Retirees Have the Money — Just Not Permission to Spend It

Why Many Retirees Have the Money to Spend — But Not the Permission

New research from Prudential Financial is surfacing a retirement challenge that doesn't show up on a balance sheet. The 2026 Retirement Pulse survey found that even among retirees with significant savings, most don't feel free to actually spend it — a finding with real implications for how agents and agencies partnered with The Brokerage Inc. frame retirement income conversations with clients.

Saving Well Doesn't Guarantee Spending Comfort

According to the survey, 86% of respondents said they don't feel free to spend their savings on things they enjoy — and that discomfort doesn't disappear with wealth. Even among those with $500,000 or more in investable assets, 61% still aren't comfortable spending for enjoyment. Phil Waldeck, head of U.S. Businesses at Prudential Financial, frames it as an industry opportunity: the focus can't stop at helping people accumulate savings. It has to extend to helping them feel confident using it.

What's Actually Holding Clients Back

The survey identifies a handful of consistent barriers. Doubt that Social Security will be there tops the list at 44%, followed by inflation and rising cost of living (42%) and healthcare or long-term care costs (34%). Market risk weighs more heavily on wealthier respondents, cited by 24% of those with $500K+ in assets.

There's also a psychological pattern worth understanding: researchers call it "Fear of Running Out," or FORO. Forty percent of savers said they'd rather leave money behind than risk running out, and more than half (54%) said they'd prefer to preserve assets over spending them down — a number that climbs to 70% among those with $500K or more. Guilt plays a role too: a majority of respondents reported feeling guilty spending on discretionary items like travel (61%), entertainment (63%), or bucket-list purchases such as a vacation home or jewelry (86%).

Planning and Guaranteed Income Change the Equation

The survey points to a clear counterweight: clarity. Pre-retirees with a defined retirement plan are 56% more likely to feel comfortable spending on enjoyment. Savers with an actual withdrawal strategy are 52% more likely to feel that same comfort. And those who have, or expect to use, a pension, annuity, or other guaranteed income source are 43% more likely to feel they have permission to enjoy their savings.

Despite this, the survey found a meaningful gap between need and access: only 23% of pre-retirees have a clear retirement plan, just 16% of all respondents have a withdrawal strategy, and only 28% currently work with a financial advisor. That gap represents a direct opportunity for agents to step in with structure clients don't yet have.

Notably, two-thirds of respondents (66%) said they'd choose a guaranteed monthly check for life over a lump sum — and more than half cited "permission to spend and enjoy" as the primary reason they want guaranteed income in the first place.

A Gender Gap Worth Addressing Directly

The research also found women are significantly more likely than men to associate retirement with financial insecurity (55% vs. 41%) and are 33% less likely to feel comfortable spending their savings for enjoyment. Married or partnered women are also less likely to lead the advisor relationship (16% vs. 36% among men) — a dynamic worth keeping in mind during joint client meetings, and one that echoes themes from other recent research on engaging both members of a couple throughout the planning relationship.

What This Means for Client Conversations

The takeaway for agents is less about product and more about framing. Clients don't just need a plan that protects against running out of money — they need a plan that gives them explicit permission to use it. Clearly outlining covered basics, building a defined withdrawal strategy, and positioning guaranteed lifetime income as a tool for confidence rather than just protection can shift a client's mindset from hoarding to living. As one Prudential advisor quoted in the study put it, a financial plan that clearly accounts for a client's priorities — on a timeframe they chose — does more to ease spending anxiety than numbers alone ever could.

Agents with questions about how life insurance and annuities can help ease the retirement burden for clients, or who want help positioning guaranteed income strategies for a specific case, are encouraged to reach out to the Life Team at The Brokerage Inc.

Source: Prudential Financial, Inc., 2026 Retirement Pulse Survey, October 1, 2026.