BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — For many older Americans, retirement is no longer looking like they thought it would.
With prices still high on everything from groceries to gas, many seniors say their savings simply are not stretching as far as they once did.
"I used to be afraid of dying, but now I’m afraid of how am I going to live until I die?" Howard Flint said.
Flint says he thought he had planned carefully for retirement, but rising costs have forced him to rethink what life after work actually looks like.
"When you think you’ve planned ahead, and you think you made enough money, what’s the right amount of money to retire on?" Flint said.
A new study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement found a record number of retirees now fear running out of money more than death.
The study found 67% of respondents said money is now their top concern.
Researchers pointed to inflation and rising healthcare costs as major factors driving those fears.
Federal data also shows inflation has been hitting older Americans harder than many other groups for more than three years.
WATCH: 'I used to be afraid of dying': Rising costs forcing many retirees to rethink retirement
Experts say that is because retirees tend to spend more of their income on necessities like healthcare, where prices continue to climb.
"People come to us concerned about the future, and inflation especially, because when you retire, you’re on a fixed or semi-fixed income," Elise Murphy said. Murphy is a partner with Level Financial Advisors.
"And if those prices rise, unless your income sources are rising at the same rate or even higher, you’re going to see your purchasing power erode," Murphy said.
Financial advisers say more Americans are now delaying retirement or taking on part-time work to help.
A study conducted by Economist Enterprise found that Americans expect to work roughly four years longer than originally planned because of rising living costs and healthcare expenses.
For Flint, that has already become reality.
"Now, I do a little part-time job at a healthcare agency a couple days a week," Flint said.
He says everyday expenses have become harder to ignore.
"My gas bill to heat the house, I paid almost double this year than last year," Flint said. "My gas in my car, I had to fill up my truck and I was like wow, 80 bucks to fill up my truck is very high."
And with so many unknown costs still ahead, Flint says the biggest fear now is whether his money will last as long as he does.
"What happens if I live 20 years from now?" Flint said. "That’s the topic for the conversation."
