"A default would be felt first by Americans who receive payments either directly from the federal government or programs funded by it — like Social Security, military and veterans benefits, housing assistance and food stamps — says Samantha Sanders, the director of government affairs and advocacy at the Economic Policy Institute."
"People in low- and medium-income ranges could struggle to pay their bills and cut back on spending. The Treasury could delay payments, rattling financial markets and wiping out household wealth. And people could see higher rates for things like mortgages and credit card interest.
"This is going to sound a little bit depressing, but honestly, there's very little an ordinary person can do to prepare for a financial crisis at that scale," Sanders said, adding that the most productive action people can take now is lobbying their members of Congress for a clean debt ceiling deal."
"If there's a default and government payments do get delayed, that would affect the cash flow you're used to receiving — and, in a sense, the income that you're used to spending.
"And that's where we talk about the importance [of] preparing for the unexpected," Dickson says, referring to peoples' overall investing plans. "Think about things like having rainy day funds or backup plans."
The same idea applies to people who are already in retirement, he adds, since those accounts are by their very nature used to pay for daily expenses and annual living."
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/1176108817/debt-ceiling-retirement-plans
You owe more than $500,000 — and counting
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/585679-you-owe-more-than-500000-and-counting/