Americans are more engaged with their money than at any point in recent memory, yet a growing share of them do not trust their own judgment when it comes time to act on it.
That dissonance is creating a financial confidence gap, according to a new report from Edelman Financial Engines, which sees that doubt showing up in everything from retirement savings to everyday spending.
The inaugural Financial Confidence Report, which draws from an October 2025 survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Greenwald Research, found that 84% of Americans prefer to play an active role in their retirement planning and savings decisions rather than putting their finances on the back burner and being caught on the backfoot later.
But engagement has not translated into competence. Only 40% of workplace retirement plan participants surveyed say they know exactly how their retirement savings are invested, and nearly half of Americans report making a financial decision they later regretted because of something they saw on social media.
"The most important aspect of attaining financial confidence is knowing what you don't know," said Michael Liersch, chief planning officer of Edelman Financial Engines. "So many Americans want to be in the driver's seat of their financial lives but aren't always sure where to turn."
The report ties much of this uncertainty to a broader mood of financial anxiety. Nearly half of those surveyed said they feel stressed, and among those who are stressed, money-related concerns are among the leading drivers. Uncertainty driven by inflation is pushing people toward impulsive decisions rather than deliberate ones: 38% said they made a major purchase sooner than planned because they worried prices would rise further, and among Americans under 50, that figure climbs above 50%.
Retirement anxieties compound the picture. Roughly 75% of non-retirees surveyed said they are concerned about potential Social Security benefit cuts, a worry that lines up with what the 2026 Trustees Report has already flagged: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund is projected to run dry in late 2032, at which point payroll taxes would cover only 78% of scheduled benefits.
Katie Klingensmith, chief investment strategist at Edelman Financial Engines, described the tension many clients feel when faced with a split screen between the macro picture and the household picture.
"You might open your 401(k) statement and feel encouraged by your progress, then head to the grocery store and feel a completely different sense of stress because you're paying more than you did just a few months ago," she said. "Those opposing signals can make it hard to know where you really stand financially."
A separate Gallup study conducted for Edward Jones took a separate reading of Americans' financial confidence. Based on a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults in March and April, it found that confidence in managing current finances rises sharply with age – from 25% of Gen Z adults to 54% of baby boomers.
Confidence in managing future finances didn't budge quite as much across generations, hovering between 25% and 37% for every age group. Even Gen Xers approaching retirement remain uneasy: 39% worry about whether their current and future savings will last, and only about one-fifth say they have a great deal of control over their financial future.
At least part of that might come down sandwich generation angst, with survey after survey indicating many Gen Xers have to financially support aging parents and children even as they try to build nest eggs of their own.
The Edelman report frames financial planning as the clearest lever for narrowing the confidence gap. Among those surveyed, more than 40% reach out to their financial planner before making major decisions, and 31% do it early – before they make any major financial decision.
Similarly, in the Gallup study, 59% of Gen Xers without a financial retirement plan reported being worried about their current and future savings, compared to just 25% of those who have one.
"Confidence is not a binary concept, and people can make mistakes regardless of their income level or where they are in their financial journey," Liersch said, pointing out big savers can score poorly on retirement readiness, just as those with more modest means may be well situated financially.
"Finding the right balance is increasingly important in today’s environment – and that starts with understanding your full financial picture,” Liersch said.
Edwin Lickiss earlier admitted that he defrauded at least 93 victims of over $9.5 million from 1998 through 2024.
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