost per service, but rising intensity: “We simply use more health care than people in other countries do.” (Andrew Biggs, 17:19)
• Media headlines about needing huge sums for healthcare in retirement are often misleading.
• “Most people do fine on health care in retirement. If healthcare or any other factor were crushing retirees, you would see that in surveys or bankruptcy rates, which are much lower than for younger people.” (Andrew Biggs, 19:28)
• People are generally more worried than their circumstances warrant.

7. Decumulation: The Challenge of Spending in Retirement

• Many retirees have trouble shifting to spending from their savings, leaving significant amounts unspent.
• Solution: Products like annuities help convert lump sums into guaranteed lifetime income, providing peace of mind and “solving problems that people have and giving them options.” (Andrew Biggs, 23:44)
• The rise of annuity options in 401(k) plans is making the spend-down process easier.

8. Closing Gaps & Policy Recommendations

• Access to Retirement Plans: Expanding auto-enrollment in workplace plans would help—especially for those in small companies or self-employed.
• Cautions that auto-enrolling very low-income workers could cause them to lose means-tested benefits like Medicaid—“No brainer solutions are actually a little more complicated than people think.” (Andrew Biggs, 28:57)
• Emphasizes policy must account for coordination between retirement savings and public assistance programs.

9. Advice for Those Feeling Behind

• Check Your Numbers: Use retirement plan and Social Security benefit projections to get a realistic sense of readiness.
• Most Effective Move If Behind: “The most efficient thing is simply delay retirement by a couple of years...If you delay Social Security for each year you delay, that’s a 7% increase in your benefits for life.” (Andrew Biggs, 30:13)
• Most people ultimately do better than they fear; incremental changes can have significant impacts.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Andrew Biggs (05:33): “It’s very common to read that Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement...When you look at the data though, they tell a very different story.”
• Andrew Biggs (07:02): “Retirees today having the highest incomes on record, in fact, the highest incomes in the developed world, according to the OECD.”
• Andrew Biggs (09:34): “Eight out of ten retirees say they have enough money to live comfortably. Only about five percent of retirees say they're finding it difficult to get by.”
• Jean Chatzky (12:05): “If there is a crisis, it's not with people saving through 401ks or IRAs or pensions. It's almost entirely on the government side.”
• Andrew Biggs (14:53): “Congress isn't going to allow that kind of cut overnight. It's probably not going to allow that kind of cut at all…but for low-income retirees, probably you're not going to get much of a cut at all.”
• Andrew Biggs (17:19): “We simply use more healthcare than people in other countries do. So at some point we have to decide, do we want to scale that back or do we want to pay for it?”
• Andrew Biggs (19:28): “If healthcare or any other factor were crushing retirees, you would see that in things like surveys...the fact is, we're not seeing them.”
• Andrew Biggs (23:44): “Those kinds of financial products [annuities], they’re solving problems that people have and giving them options that they might not otherwise have had.”
• Andrew Biggs (28:57): “Sometimes these no brainer solutions are actually a little more complicated than people think...just thinking very carefully how that's going to play out for low income people who receive means tested benefits.”
• Andrew Biggs (30:13): “If you delay Social Security for each year you delay, that's a 7% increase in your benefits for life...delaying retirement is a very effective way of increasing your retirement income.”

Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:16–07:17]: Andrew Biggs debunks the “retirement crisis” narrative with data.
• [08:15–11:25]: Discussion on what “enough” savings means and current retiree satisfaction stats.
• [12:10–14:08]: Government’s role in the “crisis”—Social Security, underfunding, and real vs. perceived gaps.
• [14:29–16:37]: What happens if Social Security runs short; likelihood of benefit cuts.
• [16:37–19:44]: Deep dive into Medicare, U.S. healthcare usage, and media misconceptions about retiree health expenses.
• [22:09–24:33]: The decumulation phase: why retirees struggle to spend, the role of annuities.
• [25:16–29:42]: Policy suggestions for increased access to retirement plans, cautions on auto-enrollment for low-income workers.
• [29:42–31:21]: Actionable advice for those anxious or behind in retirement saving.

Memorable Moments

• The Big Takeaway:
  “If our problem is not that people don’t have enough money, but they’re not spending enough of their money, that shows we’re in a pretty good situation to start with.” (Andrew Biggs, 23:09)

• Perspective Shift:
  Retirees consistently report greater satisfaction and financial comfort than those in pre-retirement—suggesting pre-retirement fear is often overblown.

Additional Resources & Where to Find More

• Andrew Biggs’ Book: The Real Retirement Crisis: Why Almost Everything You Know About the US Retirement System Is Wrong
• His Substack: Little Known Facts
• AEI: aei.org
• Alliance for Lifetime Income: protectedincome.org
• Jean Chatzky’s Retirement Planning Programs: HerMoney.com

This episode reframes the U.S. retirement debate, debunking notions of imminent crisis for most Americans and emphasizing practical steps—both personal (delaying retirement, considering annuities) and policy-level (expanding access to workplace plans, careful integration with public benefits). Whether you are nearing retirement or decades away, the data-driven optimism and actionable insights offer reassurance and clarity.