Americans’ Confidence in a Comfortable Retirement Is Waning, New Report Shows 

We’ve got good news and bad news. 

First, the good news: A majority of retirees say their standard of living is satisfactory, according to a new report from the Employee Benefit Security Administration, with half even saying their standard of living is excellent or very good. Now the bad: Fewer Americans feel confident about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement compared with a year ago, and there are serious concerns about the stability of Social Security and Medicare. It’s a decidedly mixed message about Americans’ retirement prospects, but what’s not in doubt, the survey shows, is that financial advisors are a trusted source of guidance. 

“Retirement confidence has clearly softened this year and the data show why,” said Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at EBRI. “Americans are contending with a mix of immediate financial pressures and long-term uncertainty, making it harder for people to feel secure about their retirement.”

Why So Worried? 

Survey data shows Americans are most concerned about whether their savings will be sufficient. Worries about inflation and the cost of living are also weighing people down, and fewer workers believe they will be able to meet basic expenses in retirement. Fewer feel they are financially well enough to handle an emergency expense either now or in the future, too, and a larger share report that debt is a major problem for their household.

By the numbers: 

• Workers’ confidence in having enough money to live comfortably in retirement fell 6 percentage points from 2025 to 61%. 
• Retirees’ confidence fell 5 percentage points to 73%.

Likewise, concern about changes to the retirement system remains high, with seven in 10 retirees and four in five workers worrying the federal government will somehow jeopardize their financial security, namely through changes to Social Security or Medicare. Only about half of workers and six in 10 retirees said they are confident those programs will continue to provide benefits of equal value in the future.

Apparently acting on their concerns, nearly one-quarter of workers adjusted their target retirement age in the past year, with most moving it later and 16% now saying they’ll never retire. The median expected retirement age for workers remained 65 years old, but retirees reported a different reality. That is, most retired before age 65, with a median retirement age of 62, and nearly half said they retired earlier than planned.

Where to Turn? More than two in five workers and one-quarter of retirees said they do not know where to go for financial or retirement planning advice, and confidence in having the right educational and support resources declined from 2025. At the same time, about four in 10 Americans currently work with a professional financial advisor, and many of the rest expect to do so in the future.