But is this death wish that emerges in surveys really about us? Dig a little deeper into people's anxieties about outliving their money, and you often find out it is all about the kids.

Parents feel like failures if they cannot leave an inheritance, and they certainly do not want to become financial burdens on their adult children.

"To a lot of people that's a fate worse than dying," says Norton.

So instead of worrying yourself into paralysis, let go of all that parental stress and anxiety.

You do not have to leave behind a huge estate; the kids will be fine. And if you have to lean on your family in old age? Hey, it is what humans have done for eons.

Our retirement challenges may be formidable, but they are certainly no reason to hope that death arrives any sooner than it has to.

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