{"id":182589,"date":"2025-09-26T08:20:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/182589\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T08:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:20:17","slug":"fewer-americans-counting-on-a-miracle-to-retire-comfortably-but-heres-what-still-keeps-them-up-at-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/182589\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer Americans counting on a ‘miracle’ to retire comfortably \u2014 but here’s what still keeps them up at night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans are feeling more optimistic about their chances of a secure retirement<\/a> \u2014 a lot more.<\/p>\n

A new study from Natixis Investment Managers shows the number of U.S. investors who believe it will \u201ctake a miracle\u201d to achieve retirement security dropped to 21% in 2025, a major change from 39% in 2023 [1].<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This big swing in attitude is largely attributed to the excellent performance of the stock market lately. The S&P 500 has delivered two back-to-back years of returns over 20%, outpacing its historical return rate of around 10% (not adjusted for inflation). This is in stark contrast to 2022, when sluggish markets delivered a return of approximately -18%.<\/p>\n

But despite the renewed confidence, 69% of American investors say the world presently feels unstable, and they worry about their finances. Inflation and high living costs also continue to cast a long shadow.<\/p>\n

So, how can investors balance the advantage of these jumps in their portfolios with rising costs? Here are some steps you can take to bolster your retirement security.<\/p>\n

Inflation has been a primary source of anxiety. Around 41% of Americans surveyed by Natixis are worried about inflation\u2019s impact on their retirement security, while 60% say they\u2019ve cut back on savings because of high living expenses. This has sparked concern that savings and investment gains simply won\u2019t go as far when it\u2019s time for people to retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they look at how they\u2019re feeling about retirement, they feel good overall, but there are certain things that are making them uncomfortable,\u201d Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Center for Investor Insight, told CNBC [2] in an article published Sept. 9.<\/p>\n

A number of concerns are presently weighing on the minds of Americans planning for retirement. Inflation and tariff<\/a> costs are taking a bite out of household budgets. The classic 4% rule has also been rewritten by its creator, William Bengen, and is now the 4.7% rule<\/a>, accounting for modern costs and a new mix of asset classes Americans are more likely to have.<\/p>\n

Concern about running out of money in retirement<\/a> is rampant, with one survey from Allianz reporting that 64% of Americans worry more about this issue in retirement than they do about dying.<\/p>\n

Read more: There’s still a 35% chance of a recession hitting the American economy this year \u2014 protect your retirement savings with these 10 essential money moves ASAP<\/a><\/p>\n

Natixis\u2019s study includes rankings of the best countries for retirement in the world, based on factors such as quality of life, finances and health. The U.S. ranks 21st this year, scoring lower this year in terms of material wellbeing and quality of life.<\/p>\n

Regardless, there are still a number of steps individuals can take to ensure their own retirement is as comfortable as possible.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re concerned about outliving your money, consider delaying your Social Security claim until age 70. This would mean leaning more heavily on savings for a number of years, but will result in a larger benefit check.<\/p>\n

The closer you get to retirement, consider shifting your investments toward more conservative financial vehicles (like CDs<\/a>). Potential gains may be lowered, but you\u2019ll be insulated against market volatility.<\/p>\n

Make a clear plan about how you draw down your assets with your financial advisor.<\/p>\n

Look into fighting inflation with investments like Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) which offer returns that vary with the inflation rate.<\/p>\n

Spending patterns tend to change in retirement. Build a budget<\/a> for your golden years ahead of time, accounting for expenses related to health care and any planned lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n

Understand your projected life expectancy based on your age, risk factors and family history, and prepare accordingly. If you expect health-related costs to increase as you grow older, adjust your savings with this in mind.<\/p>\n

Join 200,000+ readers and get Moneywise\u2019s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n

At Moneywise, we consider it our responsibility to produce accurate and trustworthy content people can rely on to inform their financial decisions. We rely on vetted sources such as government data, financial records and expert interviews and highlight credible third-party reporting when appropriate.<\/p>\n

We are committed to transparency and accountability, correcting errors openly and adhering to the best practices of the journalism industry. For more details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[1]. Natixis Investment Managers<\/a>. \u201c2025 Global Retirement Index\u201d<\/p>\n

[2]. CNBC<\/a>. \u201cFewer people think retirement will \u2018take a miracle,\u2019 report finds. But inflation worries persist\u201d<\/p>\n

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Americans are feeling more optimistic about their chances of a secure retirement \u2014 a lot more. A new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[13011,28,155,1168,107774,147,530,1048],"class_list":["post-182589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-americans","tag-business","tag-dave-ramsey","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-natixis-investment-managers","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement-savings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}