Workers say the 401(k) is no longer enough to win them over

Nine in 10 workers consider a 401(k) essential or very important to accept a job, but most also see it as a baseline perk rather than something that sets an employer apart, according to new survey data.

The 2026 Vestwell Saver Survey, based on 1,007 responses from employed adults in the US collected in June, found that 57% of workers call a 401(k) essential and another 33% call it very important, for a combined 90% who treat it as a requirement of employment. That share held steady across age, income and employer size.

Even so, 61% of respondents described the 401(k) as an expected baseline rather than a differentiator, and 25% said it matters but is not enough on its own. The researchers concluded that skipping a 401(k) plan is likely to cost an employer candidates, but offering one will not be enough to win their loyalty.

Day-to-day costs top the list of what is standing between workers and bigger retirement contributions. Sixty-three percent of respondents pointed to everyday expenses as their biggest barrier to saving more, ahead of credit card or other debt at 38%, insufficient emergency savings at 32%, student loans at 20%, childcare or family costs at 17%, and saving for a home at 14%.

The pressure was not confined to lower earners. More than half of respondents earning between $125,000 and $200,000 still cited everyday expenses as an obstacle to saving.

"For many workers, retirement readiness is decided before the 401(k) contribution screen. It is decided at the level of rent, groceries, debt, and family obligations," said Kevin Gaston, head of strategic retirement consulting at Vestwell.

Confidence about where to direct the next dollar was thin regardless of income.

Sixty-four percent of workers earning $200,000 or more described themselves as only somewhat confident in their financial decisions, while 29% of those earning under $75,000 said they were not very confident or did not know where to begin. Workers in their 20s reported the highest rate of low confidence at 29%, though 26% of workers in their 50s also fell into that category.

Financial insecurity

An absent financial cushion is compounding the problem.

Thirty-two percent of respondents said a lack of emergency savings was limiting how much they could put toward retirement, and 37% said they want their employer to offer an emergency savings account, a demand that peaked among workers in their 40s at 44%.

Workers are largely finding financial guidance outside the workplace. Forty-four percent said they turn to friends or family, 36% use online search or social media, and 31% use a financial advisor.

Eighteen percent said they use AI tools such as ChatGPT, matching the share who use budgeting apps and outpacing the 12% who rely on their employer's benefits or HR platform. Guidance sources shifted sharply by age: 63% of workers in their 20s lean on friends or family versus just 14% who use an advisor, while 53% of workers in their 60s use an advisor and only 15% turn to social media or search.

Using benefits

Access to a benefit does not guarantee use of it.

Among respondents who said they had delayed or ignored an employer financial benefit, 16% did not know it existed, 10% did not think they could afford it, 10% did not understand how it worked, and 6% found it too complicated to start. Overall, 32% of all respondents cited one of those friction points, rising to 54% among those who do not use every benefit available to them.

Appetite for more targeted help was strong. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said a tool that automatically routed each paycheck dollar toward the goal with the biggest impact, such as building emergency savings before paying down high-interest debt or maxing out a 401(k) match, would be very or extremely valuable. That figure climbed to 94% among workers who said they did not know where to start and 84% among those who described themselves as not very confident.

The report reveals that the gap between what workers need and what employers currently provide is widest at smaller companies, where financial benefits are less likely to be offered at all, and among workers juggling the most competing financial demands.