Retirement Confidence Surges, but a Troubling Gap Remains

Last week, we looked at a surprising retirement challenge: Even Americans who have accumulated significant savings often struggle to give themselves permission to spend it. But there’s another side to that conversation. For many workers, the challenge isn’t figuring out how to spend their retirement savings. It’s feeling confident they’ll have enough to retire in the first place.

New research suggests that confidence is improving, but financial readiness remains a work in progress. According to MFS’ 2026 Global Retirement Survey, 41% of U.S. workplace retirement plan participants are very or extremely confident they can retire at their desired age, up 13 percentage points from 2025. It’s the highest reading in years.

Yet beneath that optimism, significant financial pressures remain. More than 70% of respondents say they’ll need to save more than planned, 60% expect to work longer than anticipated and 75% say competing financial priorities are preventing them from saving adequately.

Those pressures also vary considerably by generation. Gen Z workers are more likely to struggle with everyday expenses and building emergency savings, while Gen X faces greater concerns about housing costs. Baby boomers, meanwhile, are increasingly focused on health care expenses and retirement preparedness. The survey also highlights a significant confidence gap between men and women. While 47% of men feel very or extremely confident about retiring when they want, just 33% of women say the same.

For advisors, this presents an opportunity to deepen client relationships by addressing the financial pressures that often get overlooked in traditional retirement planning. Instead of focusing exclusively on how much clients are contributing or how their portfolios are performing, advisors can help identify what’s preventing them from making progress in the first place.

Ultimately, retirement confidence isn’t built by simply telling clients to save more or showing them a portfolio balance. It’s built by helping them navigate the financial decisions standing between where they are today and where they want to be. By addressing those challenges, advisors can deliver value that extends well beyond investment management and build stronger relationships along the way.

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