Being scared in retirement costs you money, time and memories. Overcome fear and start enjoying your life in 2026

Retirees astir apt see taxes, ostentation oregon healthcare their biggest expenses. But determination is different origin that tin softly outgo acold more: fear.

Without the information of a regular paycheck, it’s casual to interest astir moving retired of wealth successful your alleged “golden years.” In fact, 64% of Americans accidental they are much disquieted astir outliving their savings than dying, according to a 2025 survey by Allianz Life (1).

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Although this anxiousness astir wealth isn’t wholly unjustified, making large fiscal decisions portion driven by fearfulness tin beryllium costly. The consequences whitethorn beryllium some important and hard to see.

Here’s wherefore galore retirees are acrophobic to walk their ain wealth — and however that hesitation tin trim their prime of life.

It’s casual to presume that fiscal fearfulness is inversely correlated with fiscal resources. In different words, the much wealth you have, the little acrophobic you are. However, probe suggests fiscal anxiousness is often disconnected from existent fiscal capacity.

Married couples implicit property 65 with astatine slightest $100,000 successful savings withdrawal astatine an mean yearly complaint of 2.1%, according to Prudential Financial information cited by the Wall Street Journal (2). That’s acold beneath the commonly referenced “4% rule,” which is often cited arsenic a unsmooth benchmark for sustainable status spending.

Surprisingly, immoderate retirees debar withdrawals entirely. Roughly 27% of retirees implicit property 60 with status accounts monitored by Vanguard took nary withdrawals during their archetypal 5 years aft leaving their leader (3).

Simply put, galore retirees are excessively acrophobic to walk their ain hard-earned money.

For many, this utmost frugality tin mean missed opportunities to walk clip with family, instrumentality vacations oregon bask idiosyncratic hobbies. It tin besides transportation a existent — though often overlooked — quality-of-life cost.

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A consciousness of dread tin propulsion galore retirees toward fiscal products that feel harmless and unafraid but whitethorn undermine semipermanent wealthiness if utilized excessively oregon astatine the incorrect time.