The 2026 NFP US Retirement Trend Report found that 69% of workers lack confidence in their ability to achieve a comfortable retirement, which was up slightly from 67% in 2025. 46% of employees say they are deprioritizing or unable to save for retirement, while 72% say their savings are off track, up from 68% in 2025. (Source: NFP)
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1. FAMILY FIRST. 81% of US adults say they would feel responsible for helping a close family member facing serious financial hardship, even if they couldn’t comfortably afford it. 75% said they would financially help a loved one even if it delayed their retirement by up to five years. (Source: IRALOGIX)
2. COMING UP SHORT. Among US investors with workplace retirement plans, the average savings needed to live comfortably in retirement was $1.2 million, but 51% of those surveyed say they expect to have less than $500,000 saved, including 24% who expect to save less than $250,000. 33% said their credit card debt exceeds their retirement savings. (Source: Schroders)
3. CLUELESS. 53% of defined contribution plan participants don’t know how much they need to save to last throughout retirement, and just 48% are highly confident about how much they should contribute annually to their plans. That said, most (59%) think they should be contributing more to their retirement plans, while 63% of current retirees wish they had saved more. (Source: JP Morgan)
4. POOR PLANNING. Just 53% of ultra high-net-worth investors ($10+ million in assets) say their wealth transfer plan is fully in place. Only 31% have had detailed discussions with their heirs about their wealth transfer plans, while 25% haven’t had any conversation at all. 44% say wealth transfer plans have already caused, or will likely cause, family conflict. (Source: BNY)
5. STRAIGHT TO THE PIGGY BANK. Of the $36 trillion of assets that boomers will transfer to their heirs in the next 20 years, $28 trillion of it is expected to be saved, as 75% of recipients already have a higher net worth than the median household. Of the $8 trillion expected to be spent, the sectors likely to benefit the most include housing, autos, and travel. (Source: Visa)*
6. RETIREMENT FEAR. The Retirement Fear Index (RFI) is a monthly composite index tracking the intensity of 10 specific fears, like outliving savings, Social Security insolvency, and health care costs. In July, the index hit its highest reading since its December 2025 launch, indicating that retiree fear is 22% above its long-run average. (Source: RetireMentors)
7. G-OLD AGE. Americans 50 and older generated $12.5 trillion of economic activity in 2024, or 43% of US GDP. They account for 56% of all household consumer spending and pay nearly 60% of federal income taxes. As a group, older Americans would rank as the world’s third-largest economy, trailing only the US and China. (Source: AARP)
8. OLD LOANS. 9.5 million people over 50 in the US had student debt totaling $452 billion as of Q1 2026. More than 3 million of those debtors are over the age of 62, which is up 67% versus 2018. Baby Boomers with an outstanding student loan owe an average of $45,000, or more than three times the average balance of $13,800 for borrowers under the age of 25. (Source: WSJ)*
9. LET THEM EAT CAKE. While participants have shown a greater interest in having access to guaranteed income products for their retirement savings, adoption of annuities in target date products has been slow. Just 5% of plan sponsors said they currently offer TDFs with built-in annuities, and only 15% said they are considering one. (Source: Plan Sponsor Council of America)
QUESTION: July 14th was the inaugural Women’s Retirement Security Day, a day dedicated to highlighting and closing the retirement savings gap that women face due to factors like gender pay gaps and career interruptions. How much less is the median 401(k) balance of women compared to men?
*According to Statista, Baby Boomers include those born between 1946 – 1964.
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