Study Shows Top 2025 Financial Concerns for Indianapolis Residents

As 2025 draws to a close, inflation continues to sting in Indianapolis, with significant numbers of locals saying elevated prices at the grocery store, the gas pump and elsewhere are having an impact on their finances. Meanwhile, among people who don’t own a home, many say homeownership will never be affordable – not now, not ever.

For those looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the “magic number” to retire, according to residents of Indianapolis surveyed, is $835,755, compared with $1.26 million for people across the U.S. Meanwhile, just one in three (35%) of Indianapolis residents with any retirement savings say that they have just one year or less of their current income saved for retirement – and more than half (58%) have 3x their income or less saved.

Hoosiers say their household incomes are not keeping up with Inflation

Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study found that nationally, half (51%) of U.S. adults believed inflation would increase in 2025, more than double the 25% who expected inflation to decrease and the 24% who expected it to stay the same. In Indianapolis, the outlook was more optimistic, with 47% of adults indicating they believed inflation would increase in 2025while only 31% believed it would decrease.

Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Indianapolis adults say inflation is the dominant concern that could impact their finances this year.

For the second year in a row, more than half (60%) of Indianapolis residents believe their household income is growing slower than inflation. That’s nearly seven times greater than the 9% who say their income is growing faster than inflation, while one in four (25%) believe their income is on pace with inflation.

Home ownership feels out of reach for many Americans, and younger generations feel priced out

Among Indianapolis residents who are not currently homeowners,49% say that owning a home will never be financially affordable – now or in the future.

When digging into the reasons why non-homeowners feel that owning a home is not an affordable goal, however, the study reveals that Gen Z and Millennials nationally have some financial obstacles to overcome. Given the current interest rate environment and the competitive housing market, the youngest U.S. adults feel priced out of owning a home, even significantly more so than Millennials.

Meanwhile, over one third (35%) of Indianapolis residents say they do not feel financially secure. This matches the 33% who said the same last year. But notably, last year’s national data represented the highest level of financial insecurity recorded in the study’s history. The Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study started in 2009 and began measuring financial security using its current methodology in 2012.

Social Security and inflation remain top retirement concerns

When it comes to questions about retirement, concerns about Social Security and inflation are more pressing than some major planning challenges including outliving life savings, planning for long-term care, managing taxes and budgeting for healthcare.

On the topic of Social Security, 24% in Indianapolis say that they plan to delay receiving their benefits as long as possible to maximize their monthly benefit. Under half (42%) say they will start receiving their benefit when they hit their full retirement age, while 34% say they will start to receive payments as soon as they are eligible, even though their monthly benefit may be reduced.

Half (50%) of Indianapolis residents think it’s somewhat or very likely they will outlive their savings, according to the study. Only 12% of residents feel confident enough to say the prospect of outliving their wealth is “very unlikely.” Meanwhile, more than a third (36%) say they have not taken any steps to address it.

In addition:

• Indianapolis residents on average began saving for retirement at age 30 and plan to retire when they are 67.
• More than half, 54%, feel they will not be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes.

About The 2025 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study

The 2025 Planning & Progress Study was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual among 4,626 U.S. adults aged 18 or older. The survey was conducted online between January 2 and January 19, 2025. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and propensity to be online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. A complete survey methodology is available.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With nearly $700 billion of total assetsi being managed across the company’s institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, more than $38 billion in revenues, and $2.4 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 110 on the 2024 FORTUNE 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2025.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries includeNorthwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services.