Is longevity America’s new retirement crisis?
New research on longevity from Nationwide Retirement Institute and the American College of Financial Services found that most Americans are so concerned about the cost of living that they don’t want to live to be 100 years old.
“One of the interesting stats that came in the study was really that most individuals said they would rather die than face going towards turning 100 and running out of savings and their health,” Kristi Rodriguez, senior VP, Nationwide Financial Marketing, and former head of the Nationwide Retirement Institute, said.
In the survey of nearly 4,000 Americans aged 50 to 74, just 29% of respondents said they want to live as long as 100. Of that percentage, three-fourths were mostly worried about running out of money before they run out of time. Economic uncertainty brought on by tariffs and volatile market conditions also exacerbates those concerns, Rodriguez added.
Less than half (48%) of respondents factored longevity into their savings and investment choices. However, Americans are living longer, and most respondents also said they would make lifestyle and financial changes if they knew their lifespan would be longer.
“I think what is going to be significantly important is education and understanding the impact that this will have, and engaging individuals a lot earlier to understand their longevity will likely increase — thinking about savings, but also thinking about some of those protection solutions that they can have in terms of insurance, such as long-term care,” Rodriguez said.
Longevity as risk
The joint research focused on longevity, which Rodrigeuz described as “becoming the most unaddressed risk when we think about retirement planning and long-term care.”
“The stat that was so relevant to us that made us really want to dig into this is that the number of individuals who are expected to turn 100 will quadruple by the year 2054. That is significant, and what we’re finding as part of that is most individuals, as you can imagine, are not planning to live that long in retirement,” she said.
This means Americans face a very real risk of outliving their savings if they live longer than expected. For them, Rodriguez said, the challenge is no longer just about the accumulation of wealth but also underestimating the financial demands that come with longevity.
For instance, only 26% of survey respondents correctly estimated the lifespan of a 65-year-old man. If they expected to live longer, 67% said they would pay closer attention to their finances and increase their savings, 63% said they would take on less debt, and 37% said they would delay retirement.
“It’s tremendous that 71% of individuals would rather have the inverse than to live longer, knowing that they might have declining health and financial anxieties or concerns. I think this research actually cultivates, in a way, that we also need to think about our physical health and our mental health, and also that long-term planning that is going to be so very important as we move forward,” Rodriguez said.
In the current economic climate, Americans are already delaying retirement due to financial concerns. However, the study found that if the average American lived even just five years longer than they planned for in their retirement savings, their risk of running out of money increases by 41%. That percentage can reach as high as 300% when factoring in lower near-term returns.
Despite the high stakes, only 32% of Americans believe long-term care insurance would help — and only 10% have an LTC plan.
“We know things like long-term care are out there, but there is some complexity of individuals understanding how to utilize long-term care or the actual coverage that they will need,” Rodriguez noted.
Education and preparation
The study’s data emphasizes the need for conversations that will help Americans start long-term planning earlier.
“Our research revealed that people just are not thinking about living that long, and if they knew they were, they would take more meaningful action. That’s why knowledge and education are so critically important. It’s about how do we educate at all different types of age demographics, the importance of understanding that,” Rodriguez said.
This means having conversations with employers about details of retirement plans, such as in-plan guarantees, annuities, or other “underutilized” solutions such as LTC.
“I have two young adult daughters, and I’m even having this conversation with them now. It’s about insurers not only thinking about awareness, but it’s also an opportunity for financial professionals to have this engaging conversation with their clients and employers in general. This should be a call to urgency,” Rodriguez emphasized.
Resource for advisors
Nationwide Retirement Institute provides resources and “tips” to help financial professionals have this “holistic conversation” with clients.
“We have a program called Total Retirement Income Planning (TRIP), and that gives very tangible tools where an advisor can sit down with their clients and their families and go through scenario conversations and planning on what do they need,” Rodriguez said.
Nationwide Retirement Institute is an education branch of Nationwide, a Fortune 100 financial services and insurance provider founded in 1926 and based out of Columbus, Ohio. The Retirement Institute provides insights and research related to retirement, healthcare and longevity in the United States.
The American College of Financial Services is a national nonprofit educational institution dedicated to financial professionals. It was founded in 1919 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
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