Outliving Savings Is Fate Worse Than Death

What’s more frightening than death? According to almost two thirds of boomers, it’s outliving their savings. A recent survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America found boomers are more afraid of outliving their retirement savings than they are of dying, yet 31 percent aren’t sure of what their expenses will be in retirement, and 36 percent have “no idea” if their income will last.

More than 90 percent of the boomers surveyed think the United States is facing a “retirement crisis,” according to the survey. Seventy-nine percent said they felt their lifestyle in retirement must surpass that of their parents. Respondents were asked how much annual income they would need in retirement; they indicated a median income of $59,000 per year. When asked how much they would need to save to create that income, however, estimates were nearly three times too small.