Employees Seek Improved Retirement Solutions in Wake of Financial Strain

Retirement preparedness is no longer limited by participants’ ability to access or join a retirement plan, but daily financial demands continue to complicate chances of success, according to an insights report based on the 2026 Goldman Sachs Asset Management Survey, “The New Economics of Retirement: Making Every Dollar Saved Work Harder,” released today.

Managing housing, healthcare, education, caregiving and day-to-day living expenses competes with building retirement savings. As a result, the report found, the share of survey respondents who increased their retirement savings fell to 39% this year from 55% in 2025. Meanwhile, the share who reduced their savings rose to 14%, up from 8% last year.

“Retirement security today requires more than telling people just to save more,” said Chris Ceder, Goldman Sachs’ senior retirement strategist, during a media briefing on the survey. “The next generation of retirement solutions must help every dollar saved work harder, last longer and withstand more pressure along the way that we know life inevitably provides.”

Household Costs Compete

The survey’s data showed that rival financial priorities pushed retirement savings off track across all generations. Since last year, the proportion of Generation Z that reported their savings were “on track or better” fell to 66% from 75%; Millennials dropped to 61% from 74%; Generation X declined to 49% from 58%; and Baby Boomers fell to 60% from 69%.

The three barriers most commonly cited as standing in the way of retirement savings were predictable, Goldman found. Housing costs and day-to-day living expenses each were cited by 31% of respondents, while 27% listed debt payments as financial challenges most affecting their ability to save for retirement.

The most prominent financial pressures differed by generation, however. Housing and debt payments dominated among younger generations, with 37% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials citing housing as their greatest challenge—almost double the worry expressed by Boomers. Daily expenses affected older generations more, with 37% of Gen X and 33% of Boomers naming everyday costs as their top concern.

Healthcare and medical expenses persisted across all generations, with 25% of Millennials reporting them as their biggest retirement-saving obstacle, followed by 23% of Gen Z and Boomers and by 20% of Gen X.

Workers Seek Additional Employment

While nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said their primary work provides a stable path toward financial security, their engagement in outside work indicated otherwise. Some 61% of workers reported working outside their primary job—of those, 71% cited financial need as the reason for having the second job.

By generation, 88% of Gen Z, 77% of Millennials, 57% of Gen X and 37% of Boomers reported moonlighting in addition to their primary job.

Across generations, 71% of Millennials described their primary job as financially stable, followed by 68% of Gen Z, 67% of Boomers and 57% of Gen X.

Delaying Financial Milestones

With financial strain as the backdrop, 83% of Gen Z, 78% of Millennials and 65% of Gen X respondents reported delaying a major financial goal. Among respondents from those generations, 66% expected to delay their retirement due to competing financial priorities. Only 58% of retirement savers said they were on track or ahead of schedule, down from 68% that said so last year.

Building emergency savings (34%) was the goal delayed most frequently. Retirement savings, at 29%, ranked second, while lowering debt, at 25%, ranked third.

The likelihood of delaying life goals was lowest at the bottom levels of income but, surprisingly, rose again at the top income level. Of respondents earning less than $50,000 per year, 78% reported having delayed financial goals, and 34% said they delayed retirement. The delays were lowest, at 52% and 25%, respectively, among respondents earning between $200,000 and $300,000; while the top earners in the survey—those earning more than $500,000 per year—reported the highest share of delayed goals and retirement saving, at 80% and 45%, respectively.

While many workers expected to delay their retirement, 44% reported retiring earlier than planned. But nearly the same proportion—46% of workers who reported retiring early—did so for reasons other than readiness, including health reasons, family caregiving responsibilities and because their job was no longer available to them.

Impact on the Workplace

Workers’ financial stress did not end at home, either—it carried over to the office, particularly among younger generations. More than half (53%) of Gen Z employees and 47% of Millennials reported missing work in the past year due to a personal financial challenge. Similarly, 48% of Millennials and 47% of Gen X reported considering a job change due to financial worries.

Workers ranked bills, retirement readiness worries and financial demands of family members as the three financial concerns most affecting their work.

Personalized Planning and AI

The report suggested that several industry solutions could help workers’ ability to save.

How workers managed their retirement savings—including whether they used personalized planning—was a major driver of retirement outcomes. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents reported having a personalized retirement plan, and those with one reported increased savings in the last year (46%) at a higher level than those without one (26%). The proportion with a personalized plan also reported better retirement income satisfaction (77% versus 51%) and retiree lifestyle satisfaction (49% versus 28%).

Artificial intelligence has become a meaningful tool for retirement planning as well, with 51% of respondents reporting having used AI tools and 94% aware that AI is available to help.

Respondents selected AI as one of the three most important sources for education and advice, with 21% of working respondents citing it as an important source of information in 2026, up from 14% in 2025. Workers reported using AI to learn retirement basics, to create a savings plan and to estimate how much they may need to retire.

Respondents still reported wanting human advice, at 78% for high-stakes decisions related to major life events, at 69% for emotional reassurance and at 63% for tax-sensitive planning and retirement income decisions.

“AI services are a bit more of the entry level … [they] can engage people earlier in the process and then help transition them into working with a financial professional,” Ceder explained during the webinar.

Investment Menu Enhancements

Survey respondents also reported being interested in enhancements to their workplace retirement plan to help boost return potential, increase diversification and offer wider investment opportunities. The three enhancements most cited by respondents were: professionally managed investments with higher return potential (38%), a personalized investment portfolio (38%) and a broader range of asset classes (34%).

As the industry focuses on including private market investments within professionally managed options, “more individuals are knowledgeable and comfortable with private investments than ever,” according to the report. Among respondents familiar with private market investments, the most-cited reasons for interest were: potentially higher long-term returns (42%), greater diversification (40%) and inflation protection (38%).

Respondents indicated that their comfort level with the investments was largely driven by the involvement of professional management (40%) and direct adviser access (39%), the report stated.

Retirement Income Preferences

As workers confront the risk of outliving their savings, the demand for retirement income persists, with 59% of people surveyed reporting that they feared outliving their savings and 83% saying they wanted some guaranteed income as part of their financial strategy in retirement.  

Among respondents, 51% reported wanting a blend of steady income and flexible access to their savings. About 32% reported wanting to optimize monthly payouts they would be guaranteed for life, even if it meant giving up direct control over their savings. Some 17% of respondents wanted to keep full control over their savings, accepting that their guaranteed income would be lower.

Goldman Sachs collected responses in July from 3,612 working individuals and 1,494 retired individuals ages 45 through 75.