Americans Risk Future Financial Security to Support Family: Study

“It’s one thing to provide financial support to family when you can afford to do so, but it’s a whole new level of commitment and sacrifice to keep doing it while risking your own future financial security or physical health,” Jean Chatzky, an education fellow with the Retirement Income Institute and CEO of HerMoney, said in a statement.

Yet, only 28% of respondents said they had discussed the effect of caregiving for a family member or friend with a financial professional.

“Caregiving and financial commitments to family should always be a part of the retirement planning conversation because it’s clear people feel very strongly about keeping these promises regardless of the cost to themselves,” Chatzky said.

IPSOS conducted the Alliance’s study among 3,502 consumers aged 45 to 75, along with a corollary survey of 500 financial professionals in the United States.

Rising Retirement Concerns

Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents said inflation is their top concern in retirement, close to the 60% who cited health care costs as their main concern.

In terms of quality-of-life concerns in retirement, 67% worried about a major physical health event, 65% cited becoming physically dependent on others and 57% said their top concern is experiencing a cognitive decline.

The survey found that 45% of respondents had discussed the possibility of needing physical care, including potential long-term care in retirement, with their financial professional, but only 32% had made contingency plans in the event of cognitive decline. And just a third said they are confident in their ability to be an effective caregiver for their spouse.

Both consumers and financial professionals in the survey said the most difficult task when transitioning into retirement is estimating health care costs.

Prioritizing what to spend money on ranked second in difficulty, while determining the correct sequence to withdraw money from investments and savings accounts was the third most challenging task.

Gen Xers Turn to Annuities

The oldest Gen Xers turn 60 this year, but many are not confident they are ready for retirement, with 37% saying they anticipate delaying retirement. Only 41% said they are confident their savings and income will last throughout retirement, compared with 62% of baby boomers.

The survey showed that Gen Xers plan to rely less on Social Security than boomers do and that employer-sponsored plans will be a bigger slice of their retirement income. As for the effect of caregiving on their own retirement, a third of Gen Xers have talked to their financial professional about caregiving needs for family or friends. versus 26% of boomers who have done so.

“This is the first generation where the overwhelming majority won’t have a pension to rely on for retirement income and that means retirement planning is even more challenging for them,” Jason Fichtner, executive director of the Retirement Income Institute, said in the statement.

“I think that most Gen Xers will begin turning to financial professionals for retirement planning help at a higher rate than baby boomers ever did, which is good news.”

Only 14% of Gen Xers have access to a pension, Fichtner said, so more of them will likely turn to annuities to provide a reliable income stream in retirement. Because many of them have doubts about the future of Social Security, they will see the virtue of converting some of their savings in employer-sponsored plans into annuities, he said.

Although 64% of all respondents said they would put money into an annuity rather than the stock market if they inherited $100,000, even more Gen Xers than boomers said they would select the annuity.

In fact, half of financial professionals surveyed said they are putting more client investments into annuities, which ranks as the most popular change in investment strategy. Total annuity sales in the United States reached a record high of $119.5 billion in the second quarter of 2025, according to LIMRA.

“Congress has made it easier for companies to offer annuity options as part of their retirement benefits, and more companies will be doing that just as Gen-Xers head toward the home stretch of their working lives,” Fichtner said.