Retirement is expensi🧸ve, especially wཧhen 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.

“S𓃲ingle 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 quarte🍷r, however, said they had at least $250,000 saved, and less than a fifth said they had $500,000 or more.

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

Some recent Investopedia coverage of suggestions for people planning to retire soon can be found here and here.