As inflation hit a 40-year-high of 9.1% in 2022, 25% of workers of all ages cut back on their retirement savings, with 12% stopping their savings entirely, a TIAA survey found.

People have also been struggling with debt and finding it difficult to make ends meet, according to the survey, conducted in partnership with George Washington University School of Business’s Global Financial Literacy Center.

“This steep of a drop—on top of a crisis where 40% of Americans already don’t have enough saved for retirement—means many families will have to work even harder to achieve a secure retirement,” says Surya Kolluri, head of the TIAA Institute.

“We need to take a holistic approach, because health and wealth are two sides of the same coin,” Kolluri adds. “It’s just as important to know about someone’s medical condition as it is to know about the health of their retirement savings accounts, and employers need to engage workers on both fronts.”

Also of note in the survey, 30% found it difficult to make ends meet in 2022, up from 24% in 2021. Twenty-six percent said they were saddled with debt, up from 20%, and 39% of non-retirees said they did not have enough savings outside of their retirement accounts to cover one month of living expenses, up from 32%.

TIAA also runs a P-Fin Index tracking financial literacy. Based on 28 questions, adults have historically been able to answer about half of the questions correctly. However, the percent of adults who cannot answer just seven questions has increased to 24%.

The P-Fin Index finds a wide chasm in financial knowledge between men and women, with men able to answer 25% more questions correctly than women (52% versus 43%).

Financial literacy is directly tied to financial health, TIAA says, with proof of this emerging from its survey. Those with poor financial literacy are four times more likely to find it difficult to make ends meet and are three times more likely to be debt constrained.

People who don't undersatnd money matters that well are four times more likely not to have even one month’s of living expenses in emergency savings, and are three times more likely to spend 10 hours or more a week on issues related to personal finances.

Twenty-seven percent of those with low financial literacy have decreased their retirement savings, and 18% have stopped saving for retirement entirely.