F&G survey: 75% of pre-retirees weigh delaying retirement

About 75% of pre-retirees told F&G Annuities & Life they have considered delaying retirement or already have, up from 70% in 2025, according to the insurer's Retirement Reconsidered survey released Oct. 15. PLANADVISER reported the survey.

Just over half of pre-retirees — 51% — said they intended to semi-retire rather than stop working entirely. Sixty percent described retirement as a "gradual transition over time" rather than a "single milestone," and only 21% tied it to stopping work completely. A majority of all respondents, 53%, agreed the path to retirement is "becoming more flexible." The survey collected responses from U.S. adults at least 50 years old.

"Our findings reinforce that retirement is no longer a one-size-fits-all journey," Ron Barrett, F&G's chief distribution officer, wrote in an email. "For plan sponsors and advisers, this highlights an opportunity to rethink how they support individuals as they approach retirement, recognizing that the transition may involve working fewer hours, pursuing part-time opportunities or gradually stepping away from the workforce altogether."

The concerns driving those decisions start with running out of money in retirement, cited by 52% of F&G respondents. Next came the availability of Social Security (46%), the price of healthcare and long-term expenses (43%) and the availability of Medicare (31%).

WTW's 2026 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, released Oct. 15, found the share of U.S. employees feeling financially secure fell to 36% from 46% in 2019. Employees in their 40s were the least secure group at 30%, with 42% saying they were struggling financially and 53% living paycheck to paycheck. Sixty-nine percent expected their generation to be much worse off in retirement than their parents' generation, and 41% of retiree respondents said they delayed or skipped doctor visits in 2025 because of money worries.

F&G's 43% healthcare-and-long-term-expense worry and WTW's 41% of retirees skipping or delaying care for money point to the same exposure from two directions. That is why the same stress-testing advisors give equity returns belongs in the medical and long-term-care assumptions of a decumulation model.

As this publication argued in August, an added working year is a chance to fix cash flow, cut sequence risk and reset next-generation expectations, not merely a later end date.