For thirty-one years, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and independent research firm Greenwald & Associates have been conducting a Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) measuring the attitudes toward and preparation for retirement of American workers and retirees. As of January 2020, the RCS found that Americans had near-record-high levels of confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement, and these levels held as late as the end of March 2020.

Encouragingly, the 31st Retirement Confidence Survey found that confidence in having enough money to live comfortably increased again to record levels for Americans in 2021. It seems the pandemic did very little to rattle investor sentiment. Over 70 percent of those surveyed reported feeling somewhat confident about their financial future, while 30 percent feel very confident.

But not everyone is feeling so hopeful.