Preparedness for retirement: Household financial-asset benchmarks and old-age anxiety in Japan

This study examines whether meeting widely discussed household financial-asset benchmarks is associated with lower anxiety about life after age 65 in Japan. Although previous research links financial conditions and retirement preparedness to well-being, there is limited empirical evidence on whether commonly discussed asset benchmarks correspond to differences in retirement-related anxiety. Using 192,284 observations from the 2023 Rakuten Securities–Hiroshima University survey, we analyze three widely referenced benchmarks—JPY 20 million, JPY 50 million, and JPY 100 million—based on household financial assets. We first compare anxiety distributions across groups and then estimate ordered probit models, with probit specifications using a binary anxiety measure as robustness checks, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological characteristics. Across all specifications, meeting any benchmark is associated with lower old-age anxiety. Subsample analyses by gender and age group indicate that this negative association persists broadly, while anxiety remains comparatively elevated among younger respondents and women, who also report lower asset holdings. These findings suggest that widely discussed benchmark levels of household financial assets may serve as useful reference points in perceptions of retirement preparedness among financially active individuals in Japan. The results should be interpreted as correlational rather than causal, but they may inform how retirement preparedness is communicated in public discussion and financial education.