Writing down your retirement plan will make you feel twice as confident about the future.

Financial resilience doesn’t look the same for everyone, and right now, many families are navigating that in real-time.
While our data shows that middle-class households are making progress, for many, a gap remains between what broader financial data shows and what they are experiencing personally. For many, the costs of groceries, rent, and health care seem like they are still climbing. Planning for the future, especially retirement, becomes something to “get to later.”
At the same time, one-in-four middle-class households say that having enough retirement savings to retire at their desired age is the goal that would most make them financially successful.
That disconnect matters, because protecting every future starts with understanding what everyday households are actually experiencing. Nearly half of middle-class households still cite inflation as their top financial concern, and two-thirds point to affordability overall. It shows up in real decisions like skipping dinner out, delaying a home repair, or picking up extra work. Some older Americans are even returning to the workforce just to keep up with daily costs, with nearly half citing cost-of-living pressures as the reason.
Today, only about 64% of Americans are confident they’ll have enough to live comfortably in retirement, and many haven’t sought guidance in the past year. Yet people with a written retirement plan are more than twice as likely to feel confident about their future. The gap isn’t just about savings; it’s about access to clear, practical guidance.
The good news is that small, steady steps build real stability. Reworking a budget, writing down your retirement plan, and learning about tools like life insurance, disability income insurance, and annuities can make all the difference in retirement confidence.
Protecting every future means making sure every household has a path to plan, save, and thrive.
