Even high earners are living paycheck to paycheck this year: Goldman Sachs survey
Think a high salary is a ticket out of living paycheck to paycheck? Think again.
Roughly 4 in 10 workers earning above $300,000 say they're doing just that, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management's 2026 retirement report.
"One of the more remarkable findings is whether or not financial security improves linearly with income," Chris Ceder, a senior retirement strategist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, told Yahoo Finance.
What income levels show the most financial security?
How does income affect credit card payment patterns?
Why do high earners live paycheck to paycheck?
What financial behaviors create the U-shaped income pattern?
You'd think financial security would improve as someone makes more money, with income tracking in a straight path with each extra dollar of earnings.
"It does for a while, but it's a U-shape pattern," Ceder said.
Those making between $100,000 and $300,000 aren't so stretched, according to the findings, but the number who say they are living paycheck to paycheck shoots back up among those earning above $300,000 annually.
"We can see a similar pattern as it relates to delaying financial goals, delaying retirement savings, and also paying the minimum of their credit card balances," Ceder added.
For example, the survey found that the people making only minimum credit card payments or less are clustered at the lowest and highest income brackets.
About 4 in 10 workers making under $100,000 are skating by on the minimum credit card payment. That drops to 35% for those in the $100,000 to $300,000 income bracket and pops up again to 42% for those who earn above that threshold.
Nearly half of those bringing in a half-million dollars made minimum payments this year, up from 39% last year.
"Obviously, there's a big difference between what it means to have an income of $50,000 and below versus $300,000-plus, but in terms of how it is manifesting in … financial strain, there certainly are some parallels," Ceder said.
Less surprisingly, a substantial number of Americans who make below $100,000 also report living paycheck to paycheck.
They struggle to save at all or make any progress toward long-term goals, Ceder said.
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