KEY FINDINGS:
- 61% feel confident about meeting their savings goal for retirement
- 55% are saving enough in a retirement account
- 47% do not have any written financial plans
MINNEAPOLIS – May 20, 2025 – Americans financial confidence has declined significantly in the last five years and many do not think they are saving enough for retirement, according to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study* from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life).
In 2025, 70% of Americans say they feel confident about their ability to financially support everything they want to do in life. This has decreased every year since January 2020 when 83% said they felt confident. Fewer (61%) feel confident specifically about meeting their savings goal for retirement.
The top actions Americans think would help ensure they could financially support all the things they want to do is to set financial goals and develop plans to reach them (96%) and develop a long-term plan to determine how much money they will need and when (96%). Nearly half of Americans (47%) say they do not have any written financial plans.
“Lack of financial confidence often is because of a lack of planning,” says Kelly LaVigne, VP of consumer insights, Allianz Life. “To be able to feel confident about your ability to achieve long-term financial goals like retirement, you need to have a written strategy. It’s hard work to figure out the steps it will take to secure your retirement, but that’s where the guidance of a financial professional can help. Without a plan, you will never know if you are on track toward your dream retirement or if you will be able to ensure financial security throughout your retirement.”
Few Americans say they are saving enough in a retirement account (55%). This is the lowest reported in the last five years. Millennials are least likely to say they are saving enough for retirement (48%), compared to Gen Xers (59%) and boomers (74%).
Recession fears increasing
At the same time, one-third of Americans (35%) who fear running out of money in retirement say their fears stem from the potential of a recession, and 37% say it stems from potential health crises(es).This worry could be driven by ongoing worries about a national or global financial crises. Nearly two in three (62%) say they are concerned that another national or global financial crisis in the near future would derail their retirement strategy. Even so, just 46% say they have incorporated the potential implications of future national or global financial crises into their financial retirement plan.
“While risks to your retirement like a recession are out of your control, you can create a financial strategy that helps address how you will mitigate the risk in the future,” LaVigne says. “As you create that strategy, it’s critical to work with strong and stable financial institutions that take a long-term view and will be here for you in the years to come. This will only help to bolster your confidence that you have a strategy in place no matter what comes your way.”
* Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement conducted an online survey, the 2025 Annual Retirement Study in January/February 2025 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Respondents age 25+ in the contiguous U.S. with an annual household income of $50k+ (single) / $75k+ (married/partnered) OR investable assets of $150k+.
The Allianz Center for the Future for Retirement produces insights and research as a part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.
Guarantees are backed solely by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Registered index-linked annuity guarantees do not apply to the performance of the variable subaccount(s), which will fluctuate with market conditions.
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