Americans are now more afraid of outliving their savings than of dying, with a fresh Allianz study underlining how retirement anxiety has hardened into a mainstream concern shaping demand for life insurance and income products.
Two in three Americans, or 67%, said they were more worried about running out of money than about death, according to the 2026 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. The figure is up 10 points from 57% in 2022.
Gen Xers logged the sharpest concern at 73%, ahead of millennials on 69% and boomers on 59%.
Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, said funding a multi-decade retirement was a heavy lift many households now recognized, with rising costs and economic uncertainty pushing savers to question whether their money would hold up.
Saving alone, he added, was not enough. "Americans also need a strategy to turn those assets into a reliable income stream that can last their lifetime," he said.
High inflation, cited by 57%, and health care costs at 53% topped the drivers, with Social Security shortfalls, health crises, higher taxes and economic volatility also in the mix.
Market declines are amplifying the unease. Some 57% felt anxious about their finances when retirement accounts dropped, and 50% checked balances immediately after a fall. More than a third, 34%, typically pulled money from investments to cap losses in sharp downturns, led by millennials at 46%, against 30% of Gen Xers and just 8% of boomers.
The numbers sit against a demographic wave reshaping the US retirement market. An estimated 4.1 million Americans are turning 65 each year through 2027 under the so-called Peak 65 trend, sustaining appetite for retirement income products.
LIMRA said in March that US retail annuity sales hit a record $464.1 billion in 2025, up 7%, and expected 2026 sales to stay above $450 billion. LIMRA's Bryan Hodgens has argued many Peak 65'ers lack pensions or other income to cover basic retirement costs, a clear break from earlier cohorts.
Gen X's standout worry echoes findings elsewhere. The Retirement Income Institute has noted only 14% of Gen X workers hold a traditional pension, against 56% of boomers, framing the cohort's situation as an even deeper crisis than that facing baby boomers.
Schroders' Deb Boyden has pointed out Gen Xers joined the workforce just as pensions gave way to defined contribution plans, before auto-enrolment became standard.
Research from Global Atlantic earlier this year found 28% of Gen Xers aged 55 to 60 were extremely or very concerned about income lasting their lifetime, roughly double the 14% of older boomers.
The Allianz study also flagged planning gaps, with 48% of Americans lacking a written financial plan, led by Gen Xers at 58%, boomers at 56% and millennials at 47%.
LaVigne said the absence of a strategy could let fear drive financial decisions, adding that working with a professional on a written plan could help households close knowledge gaps and build confidence their income would last.
