For many Americans over 50, the traditional vision of retirement continues to shift in response to the changing economic landscape and other factors that have upended how previous generations behaved.
The latest Retirement Reconsidered survey from F&G Annuities & Life reveals that a growing number of pre-retirees are rethinking when – or even if – they’ll retire as planned, with more than two-thirds (70%) of respondents who are approaching retirement saying they’re either considering pushing back their planned retirement date or already have.
That’s a marked increase from just a year ago, reflecting the ripple effects of continued economic uncertainty and notably, nearly one in four pre-retirees (23%) have definitely delayed retirement, a 14-point increase from 2024.
Asked why they have changed their plans:
For those who have already retired, many are contemplating a return to work - almost a third (29%) say they’re considering "unretiring” with that number jumping to 54% among younger retirees in Generation X, compared to 28% of Baby Boomers.
But the reasons for going back to work is not all about their finances:
With markets still unpredictable, nearly half of American investors (49%) are looking to increase their investment in solutions that offer guaranteed income with products such as annuities.
When Americans grade their own retirement preparedness, only 26% gave themselves an A for financial readiness, while 32% admitted they’re at a C or lower. For social connections in retirement, 41% gave themselves a C or worse and on personal fulfillment, responses were split evenly: 28% gave themselves an A; 28% gave themselves a C or lower.
Nearly half (47%) of adults over 50 are not working with a financial professional, up from 43% last year, rising to 54% among Gen X, and only 15% of retirees said they would consult their financial advisor before re-entering the workforce.
One in three (29%) investors say their advisor places little to no emphasis on fulfillment when planning for retirement, suggesting a gap between technical planning and personal goals.
“Financial professionals play a key role in advising investors on how to meet both personal and financial goals,” says Chris Blunt, CEO of F&G. “Retirement isn’t just about how much you have saved, but what your life will look like in retirement, whether you are working part-time because you need the money or enjoy it for personal reasons. Financial professionals have an opportunity to help more Americans aim for an ‘A’ in retirement by guiding them to align their financial plans with the kind of life they truly want in their later years.”
A separate recent survey from the Alliance for Lifetime Income highlighted the concerns of pre-retirees about Social Security.
Six in ten (58%) of consumers ages 45 to 75 expressed concern that Social Security benefits will be reduced based on recent actions taken by the administration with 14% “definitely” considering claiming Social Security earlier than originally planned and 21% “somewhat” considering doing so.
The 2025 PRIP research, conducted by Ipsos, also polled financial advisors with two thirds 65% of saying that they have changed their retirement planning approach over the past year to address client concerns about market volatility, inflation and rising interest rates.
Annuities are a growing part of the mix for retirement investments with half of advisors saying they are using them more for client portfolios, while 35% indicated that they put more assets into US Treasuries. Equities were a mixed bag with 30% investing more into stocks and 30% decreasing their exposure to them.
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