Data & Research August 20, 2025

Most Common Financial Regret? Putting Off Retirement Savings

More than one-third of Baby Boomer and Generation X respondents said their biggest financial regret was waiting too long to start saving for retirement, according to Bankrate.

Reported by

Edward Rueda

Anyone who regrets not saving for retirement sooner is in good company, according to a new survey from consumer financial services company Bankrate LLC. The most common financial regret, shared by 22% of all respondents, was putting off retirement savings.

Breaking down survey participants by generation, 36% of both Baby Boomer and Generation X respondents said their biggest financial regret was not saving for retirement earlier.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news. 

Taking on too much credit card debt was the second-most-common regret for all participants (15%), and for the subset of Baby Boomers (15%) and Gen X (18%).

For surveyed Millennials, only 13% said their biggest regret was waiting too long to save for retirement (13%), while the most common answers were too much credit card debt (17%) and not saving enough for emergency expenses (17%).

Generation Z respondents had the largest group that claimed to have no financial regrets (28%), compared with 21% of all participants. Only 8% of Gen Z participants said their biggest financial regret was delayed retirement savings. Bankrate found that 74% of its survey respondents reported having financial regrets, down from 77% in 2024’s survey.

When all of Bankrate’s respondents were asked which financial factor was most likely to improve their personal financial situation, the biggest group (30%) chose cheaper essentials like gas and groceries.

There was a similar generational divide, as cheaper essentials was the most common answer for Baby Boomers (36%), Gen X (30%) and Millennials (30%). For Gen Z, cheaper essentials tied with better job opportunities, at 20%.

According to Schroders’ 2025 U.S. Retirement Survey, respondents participating in a workplace retirement plan thought they needed $1.28 million saved to live comfortably while retired. Only 30% of respondents thought they would reach the $1 million milestone before retirement.

YouGov Plc conducted an online survey on behalf of Bankrate, contacting 2,078 adults between July 9 and 11.