In a Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) survey released in October 2026, 53% of adults ages 18 to 65 said they worry more about outliving their savings than about spending too little.
Only 21% had it the other way around, and 43% doubted that traditional planning methods, such as aiming for a savings number by 65, account for longer lives.
Federal actuaries suggest the worry is well placed. Under the period life table used in the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, about 24% of men and 35% of women who reach 65 go on to celebrate their 90th birthday.
For a married couple the same age, that works out to roughly even odds that at least one spouse sees 90, assuming their lifespans are independent.
Life expectancy is a midpoint, not a finish line
The same period life table gives a 65-year-old man about 18 more years and a 65-year-old woman nearly 21, or roughly ages 83 and 86. Those are averages. A plan that runs dry at the average age fails for everyone who lives longer, which is close to half of the people it was built for.
The tail is long, too. About 8% of 65-year-old men and 14% of women in the table reach age 95. Period tables use death rates from a single year, 2023 in this case, and do not assume any further gains in longevity, so they may understate how long some people will live.
The standard withdrawal rate assumes 30 years
Withdrawal rules come with a built-in time horizon. Morningstar puts the safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9% for new retirees, but that figure assumes a 30-year retirement, steady inflation-adjusted spending and a 90% chance of having money left at the end. Someone who retires at 62 and lives to 95 needs 33 years.
Starting a little lower, or agreeing in advance to trim spending after a bad year in the market, can help a portfolio last longer. The distance between Morningstar’s figure and the 8% Dave Ramsey has floated shows how much the assumptions matter.
Social Security pays more the longer you wait
A Social Security check lasts as long as you do and rises with inflation. For anyone born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full benefit. Waiting past full retirement age adds 8% a year until 70, when the check reaches 124% of the full amount, about 77% more than the age-62 payment.
For married couples, the higher earner’s claiming age carries extra weight because it sets the size of the check a surviving spouse keeps, which is the income most likely to stretch into the 90s. Delaying usually means drawing more from savings in the early years, so the claiming decision works best when it is made alongside a withdrawal plan.
Coordinating claiming ages, withdrawal rates and taxes is the kind of work a fiduciary financial advisor does. If you have $100,000 or more invested, SmartAsset can match you with up to three fiduciary advisors, and nearly all of them offer a free first meeting.
The free questionnaire takes about 10 minutes and asks for a phone number near the end, and you decide whether and when to respond to anyone.
A guaranteed floor covers the bills that never stop
One common approach is to cover basic expenses such as housing, food and insurance with income that cannot run out: Social Security, a pension or an income annuity. Investments then pay for the extras, and a rough stretch in the market does not put the electric bill at risk.
A plain income annuity turns a lump sum into lifetime payments, and a ladder of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) can cover a set number of years. Annuity pricing varies widely, and there are ways to buy guaranteed income without paying a sales commission.
The most expensive years tend to come last
In the TIAA survey, 41% named affording long-term medical, memory or nursing care as a financial concern about living longer. Federal estimates back them up. Someone turning 65 has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care, and women need it longer than men, 3.7 years compared with 2.2.
Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial care, such as help with bathing and dressing. Long-term care insurance, a hybrid life policy, home equity or a dedicated pool of savings can each fill the gap, and most of those options are easier to arrange at 60 than at 80.
Run the plan to 95 and see what breaks
Take whatever retirement projection you have and extend it to age 95 for the younger spouse. If the money runs out at 88, the fix is far easier to find at 62, with claiming dates, withdrawal rates and insurance still on the table, than at 87, when Social Security may be the only income left.
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