Jul 20, 2026
More than two-thirds of working Americans think that they won’t have enough money to retire comfortably, according to a new study by wealth management firm Schroders. And more than half of retirees aren’t sure how long their savings will last.
These worries come at a time when wages are lagging while inflation races ahead, making everyday necessities like gas and groceries more expensive. This makes it harder for working Americans to save up for retirement — and puts retirees living on a fixed income in a tricky spot.
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“Retirees are fighting the affordability crisis with a fixed pool of assets and no second chances,” said Deb Boyden, who works as the head of U.S. defined contribution at Schroders. “With lifespans extending well into the 80’s and beyond, your savings may need to work for you for three or four decades.”
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Here’s what’s making retirees so stressed — and why some working Americans are giving up hope of ever retiring.
Retirees experience significant stress over their finances — and it’s hurting their health
According to Schroders, over a third of retirees are worried that stress over their finances will impact their physical health. Almost 30% have lost sleep over it, compared to 25% in 2025.
Retirees were given five options to describe their current financial situation: “living the dream,” “comfortable,” “not great but not bad,” “struggling,” and “living the nightmare.” In 2025, 5% of respondents said they were “living the dream,” while 3% said they were “living the nightmare.”
In 2026, only 4% of respondents said they were living the dream, while 5% of respondents said they were living the nightmare. More respondents reported they were struggling in 2026 than 2025, at a rate of 19% versus 16%.
Retirees’ major concerns included inflation weakening their retirement assets, high healthcare costs, and fear of a market downturn.
Healthcare costs have been steadily increasing for retirees. Fidelity’s 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate says that the average 65-year-old retiring in 2025 should expect to pay $172,500 in health care during retirement — up 4% versus 2024.
In 2002, the first year Fidelity published an estimate, it said a retiree that year could expect to pay only $80,000 for healthcare during retirement.
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Add to that concerns about Social Security benefits being cut and Medicare growing increasingly expensive for beneficiaries, eroding retiree’s social safety nets.
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Saving for retirement often comes last for working Americans
Schroders says that working Americans today expect to need $1.2 million to be able to retire. But over half of Americans expect to have less than $500,000 when they reach retirement age.
“Rising costs are forcing tough tradeoffs, and saving for retirement is often the first thing that gets deprioritized,” says Boyden.
Workers reported that about a quarter of all retirement assets are sitting in cash, around the same amount sitting in equities. That’s a problem, because cash loses its purchasing power over time thanks to inflation.
Overinvesting in cash (instead of investing in something like stocks) also makes it harder to hit your retirement goals. Your cash isn’t making money for you; your stock investments are overtime due to compounding interest.
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Kit Pulliam is a DC-based financial journalist with over five years of experience writing, editing, and fact-checking financial content.
