Survey Reveals Why Many Singles Fear They Might Never Retire - And How Crypto Could Flip the Script

Retirement anxiety hits singles hardest—and traditional finance isn't helping.

The Solo Savings Gap

Single households face a brutal math problem: one income funding one retirement. No dual-income buffer, no shared emergency fund, no partner's 401(k) to lean on. The system's built for couples, leaving singles scrambling to close the gap alone.

Inflation's Silent Tax

While wages stagnate, living costs don't care about your relationship status. Housing, healthcare, groceries—they all charge the same price whether you're splitting the bill or footing it solo. That relentless drain makes traditional savings feel like filling a leaking bucket.

The Crypto Counterplay

Enter digital assets. Unlike waiting decades for compound interest, crypto markets move at internet speed. Staking yields routinely smash bank savings rates—sometimes delivering double-digit APY while your bank offers apology rates below inflation. DeFi protocols let you become your own pension fund manager, bypassing Wall Street's fee-heavy middlemen.

Diversification Beyond Stocks

Adding crypto exposure transforms a single-income portfolio. Bitcoin's historical uncorrelation to traditional assets provides actual diversification—not just different shades of the same old stocks and bonds. It's an inflation hedge that doesn't require begging your boss for a raise.

The Control Factor

Self-custody wallets mean no bank can freeze your assets or delay withdrawals. Your retirement fund stays truly yours—accessible, borderless, and operating 24/7. No waiting for business hours or praying the market doesn't crash during your golden years.

Traditional finance keeps selling the 'work-40-years-and-hope' model while skimming fees off the top. Maybe the real retirement risk isn't being single—it's trusting broken systems with your future.

Key Takeaways

• A quarter of single investors say they don't plan to retire.
• More than a fifth said they were scared to do so.
• Survey designers said single investors face retirement challenges that coupled investors do not.

Retirement is expensive, especially when you do it alone.

A new study from the Nationwide Retirement Institute illustrates the degree to which Americans retiring without partners can struggle. A quarter of single investors said they didn't plan to retire alone, and more than a fifth said they were scared to do so. Those fears can start before retirement does, with nearly 20% of non-retired singles worried that they won't be able to retire at all.

Related Education

“Single investors are facing retirement challenges that their coupled counterparts are not, relying solely on their individual saving efforts compared to those with a second source of income from a partner,” Rona Guymon, senior vice president of Nationwide Annuity Distribution, said in a news release.

Nearly half of single investors surveyed by Nationwide said they expected to need up to $600,000 in retirement savings to feel comfortable about their future. Less than a quarter, however, said they had at least $250,000 saved, and less than a fifth said they had $500,000 or more.

The Bottom Line

Nationwide said singles are less likely to have financial strategies to help them deal with market risk: Fewer singles than those with partners focused on portfolio diversification or assets less tied to markets, while those with partners were more likely to seek professional planning help.