Old Mutual’s 2026 Savings and Investment Monitor found that fewer employed South Africans are using financial advisers, while more say they are unsure where to obtain financial guidance.
The annual online survey, conducted in April among 1 519 employed South Africans aged 18 to 65 with a personal monthly income of R8 000 or more, measures the financial attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour of this defined group. Age, personal income, gender, and population group were quota controlled, and the data was reweighted according to the income and demographic profiles of working South Africans aged 18 to 65, per UNISA’s Bureau of Market Research. The findings should therefore not be read as representative of all South Africans.
The survey recorded a decline in adviser usage, alongside growing uncertainty about where respondents could obtain financial guidance.
Four in ten respondents (40%) said they use a financial adviser, down from 45% in 2025 and 43% in 2024. At the same time, 54% said they were unsure whom to turn to for financial guidance, up from 50% a year earlier.
Adviser usage was lowest among respondents earning between R8 000 and R14 999 a month, at 33%. Among respondents earning R30 000 or more, adviser usage declined by 11 percentage points to 50%.
The trend was also evident among older respondents. Adviser usage among those aged 50 and older fell from 45% in 2024 to 37% this year, while uncertainty about where to obtain financial guidance increased from 43% to 52%.
Confidence improves, but financial realities diverge
Old Mutual says the results reveal “a nation of divergent financial realities”. Although confidence has improved overall, respondents earning less than R30 000 a month recorded rising financial stress and higher levels of debt concern, whereas higher-income respondents generally reported a stronger financial position than a year ago. The report says, “current realities reveal that many working South Africans remain financially fragile”.
Confidence in the economy reached 47%, its highest level since 2020, while 75% of respondents expected their personal financial situation to improve over the next six months.
Optimism increased among respondents earning R30 000 or more a month, from 72% to 78%, but slipped from 76% to 74% among those earning less than R30 000 a month. Younger respondents remained the most optimistic, with 90% of those aged 18 to 29 expecting their financial situation to improve over the next six months, compared with 53% of respondents aged 50 and older.
Confidence in making savings and investment decisions also continued its gradual upward trend, reaching 7.7 out of 10, its highest level since 2022. Respondents attributed this confidence primarily to disciplined budgeting, having clear financial goals, access to financial knowledge, and seeing progress towards those goals. One-third also said financial advice and guidance contributed to their confidence in financial decision-making.
Debt remains a leading source of financial stress
Despite the improved outlook, financial pressure remains entrenched.
The proportion of respondents describing themselves as considerably financially stressed increased from 38% in 2025 to 40%, after the improvement seen since 2022 paused. According to the report, the deterioration was concentrated among respondents earning less than R30 000 a month, while stress levels continued to improve among higher-income earners.
Debt remained the biggest contributor to financial stress.
The proportion of respondents with any type of personal loan increased from 54% to 64%. Borrowing from family and friends rose from 18% to 28%, while borrowing from microlenders or mashonisas increased from 12% to 19%.
Half of respondents said they often or always worry about debt, up from 47% in 2025 and 43% in 2024. Among respondents earning less than R30 000 a month, this rose from 47% to 56%.
Among respondents with any type of personal loan, 62% said the loan had been taken out for an unplanned expense.
Long-term planning remains under pressure
Although 81% of respondents said they have a savings goal, consistently putting money aside remains difficult.
A comfortable retirement remained the most common savings objective (30%), followed by children’s education (27%), providing for their family’s future (26%), and building an emergency fund (24%).
Only 44% strongly agreed that they were saving consistently as part of their financial plan, although this increased to 53% among respondents earning R30 000 or more a month.
Progress towards several savings goals nevertheless improved compared with last year. Among respondents pursuing these goals, 54% said they were on track or had achieved their children’s education savings target, up 12 percentage points. Progress towards saving for their family’s future increased by 10 percentage points to 50%, while progress towards paying off debt increased by eight percentage points to 40%.
Financial pressures nevertheless continued to put pressure on savings and investment preservation. Almost half of respondents (47%) said they had dipped into their savings during the past year to make ends meet, 15% had cashed in an investment earlier than planned, and 3% had paused contributions to investments.
Retirement preparedness also remained uneven. Among respondents saving for retirement, 46% believed they were on track or had already achieved their goal, unchanged from last year.
Only 30% expressed very high confidence that they would have enough retirement savings, while 43% lacked confidence. Confidence varied sharply by income: 51% of respondents earning between R8 000 and R14 999 a month lacked confidence in their retirement savings, compared with 16% of those earning R60 000 to R119 999.
Among respondents aged 50 and older, the proportion who believed they were making good progress towards their retirement savings goal fell from 55% in 2025 to 29% this year.
Confidence rises alongside investment risk appetite
The report found that growing confidence in financial decision-making was accompanied by a continued willingness to take investment risk.
Overall, 51% of respondents said they were willing to take above-average or substantial investment risk. Risk appetite increased among Generation Y respondents from 51% to 58%, and among respondents earning R30 000 or more a month from 49% to 58%.
Older respondents became more conservative. Among those aged 50 and older, the proportion preferring average to no investment risk increased from 61% to 71%.
The report also says appetite for cryptocurrencies increased from 27% to 34% in 2026.
AI and online tools are used for financial guidance
The survey also recorded substantial use of online tools for personal financial planning or guidance. Almost half of respondents (48%) said they use general AI chatbots, while 38% use personal-finance chatbots and 8% use robo-advisers.
Twenty-seven percent said they use none of these tools. Usage of general AI chatbots was highest among respondents earning R60 000 to R119 999 a month, at 57%, and among those aged 18 to 29, also at 57%. Personal-finance chatbot usage was also highest among the top income band, at 54%, and among respondents aged 18 to 29, at 44%.
The topics respondents said they would use an AI tool for covered a wide range of personal-finance decisions. The most frequently mentioned was investing and wealth building, at 39%, followed by managing day-to-day finances at 38%, simplifying tax-related complexity at 37%, retirement planning at 36%, and banking and account management at 36%. Respondents also identified evaluating insurance needs (29%) and help with credit position and loan-related decisions (27%) as areas where they would use AI tools. Nine percent selected none of the listed uses.
Old Mutual concludes that although consumers show determination and stronger intent to improve their finances, reliance on debt, eroding savings, low levels of long-term preparedness, and a lack of structured financial guidance point to continuing financial fragility within the surveyed working population. The report says consumers need “accessible, relevant, and practical financial guidance and know-how” to make informed decisions and build sustainable financial wellbeing over time.
Click here to download the 2026 Savings & Investment Monitor.
