In October 2026, Risk & Insurance examined Gallagher retirement benchmarks reporting that 85% of surveyed employers offer retirement benefits and 28% of employees expect their savings strategy to meet their goals. The 20 October analysis draws on separate employer and employee surveys. It does not establish a matched comparison or prove that access determines confidence.

Keep each measure attached to its sample

The employer survey covers 3,717 organisations from the first quarter of 2026. Complete methodology and the original report’s publication date were not verified in the material examined. Readers should request the full report before generalising the findings, including the employee sampling details and question wording.

For a sponsor, eligibility and participation answer different questions from contribution adequacy or financial confidence. A useful dashboard should preserve those distinctions. Reported optimism does not establish adequate saving, and a low confidence score does not identify which plan feature should change.

Test a defined improvement

Employers assessing automatic enrolment or contribution changes should specify the behaviour they want to improve and examine actual results. Opt-outs and the ability to sustain deductions matter alongside money entering the plan. Financial pressure elsewhere in the household may require a different form of support.

Targeted guidance can be evaluated around a real employee decision, with appropriate professional boundaries and privacy safeguards. The benchmarks provide a reason to investigate; the employer’s own evidence should support the eventual action. Separating plan records from employee research, and stating where the two cannot be linked, will produce a more reliable retirement review than collapsing access and sentiment into one readiness score.

The next review should state the population studied and the limits of the proposed conclusion before choosing a target. Doing so makes it easier to distinguish a programme that employees can join from one that demonstrably helps them make sustainable retirement decisions.

Sources

Risk & Insurance | New specialist analysis: 20 October 2026. Employer fieldwork: Q1 2026. Gallagher retirement benchmarks highlight the gap between access and readiness

Gallagher | Gated report landing page 2026 US Workforce Trends Report Financial Benchmarks