How many Americans expect to work until they die?

According to a late August 2026 WalletHub survey, 43% of Americans expect to work until they die, while 47% of workers in a June 2026 Thrivent survey doubt they will ever be able to retire completely.

Why is it difficult for retirees to rely on working during retirement?

While roughly 75% of workers plan to work for pay after officially retiring, data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute reveals that only 31% of actual retirees are currently employed, showing that late-life employment is often harder to maintain than planned.

What is the K-shaped retirement divide?

The K-shaped retirement trajectory refers to a massive savings gap where over 90% of the top 10% of wealthy households hold retirement accounts with a median balance of $900,000, while nearly four in 10 Americans nearing their 60s have no retirement savings account at all.

The New American Retirement Fear: Why More Workers Expect to Work Until They Die

A rising tide of retirement anxiety is sweeping across the United States, with a significant portion of the workforce now expecting to never fully retire. According to multiple major studies from mid-2026—including surveys by WalletHub, Thrivent, and the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS)—a combination of persistent inflation, high household debt, and systemic wealth gaps has fundamentally altered how Americans view their later years. Instead of seeing retirement as a hard finish line, millions of workers now view it as an unattainable luxury, facing the prospect of working indefinitely out of financial necessity.

What do the latest surveys show about retirement anxiety?

Recent data from multiple independent polls confirms that more than two in five Americans believe they will never be able to stop working. A late August 2026 WalletHub survey, reported by Fortune, found that 43% of Americans expect to work until they die, and 50% believe it is unrealistic for the average American to retire comfortably. This anxiety is mirrored in a June 2026 Thrivent survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by Ipsos, which reported that 47% of workers doubt they will ever retire completely, and 50% experience anxiety when thinking about the topic.

Furthermore, the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) revealed in August 2026 that 80% of Americans believe the nation is facing a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020. Worker confidence is also on the decline. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, worker confidence in having enough money to retire comfortably fell six percentage points to 61%.

What economic forces are driving this retirement anxiety?

Everyday living costs, market volatility, and debt are actively preventing Americans from building adequate nest eggs. In the NIRS report, 61% of Americans expressed worry that they will not achieve financial security in retirement; among those concerned, 73% blamed inflation and 62% cited market volatility.

Concrete pricing data from 2026 underscores these pressures. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of ground beef hit $6.89 a pound in July 2026, marking a 9.4% annual increase. In mid-September 2026, AAA reported that the national average for regular gasoline jumped 13 cents in a single week to $4.27 a gallon.

These rising expenses have forced many to prioritize immediate financial survival over long-term saving. WalletHub's survey found that 53% of respondents prioritize paying off debt over making retirement contributions, while NIRS reported that 77% of workers say debt actively prevents them from saving enough.

What is the "K-shaped" retirement gap?

This retirement crisis is highly unequal, exposing a deep divide between high-earners and the rest of the country. Robert Brokamp, Senior Retirement Adviser at The Motley Fool, described this trend as a "K-shaped retirement trajectory" in an interview with USA Today.

According to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, only about half of all Americans hold retirement accounts. Among the top 10% of households by net worth, over 90% have retirement accounts with a median balance of $900,000. Conversely, nearly four in 10 Americans nearing their 60s do not have a retirement account at all. TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett described America’s $4 trillion retirement shortfall as "a real crisis," noting that roughly 40% of Americans risk running out of money during their lifetime.

Why is there a gap between retirement work plans and reality?

There is a stark misalignment between how many workers plan to work in their later years and how many actually do. While EBRI data shows that roughly 75% of workers plan to work for pay after officially retiring, only 31% of actual retirees are currently working.

Although nearly 20% of Americans aged 65 and older are employed—nearly double the share from 35 years ago—staying in or returning to the workforce is not always voluntary or medically feasible. As Dan Doonan, Executive Director of NIRS, noted, "housing, healthcare, debt and other expenses are competing with the need to save for retirement," leaving many workers facing involuntary employment late in life.

To navigate these complexities, financial advisers generally suggest targets such as saving 10% to 15% of income in broad index funds and maintaining an emergency fund. For the average U.S. family, an emergency fund covering three to six months of expenses is estimated to require at least $35,000, according to a 2025 Investopedia report.