5 Reasons Retirees Worry They’ll Outlive Their Savings
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Retiring comfortably might be the biggest financial challenge Americans face these days — and many are falling short of the mark. More than one in three retirees have seen their standards of living decline since leaving the working world, according to a new survey from Clever. Nearly half (45%) worry that they’ll outlive their savings.
That percentage is actually lower than what other surveys have found. A study released last year by Prudential found that 59% of 65-year-olds and 52% of 75-year-olds fear they’ll outlive their savings.
The Clever survey, conducted in November 2024 and released in early 2025, polled 1,000 retired Americans with a median age of 70. It took a deep dive into some of the money problems facing retirees — including why they find themselves struggling financially.
Based on the survey results, here are five of the main reasons retirees worry that they might run out of money.
Unsustainable Living Costs
The Clever survey found that more than four in 10 retirees (44%) struggle with everyday bills and expenses — especially groceries, credit card bills and utilities.
More than half (58%) must stick to a strict budget to make ends meet, while roughly two-thirds (69%) have had to cut back on non-essential purchases. A majority of retirees have no backup plan if they run out of savings.
Underestimated Retirement Costs
The vast majority of retirees — 92% — believe people underestimate how much money is needed to retire comfortably. On average, retirees estimate that the typical American needs $580,000 to retire comfortably, while other data shows $1.4 million to be more accurate; but neither of those quite hit the mark.
As Clever noted, the median full-time worker would need to save about $605,800 to retire comfortably, based on U.S. Labor Department wage data. However, the average retiree from the Clever survey had saved $308,040.
Insufficient Retirement Savings
Clever’s survey found that 27% of retirees have no retirement savings at all, largely because many spent their working years living paycheck to paycheck or practiced poor savings habits. Nearly one-third (31%) blamed unexpected expenses such as medical or legal costs. More than one-quarter (29%) thought they could live solely on Social Security in retirement.
Poor Retirement Planning
Nearly half of retirees surveyed by Clever (44%) admitted that they didn’t adequately prepare for retirement. Many said they waited too long to start saving. Only about one in four had a decent gauge on how much money they would need in retirement, while more than six in 10 admitted to a lack of knowledge about saving and investing money.
Another problem is that most respondents (55%) ended up retiring earlier than planned, when working longer would have helped them build up bigger nest eggs and pay down debt.
Too Much Debt
Speaking of debt: Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents (64%) said they still carry non-mortgage debt — including 31% who are on the hook for more than $10,000. Of those who have debt, the average balance was $19,415. About four in 10 have credit card debt, while 18% are still paying off car loans and 13% have medical debt.
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