A new survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company North America shows that financial insecurity now rivals existential dread for a majority of Americans. Nearly 70% of respondents said they worry more about depleting their savings than about dying, underscoring a deep-seated economic unease that cuts across generations.
Generation X is the most anxious cohort, with 73% prioritizing money fears over death. Millennials follow closely at 69%, while baby boomers, perhaps closer to retirement, report slightly lower anxiety at 59%. The survey, conducted in January among 1,000 adults aged 25 and older with annual incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 or investable assets of $150,000 or more, highlights how persistent cost-of-living pressures are reshaping Americans’ priorities.
“Americans are well aware that preparing to fund a decades-long retirement is a big undertaking,” said Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life. “Rising costs and ongoing economic uncertainty are making many people wonder if their savings will run out.”
Even as inflation has moderated over the past year, high prices remain a top concern. Many Americans continue to cite elevated costs as a primary reason for dissatisfaction with the economy, a sentiment that has fueled broader political debates about fiscal policy and household stability.
The financial strain is widespread. A separate 2025 Bank of America survey of over 1,000 full-time workers found that nearly 85% of consumers carry some form of personal debt. Meanwhile, 26% of the workforce sought help with emergency savings, debt repayment, or overall financial wellness—double the 13% who did so in 2023. This surge in demand for financial assistance reflects a growing recognition that many households are struggling to build a cushion.
Housing costs are a major driver of the anxiety. According to an analysis from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, 65% of working-age renters cannot cover their monthly expenses after paying for housing. Nearly half of all renters were cost-burdened in 2024, spending more than a third of their income on housing and utilities, based on the latest U.S. Census data. These figures help explain why so many Americans feel financially precarious, even as the broader economy shows mixed signals.
The findings arrive amid a contentious political climate where economic messaging is central to both parties’ platforms. For policymakers, the data underscores the need to address housing affordability, debt burdens, and retirement security—issues that resonate across age groups but hit Gen X particularly hard. As the generation caught between supporting aging parents and raising children, their heightened anxiety may reflect a unique sandwich-generation pressure.
While the survey’s sample skews toward middle- and upper-middle-income households, the results align with broader trends. A recent Pew poll found that 56% of Americans believe federal ethics have declined under the current administration, a sentiment that may compound distrust in institutions’ ability to manage economic challenges. Meanwhile, a separate poll showed that 61% of Americans view recent Iran strikes as a misstep, suggesting that foreign policy distractions are not easing domestic economic worries.
The Allianz survey does not capture the lowest-income Americans, who likely face even starker trade-offs. But for those with some assets, the fear of outliving their money is now more potent than the fear of death itself—a stark measure of how deeply economic insecurity has penetrated the national psyche.
