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Survey of Financial Perspectives and Retirement Planning for Solo-Agers

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October 2025

Description

A solo-ager is often defined as someone who is older, single, living alone, and has no adult children or grandchildren involved in their life.

Recognizing this growing trend, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute and the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) partnered to produce the Solo-Agers Decision Guide. The Decision Guide is a series of resources designed to help solo-agers understand and plan for decisions they may encounter at different life stages.

To gather further insight into the issues solo-agers face, the SOA Research Institute engaged a market research firm to survey a sample of Americans 50 years old and older who self-identify as solo-agers. Among the objectives of the survey was to explore American solo-agers’ attitudes towards, and changes in, their finances, use of technology, and physical and cognitive abilities as they age. In addition, to understand the extent to which they are using, or anticipate using, a support network as they age.

Results of the survey can be found here: The Solo-Agers Decision Guide Resource Series

Key Findings among the solo-agers in this survey include:

  • They report having support networks primarily made up of friends, family, and neighbors, who they are confident can be trusted to provide support.
  • Despite this, many of these solo-agers suffer from feelings of loneliness and a lack of companionship.
  • Most can manage daily tasks independently, though many would consider outside help.
  • Few of the solo-agers in this survey report having organizational support, with paid assistance more common for services like home and car maintenance and yard work.
  • Technology, like smartphones and computers, help to keep these solo-agers informed and connected with others.
  • Many own or rent a home and feel confident about aging in place.
  • While most of the surveyed solo-agers report good health, they still harbor concerns around aging, and many are proactively protecting their physical and cognitive well-being.

Material

Survey of Financial Perspectives and Retirement Planning for Solo-Agers

Questions or Comments?

If you have comments or questions, please send an email to Research@soa.org