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After decades of saving for retirement, many Americans encounter an unexpected challenge: feeling comfortable spending the money they accumulated.

Recent research suggests that worry about outliving savings influences both how much retirees spend and which purchases they make. But the evidence also points to two different situations — households cutting back because their budgets are strained, and households spending cautiously because they cannot confidently judge what they can afford.

MetLife’s 2026 Paycheck or Pot of Gold Study found that 44% of surveyed retirees had reduced spending because they feared running out of money. Among retirees with money remaining from their workplace retirement plans, 51% worried about exhausting those funds. The study’s retiree sample consisted of people ages 50–75 who met specified workplace retirement savings or annuity-income requirements.

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Where the money goes

Retirement spending is heavily influenced by everyday expenses.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that households whose reference person was 65 or older spent an average of $61,432 in 2024 — approximately $5,119 a month. Housing accounted for $22,193, or about 36% of total expenditures, while healthcare averaged $7,799, nearly 13%. These are household averages, not individual budgets, and include older adults who are still working.

Leaving the workforce also does not necessarily produce a dramatic spending decline. Allianz Life’s 2026 retirement study found that 55% of retirees reported spending at least 75% as much as they did while working. Meanwhile, 39% said they were reluctant to spend because they wanted to preserve their savings.

Together, those findings suggest that maintaining ordinary living expenses can leave retirees feeling cautious about purchases they can postpone or skip.

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Meals out and travel come under pressure

AARP research released in September offers evidence of those choices. Among adults 65 and older, 55% reported cutting spending on dining out or takeout during the preceding month, while 38% cut grocery spending.

Across the broader population ages 50 and older, entertainment, clothing, and hobbies also experienced substantial cutbacks. Rising everyday prices were the most frequently cited reason for reducing spending or delaying purchases. The survey measured older adults, rather than retirees exclusively, and does not establish that longevity worries caused those particular reductions.

Separate Corebridge Financial research connects retirement security more directly to desired purchases. Retirees said guaranteed lifetime income would enable them to spend more on travel (69%), home improvements (29%), and dining out (25%).

In its retirement spending study, Corebridge also found that 38% of retirees had spent less than they wanted to preserve their nest egg. That survey included adults with at least $100,000 in investable assets, so its findings should not be generalized to all retirees. Corebridge sells retirement income products, including annuities.

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Preserving savings has a cost, too

Research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows why the issue requires balance. Its analysis found that approximately one-third of retirees still had at least their initial asset value remaining by their mid-80s. However, households beginning retirement with limited assets could be left with very small cushions after years of withdrawals.

A large remaining balance does not, by itself, prove someone should have spent more. Future care needs, emergencies, and inheritance goals can justify reserves.

Still, the research suggests that uncertainty can restrict retirement enjoyment. Corebridge found that 55% of retirees with a spending plan were highly confident about managing retirement spending, compared with 29% without one — an association that highlights the potential value of planning, without proving that planning alone caused the difference.