U.S. households now park a larger share of their investable wealth in taxable brokerage accounts than in tax-advantaged retirement plans, according to a new report from H&W, an independent data and benchmarking firm. The Portrait of U.S. Household Wealth 2026, released Oct. 22, 2026, found that 133.4 million households control $102.4 trillion in investable assets, with taxable accounts accounting for $66.0 trillion and consumer-controlled retirement accounts at $36.5 trillion. That nearly two-to-one split has widened from prior years, underscoring a structural shift in how Americans save.
The growth is not confined to the wealthy. H&W data show that households with as little as $5,000 to $100,000 invested still keep the majority of their assets outside retirement registrations. This pattern suggests that tax-deferred vehicles, while still popular, are no longer the default destination for new savings. "Advice and guidance experiences should address allocation of saving across all possible account types, not just those your firm offers," said Laura Varas, CEO and founder of H&W, in a statement. "Households may perceive tax-deferred accounts as a good choice for today but can fail to maintain liquidity for goals other than retirement."
The report also highlights a growing complexity in household finances. Nationally, 34% of households spread saving across three or more account types. Among those with $100,000 to under $3 million in investable assets—particularly younger households—the decision of where to allocate new savings is most acute. At the upper end, half of households with $3 million or more hold assets across six or more account types, with taxable brokerage accounts dominating. This complexity creates a clear entry point for advisors, especially as inflation pressures push middle-asset households to take on additional debt to maintain savings rates.
"Providing households with any type of advice and guidance helps boost saving," said Declan Quirke, H&W analyst. "Advice and guidance experiences should encompass the diverse income sources that now are reality for both accumulators and retirees. An important part of advice on household finance is helping households understand tradeoffs between maintaining saving rate and debt." The data align with broader research showing that households receiving structured financial guidance save more and into a wider range of account types, creating greater financial flexibility over the long term.
The findings carry direct implications for advisors. The H&W Inside Advice Grid framework shows that households receiving guidance on how to allocate saving across multiple account types accumulate more assets and maintain better liquidity than those who do not. Prior H&W research found that most advice experiences fail to address the question of how to divide new saving across account types at all—a miss that the 2026 data suggest is becoming more costly as taxable asset growth accelerates.
For advisors working with clients in the $100,000 to $2 million range, the data point to a specific conversation worth having: how to balance retirement contributions against taxable account growth, while keeping enough liquidity available for goals that aren't retirement-related. For clients approaching or entering retirement, the volume of assets now sitting in taxable accounts reinforces the importance of income sequencing and tax-location strategies. The H&W Portrait Grid, which segments the market across 156 investable asset and age combinations, also highlights the rapid growth of the $10 million-plus household segment—a cohort with particularly complex multi-account portfolios and, accordingly, elevated advisory needs.
This shift comes as other industry data point to similar challenges. A recent Empower survey found that 34% of Americans have lost track of old 401(k) accounts, complicating retirement planning. Meanwhile, the U.S. retirement system earned a C+ in the 2026 global index, with sustainability slipping. Advisors who can help clients navigate the trade-offs between taxable and tax-advantaged accounts may find themselves better positioned to meet evolving client needs.
