As Americans confront the realities of longer life expectancies, a growing share would prefer not to see their 100th birthday.
A new study from the Nationwide Retirement Institute and the American College of Financial Services finds that only 29 percent of U.S. adults want to live to 100, with most citing fears about financial instability and deteriorating health in old age.
Among the top concerns: nearly three in four Americans fear they’ll run out of money before they run out of time, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute survey.
Why It Matters
The U.S. Census Bureau projects the number of centenarians will quadruple by 2054, raising urgent questions about how people will finance decades of retirement.
Yet most Americans are not planning for such longevity. Only 48 percent factor lifespan into their retirement decisions, while just 26 percent accurately estimate life expectancy for a 65-year-old man, ThinkAdvisor reported in a May 2025 analysis.
The lack of proper planning could leave millions exposed to financial difficulties late in life.
What To Know
While only 29 percent of U.S. adults say they want to live to 100, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute and the American College of Financial Services report, 59 percent of the 1,000 consumers surveyed still said that making it to 100 was a “blessing.”
However, that number dropped to 55 percent among workers aged 55 to 65, and 45 percent said a lifespan reaching 100 was a “burden.”
A joint study highlighted in Kiplinger explored the chances of financial shortfalls the older someone gets, noting that extending retirement by just five years—from 30 to 35 years—increases the risk of outliving savings by 41 percent using historical market returns. That risk climbs to over 300 percent with lower expected returns over the next decade.
Despite the financial risks, the uptake of solutions like annuities and long-term care insurance remains low.
While 32 percent of Americans believe long-term care coverage would be helpful for living to 100, only one in 10 actually own such a policy. Similarly, 31 percent say lifetime-guaranteed income would improve their financial outlook, but few invest in annuities, according to Kiplinger.
High inflation and surging home insurance premiums add strain for some retirement plans.
For baby boomers retiring now, fixed incomes may not be enough to absorb rising living costs, including housing-related expenses that have increased substantially in recent years, as HousingWire reports.
What People Are Saying
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “I don’t believe it is as much about the cost of living, but about the quality of life. So many of us have seen our parents die slowly whether it be through dementia or just illness. Many Americans, if guaranteed a healthy existence, would choose to live longer.”
Drew Powers, the founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek: “In planning for retirement, we should view longevity as the number one risk multiplier—every risk we face in retirement is exacerbated by living longer. Living just 5 extra years can triple your chances of running out of money in retirement, and that’s a scary thought. Modern medicine is very good at extending our lives, but not necessarily improving the quality of our lives, especially in old age.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “As morbid of a topic as it is, more Americans than ever before are concerned about being able to financially support themselves with longer lifespans. Some baby boomers and those in Gen X are already encountering issues due to the higher cost of living and are coming to the realization retirement may have to be delayed. Those in younger generations are already feeling pricing pressure and are having to delay major life events and purchases because of it.”
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: “Living to 100 looks great on a birthday cake, terrible on a financial statement. Why do only 29 percent of Americans want to hit the century mark? Because they’ve done the math. A 38-year retirement at $60k a year needs $2.3 million saved. Yet the average American has just $88,400 squirreled away. That’s not a gap; it’s a canyon.”
What Happens Next
To adapt to the prospect of living to 100, financial advisers and institutions are urging a shift in mindset.
Innovations allowing workplace retirement plans to include guaranteed income solutions are gaining traction.
But experts warn that unless Americans start planning for longer lives now—incorporating realistic longevity assumptions, controlling debt, and boosting retirement savings—the growing population of centenarians may be financially worse off than ever.
“As centenarians become more common, their children and grandchildren are witnessing first-hand the money and health difficulties of living that long and concluding they themselves may be better off passing away just a bit earlier,” Powers said.
“Social Security is already stressed. What will happen when the average beneficiary collects for 25 to 30 years versus today’s 18- to 22-year average?”
Policy discussions are also intensifying, particularly around Social Security sustainability and incentivizing private long-term care insurance coverage. For many Americans, the challenge lies not in reaching 100 but in surviving it financially.
“This will put additional strain on the social security system as we have seen currently,” Thompson said. “As more people age and live longer, there will need to be more people to fill the bucket. We are already seeing the stressors within the system, and just adding more will cause fractures.”
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