Industry News

On January 6, 2026, the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College published its issue brief, How Much are Emergency Expenses for Retirees and Are They Prepared? CRR studied the needs of retired households for emergency savings. The study found that unexpected expenses may be a source of financial stress that many retirees are not prepared to cover, particularly those retirees with lower incomes.

Some of the key findings include:

• In a normal year, the typical retired household spends about 10% of income on unexpected expenses.
• Over a period of one year, about 40% of households lack the cash to cover unexpected expenses and nearly 20% fall short even after including retirement savings.

The brief concludes, “Programs that help delay Social Security claiming, offer access to affordable long-term care insurance and financial advice on draw-down strategies, and increase use of Health Savings Accounts are some of the policies and programs that can help older adults manage unexpected expenses while also ensuring income sufficiency in retirement.”

The report is available here.