One in four (25%) middle-class households identified having enough retirement savings to retire at their desired age and lifestyle as the goal that would most make them feel financially successful.
Surveys middle-class households on how they understand their financial security.
Nearly half (48%) of middle-class households are most concerned about high inflation and/or high prices affecting their financial security over the next several years.
Americans want financial solutions that weather their concerns and provide certainty. While no one can predict what the future will hold, life insurers make sure everyone can prepare for it. We’re working to close protection gaps and stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of our families and economy.
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One-in-four (25%) middle-class households feel that having enough retirement savings to retire at their desired age and lifestyle is the financial goal that would most make them feel financially successful.
This underscores a desire to turn accumulated assets into protected, dependable retirement income. With traditional pensions increasingly rare, many Americans are turning to annuities, including in their workplace retirement plans, to supplement Social Security and provide more certainty through retirement.
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Measures middle-class households’ ability to handle unexpected expenses and sustain a quality of life, and the ability to save and live well in retirement.
Strong wage growth and rising asset values have fueled middle-class financial resilience.
Everyone deserves the certainty of living each day to their best and knowing there’s a plan in place when life takes an unexpected turn. While no one can predict what the future will hold, life insurers make sure everyone can prepare for it.
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Overlays middle-class resource resilience with the ability to afford modest luxuries without trading off the essentials.
Middle-class financial resilience is improving, but it remains vulnerable to inflation and shifting economic conditions.
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Helping Americans build financial security is what life insurers do. Paying out $110 billion in annuity benefits and $89 billion in life insurance benefits in 2024, we deliver guarantees when middle-class households need them most. The Financial Resilience Index generates a holistic picture of how these households are navigating costs and sustaining their resources. Life insurers are part of the solution to help households build financial resilience, and the index informs that goal.
The Headline Index is composed of a Cost Resilience Index and a Resource Resilience Index. A score above 0 means that financial resilience is above historical norms.
The Cost Resilience Index measures the ability to afford modest luxuries without trading off the essentials and to afford life-stage appropriate care and education.
The Resource Resilience Index measures the ability to handle unexpected expenses and sustain a quality of life, and the ability to save and live well in retirement.
The index frames financial resilience as the interaction of cost pressures and financial resources and provides insight into the specific underlying factors that drive changes in middle-class financial resilience. Consumer survey findings (featured in the full index and analysis) offer a snapshot as to how middle-class households are feeling.