Securing Wealth In Retirement

Don’t choose between growth and protection. Build retirement strategies to help address both

by Corey Walther

The decades-long process of preparing for retirement has traditionally focused on asset growth. Save consistently, invest for the long term, and allow compounding to do the heavy lifting. Yet, managing risk often takes a back seat to pursuing growth.

Retirement outcomes are shaped not only by how much clients accumulate, but also by how effectively they protect what they have built. The current market environment challenges clients to pursue growth while managing risks that could curtail years of accumulation.

With markets experiencing significant gains and achieving new highs in recent years, it may be tempting to stay in the market without guardrails. Still market shocks, inflation, geopolitical tensions and future recessions could all threaten long-term financial security.

Americans have conflicting feelings about participating in the market. They feel like they need to be invested but worry about market risk, according to the 2026 Annual Retirement Study* from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement. The majority of Americans (57%) are hesitant to take risks with their investments because they can’t afford to lose anything saved. At the same time, 44% believe they need to keep nearly all of their retirement savings in the stock market to avoid falling behind. Risk management strategies can be used in the accumulation phase in order to continue to benefit from market gains with a buffer against loss.

For many Americans, annuities, particularly fixed index annuities (FIAs) and registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), can complement a broader portfolio by providing opportunities for growth with varying levels of protection from negative market performance.

Three groups of clients are among those who may benefit from considering annuities while they are still accumulating assets for retirement.

Locking in a portion of market gains

Many clients have benefited from strong market performance over the last several years. Their portfolios have grown – sometimes beyond what they expected. Since bear market lows in October of 2022, the S&P 500 has experienced around 115% growth. Now, clients who benefitted from that run up may worry how much they risk losing to a market downturn. The challenge now is preserving what they have.

While strong markets have rewarded long-term clients, markets change. They could try to time the market and move fully into cash before a downturn, but timing the market rarely works. What’s more, cash is vulnerable to the risk of inflation, and some future growth is necessary to maintain purchasing power throughout retirement.

Rather than attempting to time the market, clients may consider allocating a portion of accumulated assets into solutions that offer a level of protection against future market declines along with some growth potential like annuities. Depending on the product, clients may receive protection of principal, protection of credited interest, or predefined buffers against market losses. This approach can allow clients the opportunity to realize a portion of their accumulation without forgoing future growth opportunities altogether.

This strategy may be particularly useful for those who are within 10 to 15 years of retirement. A significant downturn during the years immediately before or after retirement can have an outsized impact on retirement outcomes through sequence of returns risk. At this stage, recovering from a significant market downturn becomes increasingly difficult because there is less time available for portfolios to rebound. A level of protection on a portion of accumulated wealth can help preserve retirement readiness while still maintaining exposure to future growth opportunities.

Moving off the sidelines

Rather than wondering how to protect accumulated assets, some are wondering how to participate at all. Some clients have kept significant assets in cash alternatives such as money market funds or CDs and watched from the sidelines as markets climbed. Households in the U.S. currently hold more than $20 trillion in cash deposits and money market funds, according to the Federal Reserve¹. This may have felt like a safe move during periods of uncertainty when stability and predictability were priority. Now, they may be experiencing market FOMO (fear of missing out).

Staying on the sidelines too long can come at the cost of years of compounded growth and make it harder to achieve long-term retirement goals. Still, worries about market volatility make them hesitant to move substantial assets directly into the market. The idea of moving money into the market may feel overwhelming.

For conservative clients or those who have had less exposure to different types of solutions, annuities can offer a more comfortable entry point into market participation than investing on their own. Financial professionals can position annuities to these clients as a way to make progress toward their retirement goals while managing risk.

This kind of measured approach combining growth opportunity with a level of protection can address the concerns by keeping them in cash while addressing the risk of inflation.

Adding another layer of diversification

Clients with diversified portfolios built around a traditional 60/40 allocation of stocks/equities and bonds/fixed income may feel generally comfortable with their balanced investment approach. They may have benefitted from market gains and accumulated meaningful retirement assets. Still, traditional diversification alone may not provide the risk management they want moving forward.

U.S. government bonds generally help clients hedge against declines in stocks. As recent market environments have shown, stocks and bonds do not always move as clients expect. For example, in 2022, both the bond market and stocks declined. This stress across asset classes has led some to reevaluate how they define diversification and risk management.

Annuities can help strengthen an overall retirement strategy. They can provide opportunities for continued accumulation while helping address concerns about future volatility, sequence-of-returns risk, and retirement readiness. These clients may not be looking to overhaul their existing allocation. For them, annuities can complement a traditional 60/40 portfolio by providing an additional layer of risk management without requiring a complete shift in investment philosophy.

The goal may not be aggressive growth or full protection, but a balanced retirement strategy that helps clients pursue their goals with greater confidence.

Risk Management And Retirement Readiness

Growth remains central to building wealth to retire. But in today’s environment, effective retirement strategies may pair growth with protection. This balance can help preserve accumulation, move assets off the sidelines and add resilience to a diversified portfolio. Growth and protection aren’t competing priorities — they’re often better together, and together they can help build a lasting retirement strategy.

* Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement® conducted the 2026 Annual Retirement Study in January 2026 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents age 25+ with an annual household income of $50K+/$75K+ (single/married) OR investable assets of $150K+.

The Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement® produces insights and research as a part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

1 The Federal Reserve, Financial Accounts of the United States, June 11, 2026