Americans Cite Affordability as Top Barrier to Financial Progress

Across life stages, backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, nearly two-thirds of American survey respondents agreed that affordability is the overarching barrier to economic progress, according to a study conducted by the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, In Pursuit of Progress: Americans’ Aspirations for Economic Mobility, released today.

The results come as the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. recently released its “CFP Professionals Sentiment Indices — Summer 2026” report, finding clients expressed concerns about cost of living impacting their outlook on life goals—particularly for those close to retirement.

The McKinsey-Kellogg survey was conducted with more than 30,000 adults and supplemented by in-depth interviews and focus groups. It found that in the wake of an affordability crisis, employers may be the key to facilitating economic progress among their workers.

“Institutions have a critical role in expanding opportunities,” the McKinsey-Kellogg report stated. Respondents named employers as among the “most effective institutions” for helping achieve economic progress—cited by 40% of respondents as a top-three institution to help “get ahead,” while governments were viewed as bearing the greatest responsibility for expanding opportunity from a policy perspective.

J.P. Julien, a partner in McKinsey & Co., said during a media briefing that the firms found U.S. adults wanted not just financial benefits from their employers—including increased pay, retirement savings accounts and health insurance—but nonfinancial benefits as well. Workplace mentorship and skill development opportunities were among respondents’ frequent suggestions.

McKinsey-Kellogg respondents’ sentiment about their economic progress tended to wane with age. Only 37% of respondents ages 55 through 64 agreed that their life has momentum and that they are making significant progress toward their goals, compared with 43% of respondents overall.

Later in life, saving for the future and improving health overtook career growth as respondents’ defining aspirations, the McKinsey-Kellogg study showed. While 28% of respondents overall named saving for the future as their top aspiration, the proportion increased to 39% among respondents aged 55 through 64 and 44% among respondents aged 65 and older.

Young adults, meanwhile, were the most career- and income-focused of any age group, with nearly 80% identifying career advancement or earning more income as a top-three priority. However, 34% of young adult respondents cited mental health as their top barrier to progress, more than twice the rate of other respondents—suggesting employers might be well-suited to offer strong mental health services, suggested Carla Thompson Payton, the Kellogg Foundation’s chief strategist and impact officer.

“How [can we ensure we] have healthy employees [by going] beyond just providing simple health insurance?” Payton suggested employers ask themselves. “Are [we] supporting good community standards on health?”

Simultaneously, Julien said that young adults are “facing the most challenging job market that [they] have seen in a generation, particularly for entry-level roles.”

The Kellogg Foundation and McKinsey surveyed 30,119 U.S. adults from April 1 through April 13. The CFP Board surveyed 423 CFP professionals from July 7 through 19.