234. Retirement Confidence in Focus: How Savers Navigate Volatility and Change
Full episode description:
Retirement confidence is under pressure. While younger generations are entering the workforce with optimism, the latest Read on Retirement report reveals troubling gaps between savers, plan sponsors, and retirees. Only 38% of employers believe their employees are on track, and confidence among retirees has dropped to historic lows.
In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks with Jaime Magyera, Head of BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory and Retirement Business, about the findings from a decade of retirement data. Together, they explore what’s driving the confidence gap - and the bold actions needed to close it.
Jaime highlights three calls to action for the retirement industry: expand access to professional management, deliver guaranteed income solutions, and broaden portfolios to include private markets. She also underscores the need for education and re-enrollment so savers fully benefit from these innovations. With retirement confidence at a crossroads, this episode offers both a reality check and a roadmap for plan sponsors, policymakers, and individuals alike.
Key insights include:
Why retirement savers’ confidence often outpaces employers’ assessment, and what this paradox reveals.
How target date funds and auto-enrollment are making retirement saving easier and more effective.
Why guaranteed income solutions are increasingly vital to ensure retirees don’t outlive their savings.
The growing importance of private markets in delivering long-term returns and diversification alongside public markets.
Differences across generations and genders in retirement confidence - and how advice and professional management can help bridge gaps.
How market volatility, student debt, and competing financial priorities continue to challenge long-term savers.
Sources: BlackRock’s Read on Retirement Survey, September 2025
Keywords for search: Retirement confidence, Retirement planning, Guaranteed income solutions, Target date funds, Private markets, Capital markets, Financial security, Megaforces
Written disclosures in episode description:
This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. Reference to any company or investment strategy mentioned is for illustrative purposes only and not investment advice. For full disclosures, visit blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosures.
<<TRANSCRIPT>>
Oscar Pulido: Retirement confidence is at a crossroads. Over the past decade, optimism among savers has climbed to new heights, driven largely by younger generations entering the workforce, yet only 38% of employers who manage retirement plans. Believe most employees are on track. Confidence among those already in retirement has also hit an all-time low.
Only 27% feel financially prepared down from 43% only five years ago in 2020. While much progress has been made in helping people save for retirement, emergency savings are shrinking. Gender gaps persist, and many Americans are saving less, even as the cost of retirement keeps rising. So how can the retirement industry turn this confidence gap into lasting security?
Welcome to The Bid where we break down what's happening in the markets and explore the forces changing the economy and finance. I'm Oscar Pulido.
Coming up, I'm joined by Jaime Magyera, head of BlackRock's US Wealth Advisory and Retirement Business to explore the findings of the latest read on retirement report, we'll discuss what a decade of data reveals about saver's, hopes and anxieties, why income solutions are becoming central to the retirement conversation and how the system can evolve to close the growing savings gap. We'll also look ahead to the bold actions that could define the next chapter of retirement.
Jaime, thank you so much for joining us on The Bid.
Jaime Magyera: It's so good to be here.
Oscar Pulido: Jaime, this is the first time I think you've actually joined us on The Bid, and you and I have a fun personal story about our careers that I'm going to come back to at the end. But first I want to talk to you about the topic of retirement, which is a topic that has grown in importance over the last couple of years in something that BlackRock is certainly talking about a lot. This year marks the 10th anniversary of BlackRock's read on retirement report. That's a decade's worth of tracking savers, hopes their anxieties, their concerns about retirement. So, when you look at that report, what stood out to you most in this year's findings as compared to a decade ago?
Jaime Magyera: So first of all, it is great to be here. I love the show. I watch it all the time, and now I'm here!
First of all, a decade ago when it was first released, I was part of the team that actually helped to, create it. So, it is really a full circle moment and very special to see it now a decade later. Before I get into the findings, one of the things that I love about what we do is we talk to plan sponsors, advisors, participants every single day. People who are thinking about saving for their what's next, saving for retirement, saving for that next chapter. And so the ability to now go to market and have these surveys where we're getting a bit more of a pulse, a texture and we're understanding what's really driving the motivations, what's really driving the perceptions, and what's really driving the achievements of both plan sponsors, those that are actually creating plans, retirement plans for their employees, the employees themselves, those who are saving for their, what's next, their retirement. And then this year we also went out to retirees to learn how they're experiencing now that they're in that next chapter. What is that like?
And so, what we saw when we looked at the findings was this incredible gap, right? This paradox between the confidence that Savers had around their retirement readiness and the confidence that plan sponsors had, right? The employer who were creating those plans very different, right? So you had savers who, two thirds of which thought they were on track. They were on track to achieve their retirement goals. They were looking forward to retirement. And then you asked the plan sponsors the same question and only 38% of plan sponsors thought that their participants were on track. And so there was this massive divide there, right? A gap, which we'll get onto and what some of those actions might be in that gap.
But it was quite alarming. It was actually the largest gap we've seen, in our history. When we went on to then ask retirees how they felt, now that they're living in retirement, their confidence was even lower. Their confidence was low because they were trying to figure it out and trying to figure out if they would have enough to actually live through retirement.
So this gap, these results actually point to some actions. And I'll say so much progress has been made over the years as a society in helping Americans achieve their retirement goals. But this really lays out a roadmap for us of what more needs to be done.
Oscar Pulido: And so, talk a little bit more about. What needs to be done, these calls to action, because you mentioned the gap in confidence, and on the one hand, the people that are saving for retirement seem to have a higher level of confidence than the people who facilitate sort of the retirement system. So why does that gap exist and how do we close that gap?
Jaime Magyera: One of the things that came out of the study, and it's why we do it every year, is because it actually does point to the actions that need to be taken and the actions that would help close the gap around retirement confidence and retirement preparedness.
And so, what we uncovered in this study were really three main calls to action. The first is just that participants, employees want professional management. They want access to something that makes it easy for them to save, but also easy for them to invest. And so what that is really pointing to is this notion of a target date fund, for example, something that automatically changes the asset allocation across equities and fixed income as you age.
So you don't have to worry about, I'm 25 today. How should I actually, invest? And versus I'm 35 versus I'm 55. What does that mean? That's hard to get your head around. And so a target date fund, can do that automatically for participants. And, participants were asking for this. Plan sponsors are doing an excellent job at providing this, but now what they need to do is really help their participants understand it as a benefit and automatically enroll them into these target date funds.
So the second thing that really came out of the study is this whole notion of income, right? We were talking about the fact that you're saving and you're saving, and then you're investing and you're saving, and you get to this point where you're looking to retire, and how are you supposed to figure out how that nest egg actually converts into any type of income stream?
I don't know how to do that math, I don't know how long I'm going to live. I don't know what the markets are going to do. I don't know how much I need, and so what participants are asking for, in fact, 100% of plan sponsors agreed is that we need guaranteed income. We need the option as a saver to reach a point in your savings journey where you decide to convert that into some type of guaranteed income stream so that when you are in retirement, you have the confidence.
You know that you won't outlive your assets, but you also have the clarity. You know exactly what you can spend because you know exactly what income amount you're going to get. And so people were literally asking, I need a paycheck. So guaranteed income is a really important aspect that 100% of plan sponsors said to us, we are going to start exploring this much more seriously.
Then the third area is, when we think about capital markets, you think about the markets in general. Gosh, when we were growing up and first starting Oscar, the markets were really all about the public markets, right?
Public companies investing in, bonds and equities of public companies. now there's an opportunity in private markets and this opportunity has existed for decades. When you think about private markets and the fact that, gosh, public companies today, there's 50% fewer of them than there were three decades ago, but today, you think about the growth coming from private markets and the opportunities there, we have to provide access to savers everywhere to have more exposure to the full capital markets, which means public markets and private markets. And so, plan sponsors agree. In fact, plan sponsors are now starting to think, if I have to support my employees and their longer lives, what can I do that would offer them more return or more diversification? And what if I can't get all that I need out of the public markets alone?
And so we've been having many plan sponsors, many consultants talking to us about the role of private markets. In retirement plans. In fact, we did a study, a research, report that actually outlined exactly how we believe the right way to achieve this and the right way to deliver this to participants.
And 401k plans are, and our belief is that if you can incorporate private markets into a target date fund, so back to that professionally managed solution, if you can incorporate private markets into a target date fund that is strategically managed. Along that glide path. So when you're 25, you have a different access or exposure to public and private than you do when you're 55 and 65.
And so I'm just so excited that plan sponsors and policy makers alike are starting to think about the role private markets play in retirement plans.
Oscar Pulido: Jaime, when we talk about retirement, it is something that is important to people of all different generations. everybody's thinking about it. do you see any differences in how the younger generations approach the topic of retirement, differently as opposed to the older generations?
Jaime Magyera: Yeah. So I love that you say everyone should be thinking about it because I agree. it is something that starts with the first job or even earlier, hopefully, in how you're saving and investing towards that goal. what our study shows us is that Gen Z, that those farthest away from retirement actually hold the highest levels of confidence. there could be many factors.
That are contributing to that. But one of those factors is likely that they have access to automated solutions, professionally managed solutions like target date funds, which helps them save and invest automatically. It takes the worry off of them. They don't have to decide when you start to look at, those closest to retirement.
so Gen X as an example, that's when you start to reach a point in your life where you're thinking about the next chapter. So what am I going to do next? And do I have enough money to do it? And that's when the fear and the anxiety can start to play a role, which is why, again, in the study we pointed to and uncovered that many are looking for guaranteed income solutions so that it can help them not only.
Make sure they're not outliving their assets, but importantly, it gives them the clarity to know exactly what they can spend and what their income stream is. If I go back to the Gen Zs for a second, the confidence that they hold is quite encouraging. I'm glad that they're confident about this, but also that is the same generation that is also struggling with priorities, student loan debt, emergency savings.
And so, our hope and our intent in working with plan sponsors is that together we create plans and solutions for those plans that actually allow them to translate that confidence into real savings and preparedness.
Oscar Pulido: And Jaime, you've outlined that there are differences in how different generations think about retirement or what's a priority for one generation might be different for a different, generation.
When we talk about gender, though, it turns out there's a big difference in confidence, among genders. And I think that's one of the things that the report. Highlights what's behind that and how does that evolve in the years ahead?
Jaime Magyera: Yeah, so there is the gender gap, it does exist. I'd like to start with the good news, which is when you look across men and women, confidence is increasing generally.
So that's a very good thing that both men and women feel more confident than they did in years past around their retirement preparedness. But when we start to peel back, what's actually driving that confidence? There is a gap between the two genders and women tend to be less confident in general. Many things contribute to that. Women are generally living longer than men, so there is this longevity of thinking about. Do I have enough to actually, support me through my longer lives?
Women are more often caretakers, so they might not be accumulating as much wealth or making as much money, and so these are just some factors that contribute to why the confidence might be lacking. That being said, when you start to ask women and look at how women respond to the question around advice. If someone gave me advice, if I had access to advice, and advice could mean many things. It could be a financial advisor, it could be working with a direct platform. It could be a professionally managed target date fund. But when you see women have access to advice, their confidence skyrockets. And so, what we need to do as an industry is we need to surround women with more advice. They want to partner, they want to have a coach to help them figure out how to achieve their goals.
Oscar Pulido: There are certainly a lot of things that people have to consider when saving for retirement, which is a long-term goal. But day-to-day there's short-term market volatility, there's geopolitical events, there's news about central bank decisions and earnings reports, so there's a lot of things that can distract, investors.
What are some of the biggest headwinds or challenges though, that people face when it comes to saving for retirement? Is it those day-to-day issues, or is it actually something much bigger than that?
Jaime Magyera: Yes and both. Of course market volatility headlines. We're humans, when we see that we react. And in fact, in our study, confidence this year with savers, employees was actually a little bit lower, and that would make sense because of the market volatility we saw headlines are quite alarming. So that of course is going to impact people. Other things that impact people are just the, again, the competing priorities. We have expenses to pay, we have student loans to pay off, we have caregiving services. There's so much that we need to contribute to. And really for those saving for retirement, they have to prioritize. Even if it's a little bit of money doing a little bit often.
One of the things we talk about with is, it's not about timing the market, it's about time in the market. And if you can start saving earlier, better yet, if you can start investing earlier, then you are ultimately going to be better off.
Oscar Pulido: When you think about the next five to 10 years and you thinking about the future of this industry and the topic of retirement, what changes do you think are coming, whether that be from employers, the plan sponsors, the entities that are offering these retirement plans, whether it's policy makers or whether it's the individuals themselves. What do you see evolving that could have the biggest impact on improving retirement outcomes?
Jaime Magyera: So, when I think about how much progress has been made over the past 10 years, it really is remarkable. You think about target date funds, you think about auto enrollment, auto savings, participant education, guaranteed income. A lot of progress has been made, which is why I think we have achieved some of the confidence level and preparedness level levels that we have for Americans all over, the country. But we can't stop. There's so much more that needs to happen. And again, I think this survey actually puts a spotlight on that - the topic of professional management. But in our survey, what was so interesting is when you think about. Savers, those who are working at their company and putting money away for retirement. 75% of savers said they wanted access to a solution that automatically did the investing and saving for them. They have access to it. More plans than we even realize have access to target date funds. And so there is an education gap here, for plan sponsors to think about and help their employees understand the benefits of that retirement plan.
The other part of this is plan sponsors and employers need to think about re-enrolling their participants, making sure that every participant is actually enrolled in that plan, but enrolled in that solution as well because the participants are asking for it.
The second thing that I'm really encouraged by is how much policy makers, plan sponsors, the industry as a whole has come together to really solve this retirement gap. It is one area of the industry where everyone is 100% aligned on, we need to do better for Americans. We need to help people have better retirement security. And so, when you start to see the conversations around access to private markets. In retirement plans, that is a great opportunity for us to allow savers everywhere to have better access to the full capital markets.
And encouragingly, 100% of plan sponsors in our study said that they're interested in exploring guaranteed income for their participants. That is very different than the conversation we were having two years ago. And back to our point about having a paycheck, right, the ability to have that clarity, the ability to have that guaranteed income, that's something that plan sponsors feel responsible to deliver to their employees.
Oscar Pulido: There's a theme that runs through a lot of your comments. It's making me think about a conversation I had with Anne Ackerley, who you might remember as a colleague of ours at BlackRock. When we would talk to Anne about retirement, one of the things that she would mention was that people are busy, they run busy lives, and there's just a lot of distractions.
And the theme in your comments is that things that happen that make it easier and more convenient for people to say for retirement, whether it's getting the advice that you mentioned, whether it's auto enrollment or auto saving, or having a solution that is doing it for you. All of these things seem to lead to better outcomes.
Jaime Magyera: They do and Anne's right. Everyone is busy. And so, the more convenient we can make it, the easier the less friction in the process. I think of some of the best companies out there who offer retirement plans as a core benefit to what they deliver to their employees. Just like a medical plan.
It is a true benefit and the easier you can make it and the sooner you can start offering it to your employees, the better your employees will be in achieving their retirement security.
Oscar Pulido: Jaime, we started the conversation and I said that you and I share a really fun, personal, fun fact, and that is that we started our careers on the same exact day at the same exact company back in July of the early two thousands.
I'm not going to date us exactly, but I think I can say on behalf of both of us that we were probably not thinking about retirement at that point in time. We were thinking about long careers in, the finance industry and over 20 years has gone by. And while we're not retiring tomorrow, we certainly have to think about it a lot more. And I guess the lesson there is that time can go quick and therefore it's never too early to start thinking about and preparing for retirement. And we've lived that it, it was something we weren't thinking about and now we're sitting here talking about it.
Jaime Magyera: Yeah, I, so I think back to those days, and I'm glad you're not dating us! But those were really fun days and great memories. And gosh, you think about all the things that we've both done here at BlackRock, together and with our teams. It's been incredible. but I certainly wasn't thinking about retirement back then.
However, I will tell you, my dad gave me the best advice. And it was before I started working. His advice was, even if it hurts, even if you have to forego that coffee or whatever it is, every month, put a little bit into a savings account. And for me, back then a little bit was $20. it was $20 into a savings account, and then that turned into $20 into an investment account.
And I think about today, I still have that $20 deduction coming from my checking account, I won't stop it. And even though I've found different ways to save and invest, I still have that as a reminder to me, because it's just so important. the best day to start saving was yesterday. The next best day is today. So, save, invest, and build for your future.
Oscar Pulido: It's good advice from your dad, and it's nice to hear that you're still following it, Jaime. it's been great to have you on The Bid and great to hear about the topic of retirement and where you see it going forward. We hope to have you back at some point. Thanks for joining
Jaime Magyera: It's been great to be here. Thank you
Oscar Pulido: Thanks for listening to this episode of The Bid. If you've enjoyed this episode, check out episode 225 on retirement planning where we discuss what new legislation could mean for your retirement account.
<<SPOKEN DISCLOSURES>>
This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. Reference to the names of each company mentioned is merely for explaining the investment strategy and should not be construed as investment advice or recommendation. For full disclosures, visit blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosures
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