Rachel Lutzker: Welcome to today’s CT Buzz. I’m Rachel Lutzker. So, let me ask you, how confident do you think most people are feeling about their retirement? How are you feeling? Well, the Employee Benefit Research Institute annually conducts the Retirement Confidence Survey, which is the RCS. It’s the longest-running survey of its kind, measuring worker and retiree confidence. Rachel Lutzker: Ben Fuchs, founder of Fuchs Financial, is here to talk about the results of this survey and how they can assist you to establish and support your sense of financial confidence both before and during retirement. In addition to being a certified financial planner, Ben is also a certified private wealth adviser professional. Rachel Lutzker: So, Ben, tell us a little bit more about this survey. Ben Fuchs: Yeah, I mean, the 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey included a total of about 2,767 Americans, both workers and retirees. Basically, it conducted a fair amount of polls, and we have a graphic that we’re going to bring up for you to show the survey. Rachel Lutzker: All right, so let’s take a look at the graphic here, and this really kind of breaks things down. Ben Fuchs: Listen, Americans are concerned about the changes to the retirement system and specifically the reduction in Social Security. Now, this is a point of frustration for me when you have nearly 80% of current workers who are worried about the reduction in Social Security and 71% of retirees who are also concerned about it. This is, I would say, somewhat of a failure of government that people have to worry about their Social Security being reduced. There are a lot of very simple ways to shore up the Social Security system. But when you have nearly 80% of people who have not yet retired having to carry the anxiety of Social Security running out, to me that is a significant problem. And even worse are the people who are already retired who expected to get this benefit. To be fair, I don’t think that we’re going to end up losing Social Security. I don’t think it’s going to get eliminated. The reduction isn’t a complete cut-off. I’ve heard estimates that it’s anywhere between 23% and 25% that will actually get reduced. Let’s use 25% to make the math easy. If you’re getting $2,000 a month, that means it would drop to $1,500 a month. That’s a $500 monthly reduction, $6,000 a year, $60,000 over 10 years. That’s significant. The problem is we can’t control what Congress, the Senate, or the President do, and that’s frustrating. But what we can control is how we prepare for it. Rachel Lutzker: Valid concerns from people facing this. Ben Fuchs: Absolutely valid concerns. So many people are reliant on Social Security. What’s important is that when you come into our office—or anybody’s office—they can show you, if you have a 25% reduction in Social Security, this is how your retirement will play out. Let’s look at that scenario. If this is giving you anxiety, we take away the anxiety and just plan for it. The survey also shows that Social Security remains the top source of actual and expected incomes for Americans in retirement. Just a reduction in that amount over time makes a big difference, especially for those who rely on it. 66% of retirees report Social Security as the major source of income compared to 36% of workers who expect it to be. If two-thirds of the population rely on this as their major source of income, and projected income is decreasing while expenses have gone up significantly over the last five years, many people are left financially vulnerable. Rachel Lutzker: So according to the survey, more workers expect to retire later, and many plan to even work into retirement. Ben Fuchs: Right. And that’s a common trend. It’s not just that people necessarily need the money; it’s that they find enjoyment and fulfillment in some work. We’ve seen in our practice that people who work part-time as years go on maintain more functionality and stability—they don’t quit retirement cold turkey, they work a little later. Rachel Lutzker: I thought this was interesting from the survey: Americans actually desire help from financial advisers for retirement planning, but less than half actually work with someone. Ben Fuchs: Yeah, I don’t understand this. Study after study shows if you work with an adviser, you’re likely to make more money over time. If you want help and don’t understand how everything works—Social Security, taxes, generating income, navigating Medicare—financial advisers like us help with all of that. We offer free consultations. You can get a 15-minute phone call or an hour-long one-on-one consultation. We don’t charge for this. But if you want help, you have to reach out. Your initial consultation is complimentary, no obligation. Rachel Lutzker: And your offices are all across the state? Ben Fuchs: Yes, West Hartford, Mbury, Mystic, and Middletown. You can visit taxesandincome.com or give us a call at 860-461-1709 to set up your complimentary consultation. Rachel Lutzker: Wonderful. Ben, thank you so much and thank you for joining us for today’s CT Buzz. I’m Rachel Lutzker, and we’ll see you next time.
