Many middle class Americans say they won't retire until they die

(UPI) -- Among middle class Americans, 37 percent say "I’ll Never Retire, but Work Until I’m Too Sick or Die," according to Wells Fargo's annual Middle Class Survey.

"We do this survey every year and for the past three years, the struggle to pay bills is a growing concern and the prospect of saving for retirement looks dim, particularly for those in their prime saving years," said Laurie Nordquist, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust.

Many respondents also named “loss or diminishment of Social Security” as their greatest financial fear.

Across all generations, just 24 percent are confident in the stock market as a place to invest for retirement, while 45 percent of the middle class says “the stock market doesn’t benefit people like me.”

Unemployment for people aged 20 to 24 is 12.9 percent, while for people over 25 that figure is 6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those over 55, unemployment is at 5.3 percent.

Contrary to popular belief, older Americans can still get jobs, and those who leave the workforce aren't necessarily replaced with younger, recently-educated workers.

As workers over 65 forgo retirement and continue working well into another decade, unemployment among young people remains high even -- as they should be creating households and driving consumer spending with increasing incomes and growing families.