Prudential survey finds most retirees over $500,000 remain hesitant to spend

Wealth does not cure the spending hesitation in Prudential Financial's recently published 2026 Retirement Pulse Survey. Only 14% of surveyed retirees and pre-retirees said they were at ease spending their retirement savings each month on things they enjoyed. Forty percent said they would rather leave money behind than risk depleting it, and 29% counted an unchanged bank balance as a source of pride.

Among respondents with more than $500,000 in investable assets, 61% reported discomfort about discretionary spending and 70% said they wanted to leave or bequeath money rather than deplete it — the affluent cohort this publication flagged when the survey's first findings landed. Guilt attaches to specific purchases, with 86% reporting unease over bucket-list items such as a beach house, a sports car or jewelry, 67% having difficulty justifying housekeepers and gardeners, and 61% feeling guilt about major trips.

A third of respondents said they did not know how long their money needed to last, a share that rises to 44% among those with at least $500,000 in investable assets. 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 an adviser or planner. Prudential found that planning improved spending confidence: 56% of those with a retirement plan and 52% of those with a withdrawal strategy reported feeling more confident about spending their savings.

The stated reasons for holding back are familiar: the uncertain future of Social Security, cited by 44%; inflation, at 42%; and healthcare and long-term care costs, at 34%. Blanchett, Prudential's head of retirement research, asked at a New York media event what the point of saving was if people cannot enjoy the money, and Barb Pietrangelo, a financial planner at the firm, described the client-side version of the problem as people who need permission to spend. That permission is something an adviser can sell, and it is the opening for lifetime income: a guaranteed check answers the horizon question without asking the client to guess at it.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said they would advise a friend to spend money on things they enjoyed, against 14% who feel at ease doing so themselves. Prudential, which offers insurance products, also asked whether guaranteed income would improve matters, but the published account does not say how many respondents would act on a lifetime-income guarantee.