“Clarity is the new currency” examines how American workers are looking for financial experiences that deliver a complete picture, personalized relevance and clear next steps

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. April 21, 2026 – Empower, a leading workplace solutions provider and wealth manager, has launched its 2026 Personal Finance Experience study entitled “Clarity is the new currency.”

Engagement, trust and loyalty tend to grow when American workers can see everything in one place, understand what it means and feel confident taking action.

The study revealed that nearly three in five working Americans manage four or more financial accounts, and 57% say financial disorganization increases their stress, making it clear that complexity has become the norm rather than the exception — and 50% say consolidating financial information in one place would meaningfully reduce that stress. This indicates that stress is driven not only by the number of accounts, but also by the effort required to understand them.

“As an industry, we are often providing people with more tools. But if people can't get a complete view, clear interpretation and direction of what to do next, the tools aren't going to necessarily help,” said Rich Linton, president and chief operating officer at Empower. “The findings in this year’s study suggest that more information doesn’t automatically lead to better decisions. We have been building tools to help simplify this complexity -- to help engage and create more confidence for the millions of individuals we serve.”

What we’ve learned about …

A shift toward interpretation:

• 51% of American workers say they’ll be more likely to engage with a provider that can personalize investment insights to their goals and time to retirement.
• 50% want investment tools that help them quickly identify the most important actions they should consider as conditions shift.
• 49% say financial platforms that proactively highlight potential risks and opportunities will be more valuable to them.
• Approximately 46% say that having a clear, consolidated view of all their investments in one place will be increasingly important to them.

Financial complexity:

• 56% manage four or more financial accounts.
• This includes 21% managing eight or more accounts, with 11% managing 10+ accounts.

AI based tools:

• 39% would trust digital tools more if they showed a complete, up-to-date picture of their finances.
• 50% of Gen Zers have used artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools to get quick financial tips or suggestions.
• 35% of Gen Zers find that digital or AI-generated advice has led to later-questioned decisions.

Why financial progress requires more than goals:

• 39% set financial goals but don’t check their progress regularly, while 60% are more likely to engage with their finances when tools make it easy to understand what needs attention.
• 38% aren’t always sure where to start to improve their finances.
• 28% find it difficult to determine which financial tasks are most urgent.

“Workers don’t experience HSAs, retirement plans, IRAs, and emergency savings separately. They experience one financial life and as the system expands and more features become automated, the challenge is making sure efficiency doesn’t come at the expense of engagement,” Linton added.

Linton noted that when retirement plans and health savings accounts (HSAs) are integrated, participation is two times higher and contribution rates are 171% higher compared with standalone consumer-directed health accounts.*

Learn more about Empower’s 2026 Personal Financial Experience study — Clarity is the new currency.

Methodology

The Empower 2026 Personal Finance Experience study is based on online survey responses from 1,018 working Americans ages 18+ collected from December 17-19, 2025. The results have been weighted to be nationally representative of all working U.S. adults.

About Empower

Recognized as a leader in retirement services and wealth management,¹ Empower administers over $2.0 trillion in assets² for more than 19.7 million individuals through the provision of workplace and individual retirement plans, advice, financial planning and investments. Connect with us on empower.com, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.

Media contacts:

Stephen Gawlik - [email protected]

Mandy Cassano - [email protected]