A new national survey uncovers divides in retirement confidence among Americans 55 and older
For two-thirds of US homeowners aged 55 and older, inflation has emerged as the dominant financial pressure heading into late 2026, outpacing healthcare costs, property taxes, and home maintenance by a significant margin, according to new research from Longbridge Financial, LLC, a nationally licensed reverse mortgage lender based in New Jersey.
The 2026 Longbridge Financial Home Equity Confidence Index — conducted by Morning Consult among 2,021 homeowners aged 55 and older between March 26 and April 5 — found that 67% of respondents identified inflation and the rising cost of living as a major financial concern, 24 percentage points above healthcare costs, cited second at 43%.
Property taxes and home maintenance costs each drew concern from 38% of respondents; homeowners insurance registered at 26%.
Overall, nine in 10 homeowners surveyed cited at least one of the financial pressures measured.
Optimism about the year ahead is limited. Only 28% of respondents expect their financial situation to improve over the next 12 months.
Nearly half, or 44%, anticipate no change, while 23% expect conditions to worsen.
The findings arrive at a complicated moment for the reverse mortgage sector. Record levels of senior home equity in the US now stand at $14.92 trillion, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) and RiskSpan, a figure that suggests many older homeowners hold significant wealth on paper even as day-to-day costs continue to erode confidence.
Chris Mayer, chief executive officer of Longbridge Financial, said the headline data obscures a more revealing story.
"The topline inflation number is important, but I think the more revealing story is what sits underneath it," Mayer said.
"The financial pressure we're seeing among older homeowners isn't uniform. When you dig into the data, you see that confidence looks very different depending on household income, and women are reporting greater concern than men across several financial pressures. That matters because the averages only tell us so much. If we want to understand how older homeowners are really feeling about their financial security and retirement, we have to understand who is feeling confident and who is facing more uncertainty right now."
Read more: Treasury yields climb to multi-decade highs amid inflation fears
Income gap reveals widest split in retirement confidence
Among homeowners 55 and older earning $100,000 or more annually, 76% report confidence in their long-term financial security, compared with 58% for those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 and just 39% for those earning under $50,000, a 37-percentage-point gap.
The disparity is sharpest around leisure and travel in retirement: 79% of higher earners expressed confidence in affording such expenses, against 36% of those in the lowest income bracket, a 43-point difference.
Read more: Home prices outran inflation everywhere for 15 years. Now what?
Women report greater concern across key financial pressures
The index also identifies consistent differences by gender. Home maintenance produced the widest gap, with 45% of women citing it as a major concern compared with 31% of men.
Women were also more likely than men to cite inflation as a concern (69% versus 64%), homeowners insurance (29% versus 23%), and debt payments (24% versus 20%).
"The differences by income and gender add important context to the overall findings," Mayer said.
"Confidence in long-term financial security varies considerably by household income, while women report greater concern than men across several of the financial pressures measured. Looking beneath the topline numbers helps us better understand the different financial circumstances older homeowners are navigating."
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