U.S. Investors' Concerns Over Market Volatility Eased in Q4: Allianz

Millennials were also the ones most worried about being able to pay for necessities including housing or medical care in retirement due to the rising cost of living (50%, compared with 46% of Gen Xers and 35% of boomers), Allianz said. Overall, 42% of respondents said they were worried they would not be able to pay for necessities because of the rising cost of living.

"The rising cost of living is a real threat to hard-earned retirement savings, particularly as people are spending more time in retirement," according to Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life. However, 38% of respondents said they were confident that their financial plan could deal with the rising cost of living, he said.

Also, despite the "current sense of calm, the number of people who say now is a good time to invest in the market continues to decrease," he said in a statement. "This may be because people are anticipating more volatility in 2020, and don't want to take the risks that those major swings can have on their savings and retirement," he noted.

Those underlying worries could be what is driving a renewed interest in a product with guaranteed retirement income as a way to "help mitigate the risks that market volatility can have on retirement," according to Allianz.

Thirty-one percent of respondents (31%) said putting some money into a financial product that provided a guaranteed stream of income in retirement was the most important step to take to help make sure they have a secure retirement, up from 26% in the prior quarter, but down from 33% in Q1, Allianz said.

One additional positive of the latest findings: 60% of respondents said having a financial product that offered the opportunity for increasing income could help reduce that risk, Allianz said. Boomers were even more likely to agree, at 63%, it noted.

LaVigne recommended that consumers worried about continued market volatility risks and the rising cost of living well beyond next year work with a financial professional to help mitigate some of those risks.

For the latest study, Allianz Life conducted a 10-minute online survey in November with a nationally representative sample of 1,005 respondents 18 and older, it said, adding there was a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. Fifty-two percent of respondents were females and 48% were males, it said.