Employers think their workers are doing fine financially. The workers do not agree, and the size of that gap is a benefits strategy problem hiding in plain sight.
Bank of America’s 2026 Workplace Benefits Report, based on surveys of more than 900 full time employees and 800 employers with 401(k) plans, found that 55 percent of employees now report positive financial well being, an 11 point jump from 2023 and a four year high. Retirement confidence rose too, with 73 percent of workers saying they feel on track for retirement, up 6 points from 2025. Set against that improvement, 71 percent of employers said they believe their workers’ financial well being is good or excellent, a rosier read than the workers themselves give. Meanwhile 76 percent of employees said they worry about the economy, 62 percent are concerned about inflation, and 75 percent said the cost of living challenges their financial security.
The generational detail matters for benefits design. Gen Z workers started saving for retirement at an average age of 24, a full decade earlier than baby boomers began at 34, yet younger employees are not necessarily less anxious about money than their parents were. “Employees are still navigating complex financial circumstances that require proactive support,” said Stacy Bucchere, Bank of America’s managing director of workplace benefits client management.
The original wrinkle in the data is what workers actually want done about it. Only 33 percent said they want their employer to offer financial advisory services, even though 39 percent said they stayed in a job specifically because of a strong benefits package. That is not an argument for skipping financial wellness tools, it is an argument against rolling them out as a blanket perk. The confidence gap compounds a retention problem HR Tech has tracked closely: job lock recently hit a record high, with benefits teams absorbing much of the fallout as employees stay in roles they might otherwise leave.
Source: Bank of America
