Life and Money: Retirement Security in the USA 2026

The U.S. retirement landscape is experiencing seismic shifts. In recent decades, traditional employer-funded defined benefit pension plans have been vanishing and supplanted by employee-funded 401(k) or similar plans with an employer contribution. Social Security, the cornerstone of retirement income, is facing imminent funding shortfalls. Now, Americans are increasingly expected to self-fund a greater portion of their retirement and manage the investment-related risks.

Life and Money: Retirement Security in the USA, a collaboration between nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) and Transamerica Institute, examines whether Americans are positioned to achieve a financially secure retirement. It provides a 2020 to 2025 trend analysis of 10 indicators of retirement security, and it includes an in-depth examination of the current state of retirement attitudes, beliefs, and preparations.

Key findings include:

• Lackluster Gains in Retirement Confidence: Two in three Americans (66%) indicate they are confident in their ability to have a comfortable retirement, including 22% who are very confident and 44% who are somewhat confident. These levels of retirement confidence were unchanged from 2020 to 2025. 
• Improvements to Retirement Savings Behaviors: Among those who are not retired, the percentage saving for retirement increased from 65% in 2020 to 69% in 2025. The total household savings in retirement accounts also increased from $44,000 in 2020 to $56,000 in 2025 (estimated medians).  
• Guarded Optimism About the Future: Only 15% of Americans say they are very optimistic about their future amid today’s rapid pace of change. 

This retirement trends report is based on the Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey conducted in 2020 to 2025 among more than 60,000 U.S. residents who are age 18 or older. A methodology summary is provided in the report.