Americans show signs of financial optimism alongside concerns about retirement
Washington DC, April 28, 2026 - A new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Thrivent Financial finds signs of financial optimism and retirement confidence alongside persistent concerns about the impact of forces like inflation and AI-driven economic change.
Most Americans are feeling good about where they stand financially right now. A majority say they feel financially secure and optimistic about their financial future, and most feel they're doing the same or better than the people around them. However, this confidence is much higher among older generations, with Boomers far more likely to feel secure than Gen X, Millennials, and especially Gen Z. The financial optimism and confidence seen among Americans overall becomes more complicated when you zoom in on the topic of retirement.
Roughly four in ten non-retirees lack confidence they'll have enough saved to retire on schedule, and a similar share doubt they'll ever fully retire at all. Feeling "behind" is common and is most often chalked up to the cost of living and insufficient income rather than a lack of planning, while those who feel ahead point to starting early and living within their means. Macro forces are compounding the anxiety: inflation, political instability, and global economic conditions are weighing more heavily on retirees this year than last, and a significant share of non-retirees, especially younger ones, now see AI-driven job disruption as a threat to their retirement.
About the Study
This poll was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial from March 24 – April 3, 2026, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,325 general population Americans. In addition, oversamples were included in three target Metropolitan Statistical Areas to achieve n=500 total completes for each area. The sample for these MSA oversamples came from a combination of KnowledgePanel and supplemental non-probability (opt-in panel) sample.This poll was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial from June 15 – June 22, 2026, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,032 general population Americans. In addition, an oversample was included in the Minneapolis Metropolitan Statistical Area to achieve n=500 total completes. The sample for this MSA oversample came from a combination of KnowledgePanel and supplemental non-probability (opt-in panel) sample, and is not part of the nationally representative U.S. gen pop sample.
The main survey was conducted using the web-enabled KnowledgePanel®, which is the largest and most well-established online panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in these households are invited to join and participate in the web-enabled KnowledgePanel®. For those potential panel members who do not already have internet access, Ipsos provides a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methods, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and provide fully representative online samples to the research community.
The study was conducted in both English and Spanish. The U.S. gen pop data (KnowledgePanel 18+) were weighted to adjust adjusted to align with the following geodemographic distributions of the aged 18+ U.S. population using an iterative proportional fitting (raking) procedure. The demographic benchmarks came from 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) from the US Census Bureau. The weighting categories for the national, general population sample were as follows:
Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-34,35-49,50-64,65+)
Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
Language Dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Dominant Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)
The target Minneapolis MSA oversample was weighted using a multi-step process to reflect the population characteristics of each area. First, design weights for KnowledgePanel (KP) MSA assignees were computed to reflect their selection probabilities. These design weights were then adjusted to align with geodemographic distributions of the aged 18+ MSA population using an iterative proportional fitting (raking) procedure, with benchmarks obtained from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Next, opt-in MSA respondents were adjusted to align with both ACS geodemographic benchmarks and four calibration variables, with calibration benchmarks based on the weighted KnowledgePanel MSA respondents. Lastly, KP and opt-in respondents were combined based on their respective effective sample sizes and adjusted to final benchmarks. The weighting categories for the final combined MSA sample were as follows:
Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-35, 36-49, 50-65, 66+)
Race-Ethnicity (categories varied by MSA based on population composition)
Education (Less than High School/High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
Daily Television Viewing Watch TV (Less than 3 hours/day, 3+ hours/day)
Express Political/Community Opinions Online (Not at all, less than once a month or more often)
Interest in Trying New Products (Not at all/Somewhat, A lot/Completely)
The margin of sampling error for the U.S. gen pop sample is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.06. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.
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