While numerous surveys have highlighted Americans’ anxieties about outliving retirement assets, stock market instability and persistent inflation, you can now add taxes to the equation.
By the numbers: The Q1 2026 Quarterly Market Perceptions Study* from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, finds that 70 percent of Americans – and 78 percent of Generation X – are concerned about taxes on their retirement income.
- Millennials (74 percent), Gen Z (64 percent) and boomers (63 percent) were less likely to hold this concern.
What they’re saying: “If you have saved for retirement in tax-deferred accounts, it can be helpful to think through how your retirement savings will be taxed when you start taking income in retirement,” says Kelly LaVigne, VP of consumer insights, Allianz Life.
Adds LaVigne, “One strategy can be to spread your assets across various tax asset classes to potentially minimize your exposure to future tax changes. A partial Roth IRA conversion can help by paying taxes on assets now so those funds can be withdrawn tax-free later.”
