1 in 3 Workers Have More Credit Card Debt Than Retirement Savings: Schroders

A new Schroders survey lays out the trade-off American workers are making in real time: pay the card, or fund the 401(k). According to Schroders' 2026 US Retirement Survey, 33% of workplace retirement plan participants report they have more credit card debt than retirement savings, even as the same group says they need $1.2 million to retire comfortably.

The headline number

Just 30% of the 615 workplace retirement plan participants polled think they will reach $1 million in savings before retiring, and 51% expect to have less than $500,000 saved, including 24% who expect less than $250,000.

The savings shortfall has 81% of plan participants at least slightly worried about running out of money in retirement.

Why the gap keeps widening

69% of plan participants believe rising healthcare, utility, insurance, and housing costs have put retirement out of reach for their generation, and 55% say they cannot save 10% of their paycheck due to competing expenses.

With credit card APRs sitting at 20.94% as of May 2026, near record territory, high-interest debt is mathematically outrunning long-term portfolio returns for a large share of households.

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Workers are raiding the 401(k)

27% of plan participants have decreased contributions to their workplace plan, with 70% of those doing so in the past two years, and another 27% have borrowed money from the plan.

“Rising costs are forcing tough tradeoffs, and saving for retirement is often the first thing that gets deprioritized,” said Deb Boyden, Head of US Defined Contribution at Schroders, adding that credit card debt, rising costs, and emergency expenses are all part of the same equation.

The macro backdrop

US consumer credit stress is not an abstract survey problem. Total revolving balances remain near record highs, and delinquencies on cards have been climbing off the post-COVID lows, which feeds directly into the earnings power of card issuers and the loss curves at subprime lenders.

For traders, the read-through is that consumer credit names remain highly sensitive to any move in unemployment or real wages. See more macro coverage on Unusual Whales news.

Options market and stocks to watch

Watch for continued flow and volatility in names tied to consumer credit, card networks, and retirement providers:

• COF — Capital One is heavily exposed to card balances and delinquencies; watch for guidance on charge-offs.
• SYF — Synchrony's private-label card book is a direct read on stressed borrowers.
• DFS — Discover carries both card issuance and network exposure.
• V and MA — Visa and Mastercard benefit from card spend volume but are sensitive to any pullback in consumer activity.
• BX — Watch asset managers and retirement plan providers for flow impact if contribution rates keep sliding.

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