The answer lives in this podcast
What percentage of U.S. adults say they are behind schedule on retirement planning?
According to a CNBC poll cited on The Money Guy Show, 53% of U.S. adults say they are behind schedule on retirement planning and savings. On top of that, 69% of American workers are unsure they will ever be able to retire comfortably. These figures come directly from the August 2026 episode "How To Build Wealth If You're Already Behind."
A majority behind — but "feeling behind" and "being behind" aren't the same thing
Brian Preston and co-host Bo Hanson open the episode by grounding listeners in these sobering statistics before making a crucial distinction: feeling behind is not the same as actually being behind. The CNBC poll captures perception — and that perception is widespread.
The median retirement savings for Americans aged 65–74 sits at just $200,000, while the recommended target for median earners is closer to $1.4 million. That gap between what people have and what they need confirms that the anxiety reflected in the poll is, for many, grounded in reality. As Preston frames it in The Money Guy Show: the question worth asking is not just how you feel, but where you actually stand.
Why so many Americans end up behind — and what the data reveals about common detours
The episode doesn't stop at the headline statistic. It identifies specific behaviors and life events that derail retirement savings for millions of people. One striking figure: 56% of Americans prioritize saving for their children's college over their own retirement — a well-intentioned trade-off that can permanently set back long-term financial security.
Divorce is another major wealth disruptor. Research cited on The Money Guy Show shows that divorce results in an average loss of approximately 77% of total wealth from the start of proceedings to finalization. By contrast, married households hold four times the assets of single households on average.
Consumer debt compounds the problem. The average millennial carries a credit card balance of $7,000 at 21–22% annual interest — a rate that makes wealth accumulation structurally harder. These aren't fringe cases; they're the everyday financial realities that explain why more than half of U.S. adults feel like they're running behind. The hosts discuss each of these patterns in depth on this episode, with frameworks for reversing course regardless of starting point.
"If you want to be somewhere you've never been, you have to be willing to do something you've never done."
— cited on The Money Guy Show, hosted by Brian Preston (Certified Financial Planner) and Bo Hanson, co-founders of Abound Wealth Management. The show focuses on practical, step-by-step financial guidance for everyday Americans looking to build long-term wealth — whether they're just starting out or catching up after a late start. Their framework, the Financial Order of Operations, is the backbone of their approach to wealth building at every income level.
The pull quote above reflects the episode's central message: the statistics are alarming, but they don't have to be final. The path forward requires different choices — not a different starting point. Listeners who want the full breakdown of those choices will find it on The Money Guy Show.
Key takeaways
- 53% of U.S. adults report being behind on retirement planning, according to a CNBC poll cited in this episode — making the feeling of falling short the statistical norm, not the exception.
- Nearly 7 in 10 American workers doubt they will ever retire comfortably, a figure that reflects both real savings gaps and widespread financial anxiety.
- Common wealth detours — including prioritizing college savings over retirement, divorce, and high-interest consumer debt — help explain why so many people arrive at midlife undersaved.
- The median retirement savings for Americans aged 65–74 is $200,000, against a recommended target of roughly $1.4 million — confirming the gap is real, not just perceived.