After a sharp increase in 2023, retirement confidence has fluctuated for savers in the last three years. According to BlackRock’s 2026 Read on Retirement survey, 68% of savers believe they are on track to retire with the resources to maintain their desired lifestyle, the same response level as recorded in 2024, up from 56% in 2023 and from 64% in 2025.
Most savers say they feel on track due to markets’ influence on their savings, with investments outperforming expectations in recent years. Plan sponsors share the same optimism, with 66% this year reporting that at least 60% of their employees are on track to retire with the lifestyle they want.
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However, even with confidence up, the survey found that income expectations do not match realistic income projections.
“Advisers play a critical role,” says Nick Nefouse, BlackRock’s global head of retirement solutions. “Once participants roll out of a 401(k) plan, it becomes much more opaque [about] what to do next. We’ve professionalized 401(k) plans through asset allocation, diversification, rebalancing, auto[matic] features, , but … the wealth market has remained fragmented.”
Nefouse says it is important for advisers to recognize what he calls the “retirement window”—when participants are between ages 55 and 70—when many significant choices have to be made.
“This is where the advisers can help, because while many believe that [they’re] going to work longer, only about a third of us actually work longer ,” he says.
Confidence vs. Readiness
at retirement, yielding available funds of $47,999 per year. When BlackRock calculated the actual funds expected to be available, the firm projected $28,062 per year.
Millennials showed a similar gap between their confidence and the income their retirement plans can actually support. Their confidence level that they could support a comfortable retirement was 73%, with a projected plan balance of $540,686 and expected annual availability of $43,620. The actual funds available, based on BlackRock’s calculations, was $23,349.
According to Nefouse, BlackRock used its capital market assumptions tool to run the analysis.
“We use our forward-looking capital market assumptions based on current balances and current savings rates,” Nefouse says. “We then projected that forward up until a time when [a participant] would retire and then using that lump sum of money at 65, we [calculated their spending] based on forward-looking capital market assumptions and longevity.”
Nefouse said BlackRock did not consider sources of retirement funding from outside a participant’s plan—such as Social Security or individual retirement accounts—in its analysis.
Generation X respondents reported the lowest confidence—60%—and had the lowest projected balance at $404,106, producing expected annual fund availability of $34,704. BlackRock projected annual availability of $17,450, highlighting a persistent gap across all generations.
Addressing generational differences will be key to narrowing the gap, requiring advisers to diversify the generations from which their client base comes.
“The advisers I’ve worked with tend to work with a cohort of people—they’re going to be overwhelmingly working with Gen Z or Gen X, and Millennials,” Nefouse says. “Understanding what their unique needs are is critical, like anybody in a position to provide guidance. … Whether it is pure asset allocation or insurance, that adviser’s job is to understand what’s going on with that cohort.”
Another important issue for advisers is their clients’ financial priorities and demands outside of retirement savings. For example, more than half of savers expect they may need to contribute less to retirement savings over the next 12 months because of competing financial demands.
The BlackRock survey, conducted by Escalent, included 453 plan sponsors, 1,312 workplace savers and 300 retirees.
Reevaluating Financial Priorities
Managing rising living expenses is a primary reason plan participants report that they may reduce retirement contributions, according to the BlackRock report.
Caregiving is another factor that could harm participants’ ability to save more for their retirement. Nearly half (43%) of surveyed savers identified as caregivers, .
To help clients address caregiving needs, BlackRock recommended that advisers leverage client relationships to help manage broader financial pressures.
“When the adviser tends to have a personal relationship, they’re going to understand things like caregiving better, they’re going to understand family dynamics better,” Nefouse says. “What good advisers do is they understand the full picture. The full picture is not just [the] Sharpe ratio of your portfolio. The full picture is: What does your life actually look like?”
Separate findings from the Nationwide Retirement Institute’s 2026 Long-Term Care Survey echoed the need for adviser guidance. According to Nationwide’s survey, 92% of caregivers said a clear discussion on how to pay for care would have helped them be more prepared.
Caregivers reported spending 22 hours per week providing care and spending an average of $382 per month on unreimbursed caregiving expenses.
Additionally, 73% of Millennial caregivers said they would consider taking a loan from their retirement account to provide care for a family member, and 58% said caregiving expenses will prevent them from ever retiring.
“Too often, families wait until a health event or caregiving crisis forces these conversations,” said Holly Snyder, Nationwide’s president of life insurance, in a statement. “Having a plan in place can help people protect their finances, reduce stress on loved ones and create more confidence about how they want to age and receive care.”
The Nationwide survey was conducted by the Harris Poll among 1,208 adults 30 or older who were the primary or shared financial decisionmakers and earned at least $75,000. The survey was conducted from April 11 through April 29.
