Most Americans are at risk of outliving their retirement savings

Retirement savings may have hit record levels, but a mere 12% of retirement savers in the U.S. have enough funds set aside to last more than 10 years, a new survey warns.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. retirement savers by online retirement pension provider PensionBee also found that just 13% of respondents could not survive one month on their funds.

Increasing lifespans are also adding to the retirement savings pressure. Life expectancy for the U.S. population was 79 years in 2024, according to CDC data, an increase of 0.6 year from 2023. But plenty of people are living beyond that age, with PensionBee noting that a 30-year retirement is increasingly the standard.

However, PensionBee’s research found that only 17% of respondents expect to spend that much time in retirement. Understandably, there is also uncertainty about retirement duration, with 26% of Americans saying they have no idea how long their retirement will last.

Other industry figures have also highlighted retirement duration as an important issue. Michael Conrath, managing director and chief retirement strategist at JPMorgan recently told InvestmentNews that one of the biggest challenges facing retirees and people looking to retire is the issue of “longevity risk."

PensionBee’s data also revealed a significant gender gap around retirement and found that 37% of women can only survive one year on their retirement savings. The report cited the pay gap between men and women, caregiving responsibilities and longer lifespans for the retirement gender rift.

“The odds are often stacked differently for men and women in many aspects of personal finance,” said Romi Savova, CEO of PensionBee, in a statement. “The retirement gender gap is well established and reflects the downstream effects of several other gendered realities. Unfortunately, in many cases this may translate into women ending up with less money which is why a good plan is critical.”

Financial insecurity also hits women harder, according to the research, with 50% more women than men reporting less than one month of retirement funds.

Despite the pension challenges faced by many people, research suggests that Americans have amassed record levels of retirement savings. Data released earlier this year by the Investment Company Institute show that total U.S. retirement assets hit a record $49.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from $48.1 trillion in the prior quarter.

Assets in IRAs were $19.2 trillion at the end of the quarter, up 1.7% percent from the prior quarter, and defined contribution plan assets were $14.2 trillion, also an increase of 1.7% on the prior quarter. Government DB plans, which include federal, state and local government plans, held $10 trillion in assets at the end of 2025, a 4.5% hike from the end of September 2025. Private-sector DB plans held $3.1 trillion in assets at the end of 2025, according to the Investment Company Institute. Annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts accounted for another $2.6 trillion, it said.