The Confidence Paradox: 2025 Global Retirement Pulse Survey

New study reveals critical opportunity to convert confidence into retirement reality 

• Eighty-seven percent of mass affluent individuals across the United States, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico feel confident they'll cover essential retirement expenses, but half cannot picture what retirement looks like and how they will achieve it.
• Only 41% seek professional advice from a financial advisor, and only half have factored into their retirement planning how future costs evolve over time.
• Study reinforces how financial advice, written plans, and withdrawal strategies improve retirement confidence.

A new study by Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) shows that mass affluent people around the world are confident about their retirement preparedness, but there is work to be done to help them protect their nest eggs and secure dependable income that lasts a lifetime.

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Through its Pulse Survey series, Prudential has studied broader economic trends impacting Americans for more than 20 years. The 2025 Global Retirement Pulse Survey, the series' first-ever global edition, was fielded among 4,200 mass affluent adults in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. Prudential defined mass affluent, a common proxy for those who are actively preparing for retirement, as people with more than $100,000 in investable assets or the equivalent amount in each country.¹

It found that 87% of mass affluent adults across those markets (90% in Brazil, 89% in the U.S., 88% in Mexico, and 82% in Japan) believe they'll cover essential costs in retirement; however, significant opportunity exists to help them confirm it — as just 41% have a financial advisor (with notable variation across markets: 61% in the U.S., 46% in Mexico, 35% in Brazil, and only 21% in Japan), only 32% have a written plan, half or fewer factored in things like inflation or healthcare and medical expenses, and merely 25% have a clear withdrawal strategy.

"One of the most fundamental components of effective retirement planning is envisioning your future self — the life you want and how you expect to fund it securely," said Caroline Feeney, global head of Retirement and Insurance at Prudential. "This year's Pulse Survey makes clear that even across different economic and cultural contexts globally, one trend emerges: while many people feel ready, far fewer have taken action to ensure they're ready. As an industry, we can make a critical difference — and Prudential is proud to be leading this effort to provide the tools, guidance, and solutions that help people protect their life's work and reframe retirement on their own terms."

Reframing Retirement

Retirement is changing, and it increasingly looks different for everyone around the world. For many, retirement is less about "stopping work" and more about a new chapter of independence that may include a blend of working, caregiving, and reimagining family dynamics.

• Future in focus: Envisioning your future self is a key piece of the puzzle. People who reported that they can clearly picture their life in retirement are three times as likely to have a written retirement plan and nearly twice as likely to work with a financial advisor.

• Out of office but in the game: Most (83%) mass affluents worldwide say they would consider working in retirement (particularly in Mexico, where 95% say they would consider it, compared to 88% in Brazil, 79% in the U.S., and 70% in Japan). Among those open to working in retirement, 50% say they'd consider working for themselves (e.g., freelance, selling a product), 33% are interested in teaching or mentoring, and 27% are considering managing property.

• Family, a two-way street: While Gen X is known for being the "sandwich generation," they might be passing down those challenges: more than any other generation, it's now millennials who anticipate needing to provide financial support to both adult children (49%) and parents (50%).
  • Across markets and generations, 39% anticipate needing to support their adult children financially. The share is highest in Mexico, where 57% report this expectation, compared to 46% in Brazil, 29% in the U.S., and 24% in Japan.
  • Ninety-one percent of parents surveyed across these countries say it's important not to become financially dependent on their children in retirement. However, 43% of those who expect to need support have not discussed it with family.

• Generation work forever: More than one-third in Brazil, Mexico and Japan, and 1 in 5 in the U.S., believe future generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha won't be able to retire fully the way we think of it today.

Key to Confidence: Professional Advice

Despite their overall confidence in being prepared for retirement, the majority of mass affluents are going it alone, without professional financial advice and other income planning resources that can help protect for a more secure and well-funded retirement as people live longer lives.

• Greater opportunity for guidance: Reliance on professional advice is highest in the U.S. (61%), followed by roughly half in Mexico (46%) and a third in Brazil (35%). Only 21% of mass affluent Japanese currently receive advice from a financial advisor.
  
  
  
  
• Advisors critical for confidence: Financial advisors help people plan for discretionary and unexpected spending. Among those using an advisor, 86% report confidence in being able to cover nonessential expenses, compared to just 68% among those without an advisor. Ninety-four percent of those using a financial advisor are confident they can cover essential expenses in retirement, compared to 83% without one.

• Taboo talk: Even in long-term relationships, couples aren't talking about one of life's biggest transitions: when and how they'll retire. Fewer than 3 in 5 report discussing retirement planning with their partners and being on the same page.
  • Those who do broach this important topic with their partners are more likely to plan for key risks and expenses in retirement, whether it's healthcare (48% factor healthcare expenses into their strategy vs. 37% who have not discussed retirement planning with their partners), taxes (42% vs. 31%), daily expenses (48% vs. 38%), or inflation (53% vs. 45%).

• Human trust over AI: Less than half of mass affluents reported trusting AI advice as much as a human advisor. Trust is lowest in the U.S. at 23%, compared to 40% in Japan, 37% in Mexico, and 37% in Brazil. When it comes to relying on AI in general, mass affluents in Mexico (64%) are more likely to say they would feel comfortable relying on an AI-powered companion for emotional support in their later years than those in Brazil (56%), Japan (46%) and the U.S. (39%).

• Opportunity abounds in Japan: The most compelling opportunity of those surveyed for deeper retirement planning is in Japan. Only 16% have a written retirement plan, and 69% of non-retired respondents say they cannot clearly picture the life they want in retirement and how to get there. And within Japan, as in other countries, Gen X appears to be the least prepared — 79% of those who are not retired say they cannot clearly picture the life they want in retirement and how to get there, and only 12% have a written plan.

"As people live longer across the globe, demographic patterns and societal needs are creating two universal truths: people want income they can count on, and they need help implementing the key solutions available to get it," said Dylan Tyson, president, Retirement Strategies, and head of Global Retirement Center of Excellence. "At Prudential, we're innovating to expand access to retirement security through tools and strategies that go beyond just savings, to bring a ‘decumulation by design' mindset to retirement systems that help millions more people protect what matters most."

Call to Action: Decumulation by Design

Consumer preferences highlight a need for more guidance on ways to protect retirement outcomes through decumulation strategies to withdraw and spend down retirement savings.

• A global appetite for guaranteed income: Two-thirds of non-retired respondents across most markets — including 71% in Mexico, 69% in Brazil, 66% in the U.S., and 55% in Japan — say they would prefer a guaranteed monthly check in retirement over a lump sum. Yet only 29% overall currently use annuities, a product that can deliver this type of lifetime income, as a core part of their retirement strategy.

• Advisors can bridge the gap: Those who work with a financial advisor are twice as likely to incorporate annuities as a core part of their retirement strategy (42% vs. 21%). Those who do not work with financial advisors are more skeptical of the value of annuities (21% skeptical with no advisors vs. 12% with an advisor).

• Charting the course: Among those with a clearly defined withdrawal strategy, 91% report confidence in being able to cover nonessential expenses, compared to 71% among those without. Ninety-six percent of those with a clearly defined withdrawal strategy are confident they can cover essential expenses in retirement, compared to 85% without.

• Employer help wanted: Workers must find new ways to generate income in retirement, as workplace plans shift dramatically across the globe and accumulation-focused defined contribution plans replace defined benefit pensions. Today, 73% of mass affluents across countries support their governments' requiring access to lifetime income products within workplace retirement plans (80% in Mexico, 75% in the U.S., 71% in Brazil, and 67% in Japan).

"Retirement today is more fluid, more personal, and more complex than ever," said David Blanchett, head of Retirement Research at Prudential. "Whether you're traveling, pursuing your passions, or caring for family, everyone needs an income strategy to fund a secure retirement. Guaranteed lifetime income creates a ‘license to spend,' enabling people to be more financially independent and define what retirement security means for them."

For more details and other notable findings, view the full Global Retirement Pulse Survey report.

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ABOUT THE SURVEY

For nearly two decades, Prudential has kept a pulse on the perspectives and needs of workers and retirees. As global populations live longer and see their household finances increasingly affected by macroeconomic complexities, Prudential has expanded its survey series to provide a holistic view of how these shifting dynamics are redefining retirement.

This year's research, the 2025 Global Retirement Pulse Survey, is the inaugural global edition that examines how the mass affluent population in four countries (the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and Mexico) are thinking and preparing for retirement. The 2025 Global Retirement Pulse Survey was conducted online by Brunswick Group between Aug. 8 and 22, 2025, among 4,200 mass affluent adults aged 30+ across the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, and Japan, defined as having at least $100,000 in investable assets in the U.S. and the market equivalent in the other countries.

ABOUT PRUDENTIAL

Prudential Financial, Inc. ((PRU), a global financial services leader and premier active global investment manager with approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help make lives better and create financial opportunity for more people by expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise, and innovation for 150 years. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com.

The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ.

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