Prudential survey: only 14% of retirees and pre-retirees feel at ease spending savings

Only 14% of retirees and pre-retirees told Prudential Financial's 2026 Retirement Pulse Survey that they felt at ease spending retirement savings each month on things they enjoyed. Building the nest egg looks like the easier half: 40% of respondents said they would rather leave money behind than risk depleting their savings, and 29% counted an unchanged bank account as a source of pride.

Wealth does not loosen the grip. Among respondents with more than $500,000 in investable assets, 61% reported discomfort about discretionary spending and 70% said they would rather leave or bequeath money than spend it. Smaller purchases carry guilt too, with 86% reporting unease over bucket-list items such as a beach house, a sports car or jewelry, 67% having difficulty justifying hiring housekeepers and gardeners, and 61% feeling guilt about taking major trips.

The worries respondents named most were the uncertain future of Social Security, at 44%, inflation, at 42%, and healthcare and long-term care costs, at 34%. A third of respondents said they did not know how long their money needed to last, a share that rose to 44% among those with at least $500,000 in investable assets.

The basics are missing. Only 23% of pre-retirees said they had a clear retirement plan, 16% of all respondents reported a savings withdrawal strategy, and 28% said they were working with a financial adviser or planner. The PLANADVISER report on the findings notes that Prudential's respondents matched similar studies in reporting a widespread lack of retirement planning, and that the study found financial planning improved spending confidence — the result on the page that most directly speaks to the advisers who will be asked to deliver it.

Experts at Prudential's recent presentation said clients often seek assurance about whether they could afford particular items in retirement. "If people can't enjoy their retirement savings, what was the point [of saving]?" asked David Blanchett, Prudential's head of retirement research, at a media event in New York. Barb Pietrangelo, a financial planner at the firm, gave the client-facing version: "I have to give [my clients] permission to spend."

For advisers the survey describes a permission problem more than a return problem. A client who will not touch principal is rarely asking for a higher expected return; she is asking for a rule she can defend to herself in a bad month, and the three worries at the top of the list — Social Security, inflation, long-term care — are the ones a written income plan can quantify rather than soothe.

The permission gap shows up most cleanly in what respondents would tell someone else. Nearly half, 49%, said they would advise a friend to spend money on things they enjoyed, a more generous standard than the 14% who manage it on their own accounts.