$124 Trillion in Motion: How Advisors Can Lead the Next Phase of Retirement

Approximately $124 trillion in global wealth is expected to change hands by 2048, marking the largest intergenerational transfer in history. And it’s happening sooner than many expect: 60% of families anticipate a wealth transfer event within the next decade.

At the center of this shift is Generation X. They represent 19% of the U.S. population and are expected to inherit approximately $1.5 trillion every year. And, 72% want financial wellness and advice at work, where their retirement plan already exists.

The implication is simple, but powerful: Your next client is already in your plan.

So what does it take to lead in this next phase of retirement? At the NAPA 401(k) Summit, Vestwell shared key insights on how advisors can evolve to meet this moment. Let’s dive into key takeaways from our high-impact breakfast session.

The Advisor Role is Changing

Despite the scale of this opportunity, there’s a clear disconnect between awareness and readiness. While 97% of advisors are familiar with the impending wealth transfer, many are not positioned to act on it:

• 56% say they are only somewhat or minimally prepared to support clients through it.
• At NAPA, advisors emphasized that this moment is about more than money. It’s an opportunity to
  • Show empathy during what is often a stressful and emotional time, and to
  • Help individuals plan not just for their own future, but for the needs of their families as well

At the same time, the structure of the industry is evolving. There are approximately 275,000 advisors in the U.S., with only 12,000 primarily serving as 401(k) plan advisors.

This gap highlights a broader shift underway. Traditionally, the advisor role has centered on:

• Offering a plan
• Optimizing investment menus
• Monitoring fees and fund performance

Today, that model is expanding. Advisors are now expected to help savers navigate multiple financial priorities, including retirement, emergency savings, debt, and more, all at once. The role is moving from plan design to something more dynamic: ongoing financial guidance.

Guiding the “Next Best Dollar”

To meet that need, the NAPA breakfast session introduced a new way of thinking about advice: the “next best dollar.”

Rather than focusing solely on long-term retirement outcomes, this approach centers on helping individuals decide where their next dollar should go right now, based on their unique circumstances. To guide that decision, advisors can anchor conversations around six key questions:

1. Protect – What is the household’s most immediate financial vulnerability?
2. Stabilize – Do they need liquidity before long-term lock-up?
3. Time – What life-stage shift changes where the next dollar should go?
4. Prioritize – Which goal matters most right now: retirement, emergency savings, education, disability, or debt reduction?
5. Activate – What would make saving feel possible now, not just ideal later?
6. Expand – Where can the advisor engage earlier, before the traditional retirement conversation begins?

Savers are balancing multiple goals simultaneously, and static, one-size-fits-all guidance no longer meets that need. Instead, advice is becoming more situational, flexible, and personalized.

Personalization Becomes the Differentiator

As access to retirement plans becomes more widespread, expectations are changing. Internal Vestwell data extracted in March of 2026 reveals that employees are saving more and engaging more with their plans:

• Average active saver balances have increased by over 36% year-over-year
• Average plan-level balances have risen by 40% year-over-year

Auto-enrollment continues to play a major role, increasing participation by nearly 30 percentage points compared to voluntary enrollment. But progress alone isn’t enough; participants are also signaling a need for more:

• Greater support for short-term financial needs, like emergency savings
• More clarity around complex investment options
• Continued help closing retirement readiness gaps

The bottom line: expectations are moving from access to relevance. In this environment, simply offering more products can create confusion. The real differentiator is the ability to use data, behavior, and life-stage insights to guide the right action at the right time.

Leading in the Next Era of Savings

The last decade transformed the savings landscape by expanding access and participation. The next will be defined by how effectively that system is used. Advisors who lead this next phase will:

• Engage earlier in the financial journey
• Help savers navigate competing priorities
• Deliver more personalized, timely guidance
• Apply a stronger lens to how decisions are made

The opportunity ahead isn’t just about more plans or more assets. It’s about helping individuals make better decisions across their entire financial journey. And in that shift, the role of the advisor becomes more important than ever.