Traditional expectations of retirement may be weakening

Washington DC, September 10, 2025 - A recent survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial offers a complex and often conflicted picture of how Americans feel about their financial future. Half of non-retirees are skeptical they'll ever be able to fully retiree, there are external forces that are potentially driving retirement-related anxiety, and a third have adjusted their lifestyle or financial plans for retirement due to economic conditions over the past year. However, this uncertainty may also be part of a broader shift in how Americans conceptualize retirement.

About the Study

This poll was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial from July 29 – August 12, 2025, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,317 general population Americans. In addition, oversamples were included in five target Metropolitan Statistical Areas to achieve n=500 total completes. The sample for these MSA oversamples came from a combination of KnowledgePanel and supplemental non-probability (opt-in panel) 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 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) from the US Census Bureau. The weighting categories for the national, general population sample were as follows:

1. Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-34,35-49,50-64,65+)
2. Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other o r2+ Races/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
3. Education (Less than High School/High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
4. Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
5. Language Dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Dominant Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)

The target MSA oversamples were also weighted to reflect the population characteristics of each area. Opt-in respondents also had set weight calibrations with respect to how much TV they watch, their internet usage, whether they use the internet to express political beliefs, and their frequency of trying new products. The needed benchmarks were obtained from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS). The four calibration variable benchmarks were derived based on the weighted KnowledgePanel MSA respondents. The weighting categories for the MSA sample were as follows: 

1. Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-34,35-49,50-64,65+)
2. Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
3. Education (Less than High School/High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
4. Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
5. Language Dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Dominant Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)
6. Daily Television Viewing (Less than 3 hours/day, 3+ hours/day)
7. Weekly Personal Internet Usage (Less than 10 hours/week, 10+ hours/week)
8. Express Political/Community Opinions Online (Not at all, less than a month or more often)
9. 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 2.1 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 1.11. 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 the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 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. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com