Why does retirement security feel increasingly out of reach for so many middle-class Americans?

In Episode 4 of Retirement in America, National Institute on Retirement Security Executive Director Dan Doonan sits down with Dr. Christian Weller, professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to examine the economic pressures making it harder for Americans to build financial security for retirement.

Weller explains why traditional measures of economic strength don't always reflect what families are experiencing. Rising housing and healthcare costs, longer periods of unemployment, caregiving responsibilities, and growing financial uncertainty can leave households with less money—and less capacity—to save for the future.

The conversation also explores how today's retirement system places significant responsibility and financial risk on individual workers. Doonan and Weller discuss the role pensions can play in providing greater financial security and peace of mind, as well as the need to expand retirement savings opportunities for workers who lack access to employer-sponsored plans.

Despite the challenges, Weller sees reasons for optimism, including the expansion of automatic retirement savings programs and a growing recognition that individuals shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of preparing for retirement entirely on their own.

Topics covered include:

• How the middle-class affordability squeeze is affecting retirement security
• Why housing and healthcare costs can make it harder for families to save
• What longer periods of unemployment mean for workers, particularly those approaching retirement
• How financial uncertainty and the "mental load" of managing competing expenses can affect long-term financial decisions
• Why pensions can provide workers with greater financial security and peace of mind
• How childcare and eldercare responsibilities can disrupt careers and retirement savings, particularly for women
• Why current retirement tax incentives disproportionately benefit higher-income households
• How state auto-IRA programs can expand retirement savings access for workers without employer-sponsored plans
• Why Weller sees signs of progress toward a retirement system that better shares responsibility and risk

Whether you're interested in retirement policy, affordability, the economy, workforce issues, or the financial pressures facing American families, this conversation offers an important look at how today's middle-class squeeze can shape tomorrow's retirement security.

More information: www.nirsonline.org