Thrivent survey finds gap between financial fear and action

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 11, 2025 – Thrivent’s new Financial Fitness Survey finds many Americans have widespread financial concerns but haven’t taken the necessary steps to address them. This includes boosting their financial skills, knowledge, and confidence, especially when it comes to long-term financial planning and paying off debt.

The survey found more than half of Americans (53%) are very or somewhat worried about their ability to retire when they want. Yet just 28% of Americans say they are currently saving for retirement. Similarly, 48% of Americans are concerned about their debt, yet just 36% are planning to prioritize paying off their debt this year.

A lack of financial confidence could be the reason for inaction, and it is worst among the youngest generation. Gen Z (21%) are the least likely to report they are very confident managing their finances compared to Millennials (26%), Gen X (29%), and Baby Boomers (38%).

“Good money management starts with confidence,” said Thrivent Financial Advisor Sarah Hamlen. “I believe seeking professional financial advice, developing and managing a budget, and taking actionable steps toward retirement planning are fundamental moves anyone can do to meaningfully improve their financial fitness.”

The new survey identified a few key opportunity areas:

• Seek Financial Advice: Lower confidence could stem from not receiving professional advice. Nearly 3-in-10 (29%) of Americans don’t seek out financial advice from any source and only 22% rely on a financial advisor for advice.
• Rely on Experts: Younger Americans are more likely to turn to familiar faces for financial advice versus a professional expert – 42% of Gen Z and 47% of Millennials get financial advice from friends and family, compared with 37% of Gen X and 27% of Baby Boomers who said the same.
• Stick to a Budget: Baby Boomers, who are also more likely to live on a fixed income, are more likely to follow a budget than other generations. Only 32% of Gen Z, 36% of Millennials, and 36% of Gen X regularly create and follow a budget compared with 44% of Baby Boomers.
• Build an Investment Strategy: There is a clear investment strategy gap between men and women. While more than a third (35%) of Americans report they don’t currently have an investment strategy, 43% of women say they don’t have one compared to 27% of men.

Here are three tips from Thrivent on how to improve overall financial fitness:

1. Create a Training Plan for Success – Both physical and financial fitness can be better achieved with a plan. A financial advisor can help clients develop an actionable financial plan outlining their short- and long-term goals. They can work with people to set savings targets for their individual goals, determine a contribution plan to fund those goals, and a timetable to achieve them.
2. Grow New Financial Literacy Muscle Over Time – A good way to build muscle is with consistency, and financial literacy is no different. People may want to choose a new personal finance topic every month, like investing, and seek out resources to learn more. They may uncover helpful lessons that clarify what their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon may be, and then they can apply those insights when making decisions with their financial advisor.
3. Sprint Toward Retirement Savings by Starting Today – The best time to start saving for retirement may have been 10 years ago, but the second-best time is today. People can work with a financial advisor to automate retirement contributions, take advantage of an employer-sponsored match, and find ways to unlock more savings through better planning. It’s important to start saving as soon as possible to take advantage of a longer time horizon and the power of compound interest.

Survey Methodology
Thrivent’s Financial Fitness Survey was fielded online by Morning Consult from 12/05/24 through 12/12/24 among a total sample of n=2200 adults 18+ (weighted to U.S. general population on key demographic aspects such as gender, age, etc.) with a total audience margin of error of +/-2%. In addition to general population, oversamples of the following MSAs were fielded and weighted to their respective demographic make-up: Atlanta (N=990; MoE +/- 3%), Chicago (N=992; MoE +/- 3%), Houston (N=990; MoE +/- 3%), Los Angeles (N=991; MoE +/- 3%), Minneapolis (N=998; MoE +/- 3%). Some questions for this survey were shown to a sub-set of respondents, thus base sizes and margin of error may vary by question.