A Proven Path to Retirement Security

Americans are living longer than ever, and this good news comes with a hard question: how can people make sure that their savings lasts? Like a traditional pension, annuities are uniquely built to answer that question. They are the only product in the consumer marketplace that can turn savings into guaranteed income for life — a nest egg that does not suffer when markets dip or deplete as retirees live longer.

A Paycheck Retirees Cannot Outlive

With 30.4 million Americans turning 65 between 2024 and 2030, nearly six in 10 workers expect they won’t have enough savings to cover basic living expenses over their lifetime. Anxiety about running out of money is a dominant concern for seniors. This is where annuities come in, providing retirees with what’s effectively a paycheck they can’t outlive. This certainty is why nine in 10 retirees who own an annuity say they value the benefits it provides.

A More Efficient Way to Retire

Annuities don’t just benefit individual savers — they make the entire retirement system more efficient. A recent report, The Case for Lifetime Income, finds that paying benefits as guaranteed lifetime income is roughly 20% to 35% more efficient for retirees than lump sums, letting them safely spend more of what they’ve saved. With the typical annuity owner’s annual income at around $76,000, these middle-income Americans feel this efficiency directly in the form of reliable monthly income.

Expanding Americans’ Ways to Save

As Baby Boomers retire and make plans to manage the years ahead, expanding opportunities for workers to convert savings into annuity income makes good sense, alongside education about the range of annuity types to fit different needs and quality financial advice on issues like inflation and interest-rate risk. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to retirement security, but broader access to annuities inside the plans where Americans already save is one of the most powerful steps policymakers and employers can take.

Retirement can be a chapter of confidence, not anxiety. Annuities give Americans a proven way to turn a lifetime of savings into a lifetime of income, so they can focus on living their retirement and not worry about outliving it.

Jill Kozeny

Jill Kozeny serves as Executive Vice President & Chief Advocacy Officer at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). Kozeny is a member of the Executive Management Team and reports to the President and CEO. Kozeny leads ACLI Government Relations, Public Affairs, Research, and the work of the Chief Inclusion Officer to build opportunities and expand access to family financial certainty through all stages of life.