Retirement plan participants overwhelmingly want employer support for their retirement planning and decisionmaking, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Participant Survey. The summary of the company’s eighth biennial survey, “How Participants Think, Act and Engage With Their Retirement Plans,” found that younger cohorts largely expect employers to provide financial advice and even weigh in on contributions and investments.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of responding DC plan participants said if they could, they would “completely hand over” retirement planning and investing to a financial professional and “not think about it at all.”
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Asked how much responsibility employers have in helping employees save for retirement, 86% of Generation Z respondents said “a great deal” or “some responsibility,” compared with 76% of surveyed Millennials, 71% of Generation X respondents and 61% of surveyed Baby Boomers. Gen Z also had the largest share of respondents (77%) saying employers should provide financial advice and coaching on retirement planning, compared with 70% of Millennials, 66% of Gen X and 56% of Boomers.
Most dramatically, 70% of surveyed Gen Z members and 57% of surveyed Millennials agreed that employers have an “obligation” to help employees pick “right investments” in retirement plans, a sentiment only shared by 41% of surveyed Gen X and 35% of surveyed Boomers.
Underfunded and Leaking
Most participants (59%) said they needed to contribute more to be on track for a financially secure retirement. For the first time, J.P. Morgan’s survey also included retired participants, of whom a similar amount (63%) felt they should have contributed more.
While 68% of participants claimed that retirement savings was their top financial goal, more than half (53%) said saving for emergencies was a higher financial priority. Cost of living was a commonly cited concern for plan participants (35%) and retirees (21%).
Plan leakage impacted many participants, 27% of whom reported taking a loan or early withdrawal, and nearly one-fifth (19%) said they planned to do so in the future. The most-cited reasons for leakage were unexpected expenses (30%), credit card debt (15%), helping family and loved ones (8%), and healthcare (8%). Those who had already taken a loan or withdrawal were also more likely to plan to work for pay in retirement and to have concerns about outliving their savings.
Income and Outcomes
More than three-quarters (76%) of participants said a steady stream of retirement income was a concern, and half (51%) did not think that Social Security would cover routine monthly expenses. Just 35% thought Social Security benefits would be sufficient for routine expenses, and the figure dropped among participants nearing retirement: 26% for Gen X and 24% for Boomers.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which offers a retirement income-focused target-date fund, found that 91% of participants and 78% of retirees were interested in an in-plan option for guaranteed income. If the plan included a retirement income solution, 76% of participants said they would be somewhat or very likely to leave their savings in the plan.
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of participants used an adviser for guidance for plan decisions—with 43% using their own financial adviser and 32% using an adviser provided by their employer. Almost half (48%) relied on their plan provider, and 26% relied on their employer for advice. Repeating numerous previous studies, the participants who worked with financial advisers had higher financial preparedness. They were more likely to have an emergency savings fund (76%, compared with 60% of those not working with advisers), calculated retirement spending needs (52% vs. 39%) and knew how much to contribute to their plans (52% vs. 40%).
Repeating numerous previous studies, the participants who worked with financial advisers had higher financial preparedness. They were more likely to have an emergency savings fund (76%, compared with 60% of those not working with advisers), calculated retirement spending needs (52% vs. 39%) and knew how much to contribute to their plans (52% vs. 40%).
J.P. Morgan’s study combined data from market research firm Greenwald Research’s online survey of 1,716 DC plan participants in January and another survey of 512 retired DC plan participants aged 55 through 75.
