It's time to reframe the narratives about the economy, financial experts said at the 2025 TIME 100 Summit in New York City Wednesday.
The panel discussion about financial security took place amidst national concerns about a potential recession following the short-lived installment of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.” The trade policy spurred a sharp fall in the stock market, which has since recovered. But the volatile state of the stock market remains fresh on American minds. In March, even before the exact parameters of Trump’s tariff plan were announced, U.S. consumer confidence had dipped to its lowest level in more than a decade.
“Certainly, we're at a time where we need to be doing everything that we can to be making the best of the situations that we have,” Dylan Tyson, president of retirement strategies at Prudential said during a panel moderated by TIME editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs. “[But] the more you're thinking about what you want to live your life…helps you take back and make the decisions that guide you to what's most important.”
Prudential is a sponsor of the TIME 100 Summit.
Allison Schrager, a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion, added to that optimistic outlook to the economy. “There are certain things that need to change,” says Schrager. “Average 401(k)s are a lot cheaper to offer, but that also means more people than ever have retirement savings.”
In order to comfortably live in retirement, Americans need to save $1.26 million, according to a Northwestern Mutual study. By comparison, the median amount most people have in their retirement account totals $87,000, per a Federal Reserve Board survey.
To help democratize the existing resources and methods Americans can use to boost their retirement savings, flexibility is key. That can mean considering coming in and out of the work force, working longer hours at a certain point in your life, or planning to work past 65, panelists say.
Troy Millings, CEO of Earn Your Leisure, believes education is the best way to democratize information about financial stability. “The education piece is kind of within our wheelhouse,” he says. “If somebody's at 69 is saying, ‘Hey, I haven't reached my financial threshold.’ Well, how do you get there? Have you invested in individual equities? Have you invested in indexes? Have you invested in ETFs?”
Panelists also recognize that there is vast income inequality in the U.S. The top 10% of households have two-thirds of the total U.S. household wealth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Millennials and Gen Zers owned $1.25 for every $1 of wealth owned by Gen Xers at the same age.
“Are we in places where sometimes you wish you had more and wish you were coming from a better starting point? Yes,” says Tyson. “Then the question is, what do we do next?”
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The TIME100 Summit convenes leaders from the global TIME100 community to spotlight solutions and encourage action toward a better world. This year’s summit features a variety of speakers across a diverse range of sectors, including business, health and science, AI, culture, and more.
Speakers for the 2025 TIME100 Summit include human rights advocate Yulia Navalnaya; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; comedian Nikki Glaser; climate justice activist Catherine Colman Flowers; Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, and many more, plus a performance by Nicole Scherzinger.
The 2025 TIME100 Summit was presented by Booking.com, Circle, Diriyah Company, Prudential Financial, Toyota, Amazon, Absolut, Pfizer, and XPRIZE.