Last year, workers polled by Charles Schwab said they needed to save $1.8 million to retire comfortably. But many believed they were far from reaching that goal.

The dollar amount has not changed in a 2024 survey, Schwab said. What has changed is that these workers are less anxious about inflation and market volatility as those metrics have eased, so they’re beginning to believe that it’s possible to reach their financial goals.

These latest results come from Schwab’s survey of 1,000 U.S. 401(k) plan participants.

According to the study, savers on average expected their nest egg to last 23 years after they retired at age 65.

Though they still worry about inflation and market ups and downs—and the impact of these phenomena on their retirement savings, Schwab found that the worry has lessened this year. In 2023, 62% cited inflation as an obstacle to a comfortable retirement, where only 58% said so this year. While market volatility was seen as a barrier to savings goals by 42% of last year’s respondents, only 38% saw it as a barrier in 2024.

“Workers are feeling more optimistic about their retirement prospects. And an improving economic climate tends to boost financial confidence. But it’s not the only factor,” said Lee McAdoo, managing director of Schwab Retirement Plan Services, in a statement. “We’re seeing heightened awareness around 401(k) investments and performance—a promising sign that workers are actively engaging with their accounts and cultivating knowledge to help them reach their goals.”

The survey also found that workers are paying closer attention to their investments. Twelve percent in 2023 had no idea what investments made up their 401(k) accounts; that number dropped to 8% in 2024. Last year, only 65% said they were aware of what investments to choose for their 401(k), while that number had grown to 69% this year.

But that does not mean that they shun help from a financial advisor. Nearly two-thirds of workers (61%) believe their financial situation would benefit from working with an advisor; that is higher than 55% a year ago. Also, 55% of those polled said they would be very confident in making the right 401(k) investment decisions with the help of an advisor, up from 49% last year. (Twenty-nine percent said they’d be comfortable doing it on their own, up from 27%.)

When it came to the sources of financial advice, 39% said they’d get it through their 401(k) plan, 35% said they would get it from a financial advisor, 27% said it came from family and friends, and 25% said they get it from their employer. They were also open to tapping artificial intelligence for help. In fact, 61% said they are comfortable asking AI tools like ChatGPT for advice with financial planning, up from 49% in 2023.

“Still, more say they are very likely to follow human professional advice recommendations (60%) rather than computer-generated recommendations,” cited by 19%, Schwab noted.

The online survey was conducted by Logica Research between April 17 and May 3. Respondents were aged 21 to 70 and were actively employed by companies with at least 25 employees.