Only 30% of Americans believe they’ll be able to retire comfortably — an amount retirement plan participants now estimate is $1.2 million, a recent survey by Schroders found.
Concerns impacting Americans’ retirement readiness were rising healthcare, utility, insurance, and housing costs (60%), while 55% of survey respondents said they were unable to save 10% of their paycheck for retirement due to expenses. Of note, 33% of plan participants said that their credit card debt was higher than their retirement savings.
The Schroders survey was conducted between March 20 and April 15 of 2026, and included the responses of 1,500 U.S. investors, including 615 who participate in workplace retirement plans.
Miles McQuillen, assistant vice president, Private Wealth Management at Gabelli Funds, said that the $1 million-plus estimate is just a ballpark, but an important signal of investors’ attitudes and retirement readiness.
“We generally see that ($1.2 million figure) as a headline number,” McQuillen said. “I’m here in California, in Newport Beach, so that estimate is going to be different than one you’d see for West Virginia, for instance. Advisors should understand the cost of living and the taxes where your client lives. But those averages are great just as a guideline, as far as how clients are positioning themselves to ultimately reach (their goals).”
Retirement Funds in Cash, Fixed Income Opportunities
In the survey, nearly a quarter of plan participants didn’t know how their retirement funds were allocated across asset classes. Among respondents who were aware of their asset allocation split, a noticeable portion of their funds were sitting in cash — 26% of their retirement investments, on average.
McQuillen noted that for some investors, cash feels like the safer place to allocate funds when they’re unsure where else to invest.
“The 26% in cash, it may not be because they are making a big purchase in the next year or two, they may not know where else to put it,” he said.
“I think for clients that are in these mindless indexes, chasing the same 10 companies – it’s worth educating them on some other parts of the market to invest, to make sure they are as diversified as they think they are,” as they move into their retirement years, McQuillen shared.
One area where investors may be able to generate more alpha is intermediate fixed income investments, with a five- to seven-year duration, he said.
“Inflation is still relatively high, so I think advisors are looking more to that intermediate range of five to seven years, so you can really pick up some yield without exposing clients to a longer-term interest rate risk,” McQuillen explained.
The average asset allocation of retirement plan participants in the Schroders survey was 27% in equities, 26% in cash, 17% allocated to fixed income, 12% allocated to target date funds, and 12% allocated to private equity/credit. Around 6% of participants’ retirement investments were allocated to “other” asset classes.
Communication About Markets Is Always Welcome
For advisors readying their retirement planning practices for the future, McQuillen said that clients want more communication about the markets — particularly headline events they worry could impact their nest egg.
Among the mass affluent crowd, which is more likely to feel the brunt of rising living and retirement costs, there’s never “too much” communication from their perspective, he shared.
“People want to hear from advisors. It’s been a pretty big year of headlines in the markets that are grabbing the attention of the mass affluent. [They] want to hear how it’s impacting their portfolio and how much longer they’ll have to work for,” McQuillen said. This may look like enhancing your marketing efforts to inform clients about new tax strategies or updating clients on your research team’s latest observations on the markets.
McQuillen says that the wealth management industry is rapidly changing, in part, due to advisors wanting to offer more tailored services to clients.
“The whole advisory world has changed in terms of how it’s structured. A lot of advisors have branched out and left their wirehouses and started their own RIAs where they have more flexibility in how they manage their assets for their clients,” he said.
Looking forward, advisors should make sure their messaging to clients focuses on how the stock market can compound investors’ wealth, and how a long-term strategy will help them meet their retirement goals, rather than trying to time markets, or the performance of stocks, McQuillen said.
“Clients who generally do best with advisors are the ones who check their accounts once a year vs. once a day,” McQuillen said. “Historically speaking, it’s very difficult to consistently, successfully time the market. It’s time in the market vs. timing the market,” he said.
Danielle Walker is a freelance journalist with 15 years of business reporting experience. She previously worked at Business Insider and Pensions & Investments, among other business publications. Her work has been published in the Financial Times, Barron’s and Chief Investment Officer. Danielle is currently based in Norfolk, Virginia.
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Only 30% of Americans believe they’ll be able to retire comfortably — an amount retirement plan participants now estimate is $1.2 million, a recent survey by Schroders found.
