Data & ResearchJanuary 30, 2026

Retirement Income Strategies, by the Numbers

Nearly half of 2025 PLANSPONSOR Plan Participant Survey participants reported having less than $100,000 in total retirement savings.

Reported by Edward Rueda

What strategies do retirement plan participants have for retirement income? The 2025 PLANSPONSOR Plan Participant Survey, published by sister publication PLANSPONSOR, polled both full-time and part-time adult employees who are current participants in their employer’s retirement plan.

Of the 1,714 respondents who shared their expected retirement age, 60% said they hoped or expected to retire by age 65. More than one-quarter (28%) said they expect to retire at age 70 or later. While a majority of respondents expressed confidence that they can achieve a secure retirement by an expected date, more than 40% showed little or no confidence or were uncertain.

How Confident Are You That You Will Achieve a Secure Retirement by Your Planned Retirement Age?

Very confident
Confident
Unsure
Somewhat/A little confident
Not at all confident

2025 PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey

Estimating their total retirement savings in all accounts, 48% of survey participants reported having less than $100,000. Nearly 94% of respondents had less than $1.5 million—still shy of the “magic number” of $1.57 million that Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study found was the average estimate of savings needed for a “comfortable” retirement.

Given their potential shortfall in retirement savings, what did PLANSPONSOR Plan Participant Survey respondents think of potential retirement income sources?

What Income Sources Do You Plan to Use in Retirement?

Current employer-sponsored account (401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.)

42.6%

Prior employer/Spouse or partner’s employer-sponsored account

21.4%

IRAs (Traditional, Roth or Rollover)

19.7%

Non-qualified plan

5.3%

Equity accrued in residence, other real estate

10.4%

Any other retirement accounts

8.8%

Social Security

30.9%

Inheritance

9.3%

Traditional Pension Plan

7.6%

2025 PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey

Guarantee or No Guarantee?

Plan participants were asked how much interest they had to invest in or purchase investment options that guarantee lifetime income starting at retirement, or managed accounts or similar solutions that create lifetime income without an insurance component or guarantee.

Guaranteed Lifetime Income

Managed Account or Similar Solution

A lot of interest

32.4%

27.1%

Fair amount of interest

27.1%

26%

Some or little interest

34.4%

27.1%

No interest

6.1%

7.2%

Source: 2025 PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey

The 12th annual PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey, performed in partnership with first-party-data company Dynata LLC, was fielded in October 2025 using the Qualtrics online survey platform. There were 2,458 respondents, aged 18 through 70 years old. The respondent pool was slightly more male (55.8%), and 69.4% were in their 30s or 40s. The most common household income range reported was $100,000 to $149,999, representing 23.7% of participants.