Affordability Worries Weigh on Advisors' Clients Ahead of Midterm Elections, Survey Finds

Financial advisors say affordability concerns are looming large for their clients as the 2026 midterm elections approach, according to a new survey. Clients are described as worried about both short-term costs of living and longer-term questions about retirement security.

Among the specific concerns cited in the survey is uncertainty over whether programs such as Social Security and Medicare will remain available and sufficiently funded by the time current clients reach retirement age. Such worries have become a recurring theme in financial planning conversations in recent years, as debates over the long-term solvency of both programs continue in Washington.

Advisors say these anxieties are shaping how clients approach saving, spending and investment decisions in the run-up to the midterms, with many clients looking to their financial planners for guidance on how to prepare for a range of possible policy outcomes.

The survey adds to a body of research showing that affordability and retirement security remain top-of-mind issues for American households, often ranking alongside inflation and the broader cost of living as leading financial worries heading into major elections.