Retirement journey is usually handled as a monetary query: Can I afford it? Our retirement journey survey means that for many individuals, it isn’t a cash query. It’s primarily about time.
We discovered that journey isn’t simply one other retirement expense. It’s one of many major causes individuals save for retirement in any respect. Turning that aspiration into actuality requires greater than collected wealth. It requires confidence that:
- Spending right now gained’t compromise tomorrow
- A market downturn gained’t derail long-term safety
- Well being and mobility final lengthy sufficient to take pleasure in retirement
To higher perceive how Individuals take into consideration retirement journey, Boldin surveyed 1,331 subscribers in July 2026 and in contrast chosen responses with a nationwide panel of 246 U.S. adults aged 45 and older with family incomes above $100,000, utilizing similar query wording. All through this report, travel-specific findings seek advice from the 855 Boldin subscribers who recognized journey as one among their two most essential retirement priorities.
The findings reveal significant variations between the 2 teams. In contrast with the nationwide panel, Boldin subscribers had been considerably extra prone to incorporate journey into their retirement plans, perceive what they might safely afford to spend, and categorical confidence in these plans. They had been additionally more likely to say that working out of wholesome years — not working out of cash — was their best concern when it got here to retirement journey.
Whereas this analysis doesn’t set up that monetary planning causes these variations, it means that better planning and better confidence typically go hand in hand. Collectively, the findings illustrate an essential concept: monetary planning’s actual affect isn’t the wealth collected, however the confidence to make use of it in pursuit of the life individuals need.
Beneath are the important thing findings from the survey.
1. Journey Is the #1 Retirement Purpose
When individuals take into consideration retirement, journey rises above each different aspiration.
Greater than two-thirds (67%) of Boldin subscribers named journey amongst their two most essential retirement priorities, bringing it in forward of spending time with household and buddies (51%), hobbies and private pursuits (43%), better time freedom (33%), and different compelling retirement objectives.
This discovering is a crucial reminder that journey isn’t a discretionary luxurious sitting exterior the retirement plan. For a lot of households, it’s the aim of the plan. Retirement financial savings exist not solely to supply monetary safety, however to create the liberty to expertise locations, individuals, and adventures that work as soon as made troublesome to pursue.
Journey Outranks Each Different Retirement Precedence, Together with Household
We requested Boldin subscribers to call their two most essential retirement priorities. Journey got here out on prime by a large margin.
| Which TWO of the next are crucial objectives for a way you spend or will spend time in retirement? (Select 2.) | Named in prime two |
| Journey | 67% |
| Time with household and/or buddies | 51% |
| Hobbies and recreation | 43% |
| Time freedom | 33% |
| Volunteering | 7% |
| Different | 2% |
Supply: Boldin subscribers survey, July 2026, n=1,331. Respondents chosen two priorities, so percentages whole greater than 100%.
2. For Folks with a Plan, Time Turns into Scarcer Than Cash
Each retirement survey asks about cash. This one revealed one thing extra stunning.
Amongst Boldin subscribers who prioritize journey, a majority (51%) mentioned they fear extra about working out of wholesome years than working out of cash. Solely 8% mentioned cash was the better concern.
The nationwide comparability group instructed a really completely different story. There, considerations about cash and wholesome years had been nearly evenly cut up.
This isn’t as a result of Boldin subscribers are dramatically wealthier. The comparability panel was deliberately restricted to households incomes greater than $100,000 per 12 months. The distinction is extra possible that one group has better readability about what they’ll afford.
Planning doesn’t make individuals cease caring about cash. It solutions sufficient of the cash questions that one other actuality comes into focus: retirement isn’t restricted solely by {dollars}. It’s restricted by time, well being, and the variety of years you’re bodily in a position to benefit from the experiences you’ve been saving for.
Monetary Confidence Adjustments What Folks Fear About
Amongst Boldin subscribers, concern about wholesome years outweighs concern about cash by greater than six to at least one. Within the nationwide panel, the 2 considerations are nearly evenly balanced.
That distinction reveals one thing essential concerning the position of economic planning. The objective isn’t merely to build up extra wealth. It’s to scale back uncertainty sufficient that folks can shift their consideration from “Will I be okay?” to “How do I take advantage of the years forward?”
| When you consider retirement journey, which worries you extra? (Choose one.) | Boldin subscribers | Nationwide panel |
| Working out of wholesome years to take pleasure in it | 51% | 24% |
| Working out of cash | 8% | 23% |
| Each weigh equally | 36% | 45% |
| Neither | 5% | 9% |
Sources: Boldin subscribers survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855. Nationwide panel by way of SurveyMonkey Viewers, July 25, 2026, n=246, U.S. adults 45+ with family earnings $100,000+. Similar query wording. Percentages might not whole 100% resulting from rounding.
3. Practically 90% of Boldin Subscribers Plan to Journey Early in Retirement
Retirement isn’t a time when individuals merely spend the identical quantity yearly. For many, the healthiest and most energetic years come first—and that’s after they need to take advantage of them.
Practically 9 in ten travel-focused Boldin subscribers anticipate to do nearly all of their retirement journey in the course of the first half of retirement. Solely 9% anticipate spreading journey evenly throughout all of their retirement years.
This has essential implications for monetary planning. Many retirement projections assume comparatively easy spending over time, however actual life not often works that method. Journey typically peaks early, earlier than step by step giving method to increased healthcare prices and completely different priorities later in life.
Entrance-loading discretionary spending additionally will increase publicity to sequence-of-returns threat, making the primary decade of retirement particularly essential to mannequin. Understanding not simply how a lot you’ll spend, however when you’ll spend it, could make the distinction between confidently taking the journey you’ve at all times imagined and questioning whether or not you need to wait another 12 months.
| What number of years after retirement do you anticipate to do most of your journey? | Share of travel-focused subscribers |
| The primary 5 years | 29% |
| Years 5-15 | 26% |
| The start and center of retirement | 35% |
| Journey unfold evenly throughout all of retirement | 9% |
| Undecided | 1% |
Supply: Boldin subscribers survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855.
4. 89% of Boldin Subscribers Plan for Journey Prices vs. 58% of Everybody Else
Virtually everybody imagines touring in retirement. Far fewer within the basic inhabitants construct these journeys right into a monetary plan.
Amongst Boldin subscribers, 89% have deliberately integrated journey into their retirement plan, in contrast with simply 58% of the nationwide comparability panel. Practically half have budgeted for journey as an ongoing annual expense, whereas one other 40% have deliberate for various ranges of journey throughout completely different phases of retirement.
That distinction issues. Journey doesn’t occur in isolation. It competes with healthcare prices, taxes, funding returns, gifting, housing selections, and dozens of different monetary priorities. Till these tradeoffs are modeled collectively, it’s troublesome to know whether or not a dream journey is comfortably reasonably priced or quietly placing the remainder of a retirement plan in danger.
That is the place planning creates confidence. Moderately than merely hoping they’ll be capable of journey, Boldin subscribers usually tend to perceive how a lot they’ll spend, after they can spend it, and the way these selections have an effect on the remainder of their monetary future. Precision doesn’t simply produce higher plans—it provides individuals permission to benefit from the retirement they’ve spent many years saving for.
Boldin Subscribers Flip Journey Right into a Line Merchandise
Subscribers had been way more prone to have translated journey from an intention right into a line merchandise than the nationwide panel.
| Have you ever factored journey prices into your retirement spending plan? (Test all that apply.) | Boldin subscribers | Nationwide panel |
| Sure – ongoing line merchandise in my annual funds | 49% | 22% |
| Sure – designated phases of journey spending throughout retirement | 40% | 14% |
| Sure – usually accounted for | 19% | 25% |
| Sure – particular lump sums for particular journeys | 7% | 4% |
| No – I haven’t formalized this | 11% | 42% |
Sources: Boldin subscribers survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855. Nationwide panel, n=246. A number of choices permitted, so columns whole greater than 100%. “Not reported” signifies the response possibility was not damaged out for that group within the supply information.
Boldin Subscribers Are Practically Twice as Assured In Their Journey Price range
Retirement journey requires greater than setting apart cash. It requires figuring out how a lot you’ll be able to spend with out compromising the remainder of your plan.
Boldin subscribers are practically twice as possible as individuals within the nationwide panel to say they know precisely what they’ll afford to spend on retirement journey: 31% in contrast with 17%. One other 55% say they’ve a tough concept, bringing the share who really feel no less than considerably assured to 86%—30 share factors increased than the nationwide panel’s 56%.
The distinction is much more pronounced on the different finish of the spectrum. A couple of-third of the nationwide panel are both principally guessing or haven’t considered journey spending in any respect, in contrast with simply 11% of Boldin subscribers.
That confidence issues as a result of retirement journey selections are not often about whether or not somebody can afford a single journey. They’re about understanding how spending extra within the wholesome, energetic years of retirement might have an effect on monetary safety many years later. A monetary plan helps individuals see that tradeoff—and offers them better confidence to benefit from the cash they’ve labored exhausting to save lots of.
| How assured are you that you know the way a lot you’ll be able to safely spend on journey in retirement? (Choose one.) | Boldin subscribers | Nationwide panel |
| Very assured – I do know precisely what I can afford | 31% | 17% |
| Considerably assured – I’ve a tough concept | 55% | 39% |
| Not very assured – I’m principally guessing | 10% | 27% |
| It will depend on the longer term market efficiency | 3% | 7% |
| Haven’t considered it | 1% | 10% |
Sources: Boldin subscribers survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855. Nationwide panel, n=246. Subtotals calculated from part responses.
5. Planning Creates Confidence, Not Certainty
Planning doesn’t remove uncertainty. Markets will fluctuate. Inflation will shock us. Well being adjustments. Household wants evolve. The worth of a monetary plan isn’t that it predicts the longer term—it’s that it helps individuals perceive how completely different futures have an effect on their decisions. That confidence permits retirees to take pleasure in right now with out feeling like each resolution is a big gamble.
Many Retirees Are Dedicated to Defending Journey
Practically half of Boldin subscribers say they’d not cut back their journey plans in response to frequent financial or life occasions. That displays each the significance they place on journey and the boldness that comes from having integrated it right into a broader monetary plan.
| Have you ever already, or are you contemplating suspending, canceling, or decreasing your retirement journey plans due to any of the next? (Choose all that apply.) | Response |
| Not decreasing journey plans | 45% |
| A major market decline or worry of a downturn | 28% |
| My or my partner’s well being or mobility | 21% |
| Rising journey prices (airfare, accommodations, cruises) | 19% |
| Basic inflation / value of dwelling | 18% |
| Political Instability | 17% |
| Household caregiving tasks | 15% |
| Excessive warmth or extreme climate | 6% |
| Different | 2% |
When Pushed, A Market Downturn Might Affect Journey
Greater than two-thirds of subscribers mentioned they’d in all probability or positively cut back spending if markets declined early in retirement, and luxurious items and journey had been the discretionary expense most definitely to be lowered.
Moderately than deciding the way to reply throughout a market downturn, retirees can mannequin these eventualities upfront, set up spending guardrails, and decide which bills would change below completely different market circumstances.
| If markets declined considerably throughout your first few years of retirement, do you imagine you would want to scale back your spending? | Responses |
| Sure | 28% |
| Most likely | 40% |
| Most likely not | 18% |
| No – I’ve deliberate for market downturns | 14% |
Supply: Boldin subscriber survey, July 2026.
Boldin Subscribers Are Ready If Markets Decline
On the similar time, Boldin subscribers aren’t ignoring threat. Greater than two-thirds say they’d in all probability or positively cut back spending if markets fell early in retirement.
That’s not a contradiction—it’s proof of planning. Moderately than assuming nothing will change, retirees are pondering by way of how they’d reply if markets underperform. Modeling these eventualities earlier than retirement makes it simpler to regulate spending intentionally as a substitute of reacting emotionally throughout market volatility.
| In the event you knew with confidence that you would afford it, would you journey extra in the course of the first decade of retirement? | Responses |
| Sure – considerably extra | 51% |
| Considerably extra | 32% |
| Most likely about the identical | 17% |
| No | <1% |
Supply: Boldin subscriber survey, July 2026.
6. Retirement Adjustments How Folks Journey Extra Than Why They Journey
Retirement doesn’t basically change what individuals need from journey. They nonetheless need to discover new locations, search journey, and create memorable experiences. What retirement adjustments is the liberty to journey otherwise, with fewer time constraints, longer itineraries, and the chance to take pleasure in experiences at a extra relaxed tempo.
80% Say Retirement Journey Is About Making the Most of Wholesome Years
Exploration stays the most important motivation for retirement journey, with 85% of respondents saying they need to uncover new locations and cultures. Shut behind, nevertheless, is an consciousness that retirement will not be a limiteless useful resource. 4 in 5 respondents say one among their major motivations is taking advantage of their wholesome, energetic years, reinforcing one of many report’s central findings: for a lot of retirees, time has turn into extra treasured than cash.
| What are the first causes you need to journey in retirement? (Select as much as three.) | Responses |
| Discover new locations and cultures | 85% |
| Take advantage of wholesome, energetic years | 80% |
| Take pleasure in journey and energetic experiences | 56% |
| Test off lifelong bucket-list locations | 46% |
| Spend significant time with household and buddies | 42% |
| Take pleasure in nice meals and native tradition | 34% |
| Calm down and luxuriate in a slower tempo of life | 26% |
| Escape chilly climate or take pleasure in seasonal dwelling | 23% |
| Pursue hobbies and passions | 11% |
| Be papered and brought care of | 8% |
| Different | 2% |
Supply: Boldin subscriber survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855. A number of choices permitted.
Retirees Count on to Take Longer, Extra Immersive Journeys
Retirement additionally adjustments the form of journey itself. Whereas occasional holidays stay widespread, greater than half of respondents anticipate to take a number of prolonged journeys, and 40% envision spending weeks and even months in a single vacation spot. Moderately than making an attempt to suit journey into restricted trip time, retirees more and more think about slower, extra immersive experiences—staying lengthy sufficient to expertise native tradition, reconnect with household, or just benefit from the freedom that retirement was meant to supply.
| Which finest describes your present or deliberate method to journey in retirement? (Test all that apply.) | Responses |
| Occasional holidays all through retirement | 57% |
| A number of prolonged journeys | 55% |
| Weeks or months at a time in a single vacation spot | 40% |
| Highway journeys / location impartial life-style | 23% |
| Dwelling seasonally (snowbird life-style) | 20% |
| Relocating completely to a brand new place | 8% |
| Haven’t considered it but | 2% |
| Different | 2% |
Supply: Boldin subscriber survey, July 2026, travel-focused subset, n=855. A number of choices permitted.
Monetary Planning Is Finally About Dwelling, and for Many Folks, That Means Journey
Retirement planning is usually described as a means of accumulating sufficient cash. Our analysis suggests a broader objective.
The households on this examine weren’t a lot making an attempt to maximise wealth as they had been making an attempt to maximise the alternatives that wealth creates — to go to household, discover the world, pursue lifelong goals, and expertise retirement whereas they’ve the well being to take action.
Confidence doesn’t take away uncertainty from retirement. Markets will fluctuate, well being will change, and plans will evolve.
However confidence can change how individuals make selections. It will possibly substitute hesitation with intention, flip aspirations into plans, and assist individuals spend their retirement years doing the issues that mattered sufficient to save lots of for within the first place.
Extra Sources on Retirement Journey
Is retirement journey excessive in your precedence record? Listed below are some extra sources that may very well be helpful to anybody eager to hit the highway after they stop their job.
The Boldin Retirement Planner: Wish to be sure to can afford the journey you dream of? Practically 90,000 individuals belief their retirement planning to the Boldin Planner. The reasonably priced platform is like having a monetary advisor at your fingertips.
And, in order for you help from a human, we provide free courses and communities plus teaching and entry to fiduciary advisors for a charge. Boldin provides individuals the instruments and steering to construct a plan they’ll perceive, belief, and act on.
VIDEO: Listed below are six sensible concepts that can assist you suppose otherwise about retirement journey, from turning your bucket record into an actual plan to benefiting from retirement’s best journey profit: flexibility. You’ll additionally study why sluggish journey is rising in reputation, the way to plan significant journeys, and the way to construct journey into your long-term retirement plan with confidence.
ARTICLE: Right here is a superb information to retirement journey: 20 Concepts for making It reasonably priced and secure
Full Outcomes and Methodology
Subscriber survey. Boldin surveyed 1,331 subscribers by way of its platform in July 2026. Questions coated retirement priorities, journey objectives and motivations, journey budgeting method, spending confidence, anticipated journey timing, and response to market decline.
Journey-specific questions had been proven solely to the 855 subscribers who named journey one among their two most essential retirement objectives. These figures describe retirement planners who prioritize journey, not all Boldin subscribers. Percentages drawn from that subset are labeled accordingly all through.
Nationwide comparability panel. A nationwide panel of 246 U.S. adults age 45 and older with family incomes of $100,000 or extra was fielded July 25, 2026 by way of SurveyMonkey Viewers utilizing similar query wording. The panel was not screened for journey precedence or planning standing. Margin of error is ±6.2 share factors at 95% confidence.
Reuse. Reporters and researchers are welcome to quote these findings with attribution to Boldin, the monetary confidence firm.
For an interview with founder and CEO Steve Chen, one among our coaches, or a CFP® skilled, please contact The Key PR at [email protected].
About Boldin
Boldin is a retirement planning platform on a mission to make high-quality planning accessible to everybody. The platform helps individuals perceive the place they stand, discover their choices, and make knowledgeable selections about retirement, taxes, Social Safety, healthcare, housing, investing, and extra.
Combining highly effective planning know-how and personalised AI with schooling, teaching, neighborhood, and entry to fiduciary advisors, Boldin provides individuals the instruments and steering to construct a plan they’ll perceive, belief, and act on. As we speak, practically 90,000 households use Boldin to plan their futures, representing over $247 billion in self-reported belongings. Study extra at Boldin.com.