- Key Insight: Discover how rising costs and benefit uncertainty are reshaping retirement planning assumptions.
- What's at Stake: Widening retirement gaps could strain employers, insurers and public benefit frameworks.
- Supporting Data: Social Security is top income for nine in 10 retirees; primary expected source for workers.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
Americans are becoming more pessimistic about their chances of living comfortably in retirement, according to a new national survey.
The 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey revealed that financial strain, rising costs and growing concern about the future of Social Security and Medicare continue to weigh on both workers and retirees alike.
Just 61% of workers are confident they will have
"Retirement confidence has clearly softened this year and the data show why," says Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at Employee Benefit Research Institute, which co-conducted the survey with Greenwald Research.
"Americans are contending with a mix of immediate financial pressures and long-term uncertainty. Many workers are struggling with debt, inflation and rising housing and healthcare costs, while retirees are increasingly worried about
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Those worries are reflected in respondents' views of the system itself. Seven in 10 retirees and four in five workers said they are concerned the government will make changes to the U.S. retirement system.
Only about half of workers and six in 10 retirees said they are confident Social Security and Medicare will continue to provide benefits of equal value in the future. According to the report,
Debt, health costs weigh on retirement security
At the same time, household debt remains a major obstacle, especially for workers. Sixty-five percent of workers said debt is a problem for their household, and 25% described it as a major problem. Half of workers have credit card debt, and nearly one in three have more than $25,000 in non-mortgage debt.
About three in five workers and three in 10 retirees said debt negatively affects their ability to save for
"Debt not only prevents individuals from being able to save now as they build up for retirement," Copeland says. "If they carry that debt into retirement, that makes it harder to cover the necessities … So it's twofold: It prevents you from being better prepared and puts you in a worse situation once you're in retirement."
In addition to debt, housing and health costs continue to strain Americans. Seven in 10 workers and half of retirees are concerned that rising housing costs will affect their retirement, while three in five workers and one-third of retirees said high housing costs are already
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Nearly six in 10 workers said the cost of healthcare is hurting their ability to save for retirement, compared with two in five retirees who said healthcare expenses after leaving the workforce have been higher than expected.
"There is a whole playback between health and wealth that people are starting to recognize, and that's something that people should also keep an eye on," Copeland says. "As people feel less financially secure, is that impacting their health or is it vice versa?"
Finding retirement guidance also remains a challenge for many Americans. More than two in five workers and one-quarter of retirees said they don't know where to turn for financial or retirement planning advice.
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About four in 10 Americans currently work with a professional financial adviser, and many who don't say they expect to in the future.
