Fidelity’s 2026 Retirement Study describes a meaningful shift in how Americans picture their later working years. The traditional model, in which workers fully exit the labor force in their mid-60s, is becoming less common. Seven in ten Americans told Fidelity they would consider an alternative to traditional retirement, whether that means gig work, starting a business, consulting, or moving into an entirely new career. Retirement is increasingly described as a transition rather than a stopping point.
In addition, 45% of Gen Z respondents said they would consider starting their own business or pursuing self-employment as part of their retirement plan, the highest share of any generation for any alternative path. Only 10% of Gen Z said they would not consider an alternative at all, compared with 70% of Boomers who prefer sticking entirely to a traditional path. For workers who are decades away from a conventional retirement date, the idea of building something of their own is already baked into how they think about their long-term financial lives.
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