Hidden Retirement Prospects: Many Plan Not Contributing

New research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Principal identifies a large group of workers and retirees who may be overlooked by advisers and plan sponsors. EBRI’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey found almost 50% of unadvised workers and about 20% of unadvised retirees plan to work with a financial advisor. Separately, Principal’s research found 66% of retirement-plan nonparticipants believed they were contributing when they were not.

EBRI reports that about 40% of Americans currently work with financial advisors. Among workers who seek financial information, 39% rely on family and friends, 35% use online resources and 33% consult financial advisors. For retirees, 39% named advisors as their top information source, down from 45% a year earlier. Retirees reported consulting family and friends at 29% and online resources at 28%.

Panelists discussing the findings at an EBRI webinar on June 18 noted that many households use informal and digital sources for financial tips. Dee Dee Chadwick, senior director of the advanced consulting group at Nationwide, told the webinar that workers lean on social media, artificial intelligence and personal contacts for financial guidance. “Those channels are more effective when they complement trusted human guidance,” she said.

Principal’s analysis of nonparticipants found the mistaken belief that they were saving cut across ages, genders and plan sizes. Among the group that believed they were contributing, 65% reported a pre-tax salary of $50,000 or more. Generational breaks were 11% Gen Z, 19% millennials, 36% Gen X and 34% baby boomers. Men made up 51% of the mistaken group and women 47%.

Principal identified several reasons for the confusion. Some workers had rollovers or existing balances and assumed those reflected current contributions. Others expected automatic enrollment or assumed past contributions would continue. Some had stopped contributing without realizing the change. Daniella Moiseyev, head of retirement and income solutions content strategy at Principal, warned that participants often “fill in the gaps with assumptions.” She urged clearer, visible indicators of contribution status and targeted outreach to re-engage people who appear enrolled but are not making payroll deductions. “We need to make that contribution status visible,” she added.

EBRI researchers and industry panelists recommended that plan sponsors, providers and advisers improve communication about enrollment and active contribution status. They called for simple, clear displays of whether payroll deductions are active and for outreach tailored to participants who may mistakenly believe they are saving.