Younger Workers Look to Employers for Retirement Guidance

Younger employees are placing greater responsibility on employers to help them prepare for retirement, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Participant Survey. Among Gen Z participants, 86% believe employers have a responsibility to help employees with retirement savings, a view shared by 76% of Millennials, 71% of Gen X, and 61% of Baby Boomers.

Expectations follow a similar generational pattern when the questions become more specific. More than three-fourths of Gen Z participants agreed that employers should provide financial education and decision-support resources and coaching to support retirement planning, compared with 70% of Millennials, 66% of Gen X, and 56% of Boomers. These growing expectations suggest that plan design features — such as automatic enrollment, target-date funds, and simplified investment menus — may be increasingly important to organizations looking to attract and retain younger talent.

A Growing Workplace Role

The survey results point to an evolving view of the employer-sponsored plan. For many younger workers, access to a retirement account alone may no longer satisfy expectations. They also appear to want clearer explanations, simpler decisions, and more support in understanding how plan features work.

This support often comes in the form of well-designed plan features that minimize complex financial decisions.  The survey found that 96% of participants who were automatically enrolled viewed the experience positively, while 97% said the same about automatic contribution escalation. Target-date funds also received favorable marks from 90% of respondents.

The findings suggest employers could address some of that demand by deploying broad-based educational resources.  Organizations can scale their impact through interactive digital tools, targeted group education workshops, and communications from human resources or benefits teams. Ultimately, the data reveals a disconnect between what workers value and what companies actually provide.  While 71% of employees rank financial wellness programs as very important, only 53% state that their employer currently offers one.  This discrepancy underscores a clear opportunity for leadership to close this gap and secure a competitive advantage in workforce satisfaction.

Expectations Meet Uncertainty

This demand for help comes amid considerable uncertainty. Only 48% of participants were highly confident about how much to contribute, and just 39% felt confident navigating plan investment options. That gap underscores the value of well-designed defaults, including target-date funds, that can help simplify decisions. More than half said they were willing to spend time planning for retirement; they simply did not know where to begin.

J.P. Morgan surveyed 1,716 defined contribution plan participants and 512 retirees. The findings suggest that as younger generations make up a larger share of the workforce, robust retirement support may increasingly be viewed as a central part of the benefit rather than an optional addition.

Sources:

https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/ri-ppsr-2026.pdf