A growing portion of Americans are more afraid of running out of money than death itself.
According to Allianz Center’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study, just over two-thirds of Americans now worry more about running out of money than about losing their lives, up 10 percentage points from 2022.
Whether you call it retirement anxiety or ‘FORO’ (Fear of Running Out), the concern reflects a broader shift in how people think about longevity, security, and financial independence.
Financial advisors shed light on what’s driving this growing hysteria and give practical guidance for less stressful retirement funding.
Longevity Risk
Americans’ fear of running out has increased as retirement itself has become longer. U.S. life expectancy has risen from roughly 74 years in 1980 to around 79 years today. That means a longer lifespan to manage, including the inevitable increase in healthcare costs associated with aging.
As Americans live longer and retirement periods stretch, the decline of guaranteed pensions has also shifted more responsibility onto individuals. According to the St Louis Fed, the share of U.S. workers covered by traditional defined-benefit pensions fell from 59% in 1989 to just 21% in 2022, increasing pressure to self-fund retirement over decades.
“We’ve shifted enormous responsibility onto individuals without increasing financial education alongside it – that’s a heavy burden to bear,” says Dr. Steven Crane, founder of Financial Legacy Builders.
What’s more, the cost of living itself has gone up. Mike Hunsberger, owner of Next Mission Financial Planning, says the fear is a natural response to the inflation spike during COVID and to the fact that inflation has been higher since then than in the 2010s.
FORO may be understandable, but fear becomes dangerous when it changes behavior. Many financial advisors across the country warn that the biggest threat to retirement outcomes is often not market volatility itself, but investors’ emotional reactions when markets fall.
The Sky is (Not) Falling!
More than one in three (34%) Allianz survey respondents said they would withdraw money from investments to avoid losses during a major market downturn.
But market corrections are not so much likely as inevitable. Advisors say understanding economic history can be reassuring during a meltdown.
“We spend time with new clients educating them on what is to be expected and what some of the worst times have looked like,” says Chris Shoup, founder of Southshore Financial Planning. “Then we build a portfolio around their comfort level, knowing at some point we will have at least one “crisis” to live through.”
The mere size of one’s 401(k) does not, by itself, determine one’s lifestyle in retirement. The goal is not to maximize portfolio returns but to create a sustainable cash flow.
“A $1.2 million 401(k) feels like security, but its capital,” says Dan Pascone, CEO of Tailored Wealth. “Turning it into a paycheck that lasts 30 years is a completely different problem than building it. Most people spend their whole career learning how to accumulate. Nobody taught them what comes next. “
Jakub Kubrak, Founder of Kubrak Wealth Advisors, says most savers don’t know how to structure their portfolios for constant cash flow.
“With your x amount of money, a max 5% cash flow (plus 3% inflation) requires an 8% return each year to not deplete your principal,” Kubrak says. “To get that, you need a portfolio with at least 70% equities. Staying disciplined and applying this formula, paired with a low-cost fiduciary advisor, gives clients the best chance of not running out of money and enjoying their later years.”
Keep Planning
For most Americans who hire a financial advisor, retirement planning is not a one-time document but an ongoing process. The goal is not certainty but flexibility.
“A written plan is just a snapshot. Life moves on the day after you print it,” says Ross Thornton, founder of Wealthcare for Women. “We need planning – the verb, not the noun – the ongoing habit of adjusting as life changes.”
As a financial advisor who works with women and who has over three decades of experience, Thornton discusses “running out” with his clients almost every week.
“For the women I work with, worrying about running out is really fear of losing independence and becoming a burden,” says Thornton.
As retirement becomes more self-funded, households are increasingly left to shoulder that burden, which can exacerbate the anxiety of conscientious family elders.
“A pension used to mean income for life that someone else invested and guaranteed, so the math wasn’t your problem,” says Thornton. “We swapped that for the 401(k), and the risk got moved off the company’s books and onto your family’s kitchen table.”
FORO may feel like a modern crisis, but advisors argue it is also a rational response to a world of longer lives, fewer guarantees, and greater personal responsibility. The answer is not to avoid retirement anxiety altogether; it is to replace fear with planning, turn savings into sustainable income, and build confidence that life can continue long after work ends.