President Joe Biden’s inflation is set to delay 25 percent of Americans from retirement, a Tuesday BMO Real Financial Progress Index survey revealed.
“As a result of inflation, 36% of Americans have reduced their savings and 21% have reduced their retirement savings. A quarter of Americans will need to delay their retirement,” the survey reported.
“Younger Americans are feeling the most impact – over 60% of those aged 18-34 said they had to reduce contributions to their savings,” it added.
The loss of net household income is changing Americans living patterns. The survey found that 80 percent of Americans will have to change their purchasing habits to offset Biden’s inflation:
- 42% are changing how they shop for groceries. This includes opting for cheaper items, avoiding brand names and buying only the essentials.
- 46% are either dining out less or consciously spending less when dining out.
- 31% are driving less to offset the soaring cost of gas.
- 23% are spending less on vacations or canceling them altogether.
- 22% are taking measures such as canceling subscriptions to the gym, cable, etc.
The BMO and Ipsos poll measures sentiment around financial confidence. The survey sampled 3,407 adults 18 years and older from March 30 to April 25.
Inflation will cost American households on average an extra $5,200 in 2022, or $433 per month, according to Bloomberg.
On Monday, Biden launched a public relations campaign in the establishment media to protect his weakening political position on inflation. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted during a press interview that she and the president had failed to accurately assess that inflation would climb to a 40-year-high. The White House had claimed in 2021 that inflation was “transitory.”
On Wednesday, Biden blamed his aides for his 40-year-high inflation, according to the Washington Post. “Biden has privately grumbled to top White House officials over the administration’s handling of inflation, expressing frustration over the past several months that aides were not doing enough to confront the problem directly,” the publication reported.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.