Workers and retirees don't turn to the same places for retirement guidance, according to the 2026 Employee Benefit Research Institute's Retirement Confidence Survey. This month's chart unpacks where both groups go for information. Take a look, and you'll see one source stands out from the rest. |
One-on-One Support Most sources lose ground once someone retires. Family and friends fall by the wayside. Self-directed online research drops, too. Even the people closest to us, it turns out, get leaned on a little less once retirement has arrived. A financial professional is the exception. Nearly 40 percent of retirees say they have one, making it the only major source of information that grows after a person has retired. Among workers, family and friends still ranked first. Enter AI AI tools are popular with workers, but interestingly, they are largely abandoned by retirees. Financial commentary from media personalities and social media follows a similar pattern, dropping from 19 percent to 10 percent. Workplace HR and benefits departments fall off, too. What This Means for You The sources people lean on change as the stakes get higher and more personal. The EBRI study shows that happens when a set of questions moves from hypothetical to immediate. It happens when a person moves from an accumulator of money to a person who relies on the money for income. It happens when a person wants a strategy that reflects their unique situation, from investment decisions to estate management to retirement distributions. That's part of why we like to build relationships with clients well before that worker-to-retiree transition happens. We want the shift to feel less like a change for you and more like a conversation that was already underway. |
This material was developed and produced by FMG Suite to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. FMG Suite is not affiliated with the named broker-dealer, state- or SEC-registered investment advisory firm.