Dear Readers,

Money is a subject that elicits big feelings: ambition, pride, envy, or the anxiety of not measuring up to expectations. At a time when costs for healthcare, housing, childcare, and college are straining middle-class families – and when the shadow of artificial intelligence looms over job security – the day-to-day can feel challenging enough.

The fact that people are living longer adds another layer. How can we plan ahead for financing the extra 30 years of life we inherited over the course of the 20th century when the present moment feels so insecure?  

That’s one big question we tackle in the first annual money issue of SCL Magazine. Financing 100-year lives calls for new pathways for working, saving, and retiring. We also need a new narrative – shared stories that reflect shifts in long-held middle-class norms such as owning a home, having a stable career with a longtime employer, access to affordable healthcare, and enough left over to save for retirement. 

As we report in SCL’s Sightlines Project on financial security across generations, the precarity so many people feel is based less on individual behavior (though it plays a big role) than on the broad economic, policy, and cultural shifts that have occurred over their lifetimes. Perhaps no external risk is more consequential than the anticipated depletion of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds established to anchor retirement security for most Americans. The funds are projected to be insolvent by 2033, and Congress has so far failed to intervene, threatening U.S. economic stability and the well-being of every American. We share viable solutions identified by economists across the political spectrum. It’s up to us to demand that our representatives take action.

Financial literacy is more vital than ever to navigate today’s risks, and it can be offered to young people in ways that are relevant to their lives – and fun. Managing money is not just something to worry about – doing it well and with confidence feels good. Nearly 4,000 readers of SCL Magazine aced the “Big Three” financial literacy questions in our June issue (average score: 97%). For our money issue, our colleagues at the Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making have designed a Financial Happiness Checkup that can become an easy annual habit to help people of all ages plan for their own future.

We welcome your feedback and story ideas at [email protected].

We will be back in September and wish you a wonderful summer!

Karen Breslau
Editor

Read Issue 2