The so-called existential approach aims to explain certain “anomalies” in life cycle saving behaviour without invoking, such as psycho-economic, the limited rationality of savers. To that end, it takes into account the situational context in which that person finds itself, taking into account its strictly human subjectivity, which is expressed in the relationships of self-esteem over time and in the projects which now give meaning and substance to its existence. It leads to an enriched concept of the preference for the present, which records discontinuity at event nodes or decision making nodes separating successive phases of the life cycle, and recognises that the saver’s relationship upon death is not simply governed by a hoped-for utility criterion applied to mathematical survival probabilities. This approach makes it possible to explain the failures of the experimental tests, which aim to replicate the long term of life in the laboratory, and provides new insights into the general disaffection for life annuities and the spread of actions, which remains a minority (in France) but concerns at least as many retired people who are even more risk-aware.