Even when financial markets perform well, workers cannot invest money already committed to debt payments and rising household expenses. A recent Investopedia report highlights findings from the National Institute on Retirement Security indicating that debt—not investment market performance—is one of the most immediate barriers to adequate retirement preparation for Americans.

According to NIRS' Retirement Insecurity 2026: Americans' Views of Retirement, 77% of Americans say debt prevents them from saving adequately for retirement. Nearly three-quarters (74%) describe debt as a problem for their household, while 68% say preparing for retirement is becoming more difficult.

Those pressures are contributing to a broader loss of confidence. Eighty percent of respondents believe the United States faces a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020.

Why This Is Important to TEXPERS Members

For public pension trustees and administrators, the findings are not grounds to base investment or plan decisions on a public opinion survey. They are a reminder that retirement security depends on more than market returns.

Workers balancing mortgages, vehicle payments, credit cards, student loans, medical bills, and other expenses may realize they should save more, but have little room in their monthly budgets to do so. A defined-benefit pension provides a foundation that does not depend entirely on an individual worker's ability to consistently make voluntary investment decisions while managing competing obligations. Benefits are earned over a career and structured to provide income throughout retirement.

That does not mean a pension eliminates the effects of debt, inflation or rising health care costs. Supplemental savings remain important. However, dependable lifetime income can reduce the extent to which a worker's retirement security depends on individual savings alone.

Americans appear to recognize that distinction. NIRS found that 69% believe pensions do more than retirement savings accounts, such as 401(k) plans, to help workers achieve a secure retirement. The report also found that 75% of workers consider retirement benefits a very or extremely important factor when evaluating job opportunities.

Turning the Findings Into Better Communication

The research allows public retirement systems and participating employers to examine how they communicate the value of retirement benefits.

Pension systems can help members see how their retirement income fits into a broader retirement picture, while employers can link employees with supplemental savings plans. Plain-language explanations, pension estimates, and retirement projections can also help employees see what their pension might provide.

Those communications should acknowledge the real financial pressures facing workers without treating debt as a personal failure.

Investment performance remains essential to the long-term health of a pension system. For individual workers, however, the retirement challenge often begins much earlier, with the question of whether anything remains in the household budget to save. That reality reinforces the value of retirement benefits designed to provide dependable income even when saving on one's own is difficult.

About the Author: Allen Jones is the director of communications and event marketing for TEXPERS, where he leads editorial strategy, member communications, conference marketing, and digital engagement initiatives for Texas public employee retirement systems. He began his journalism career in 1998 and has worked in journalism and communications for more than 25 years.