Social Security’s projected US$29 trillion funding gap is forcing a hard rethink of who pays for retirement and how much comes from taxes on work and investment income. That kind of policy tug of war can reshape where household savings go. Miss the shift and you risk owning the wrong exposure. This article walks through three U.S. retirement and wealth-management stocks closely tied to that debate.
The stocks below are just a starting sample, and the same screen surfaced 22 more U.S. retirement and wealth-management companies with similarly detailed stories that are not covered here.
Overview: Principal Financial Group provides retirement plans, IRAs, annuities, and wealth-management services that help U.S. workers build private retirement savings.
Operations: Principal Financial Group generates about US$8.2b from Retirement and Income Solutions, US$5.1b from Benefits and Protection, and US$2.8b from Principal Asset Management, with smaller corporate and unallocated items.
Market Cap: US$24.0b
Principal Financial Group matters for this screen because its 401(k), IRA, and workplace plan engine directly channels household savings into private retirement accounts. The analyst consensus Narrative on Simply Wall St frames that retirement-focused ecosystem as the main driver of the next leg of the story.
“Principal Financial Group is continuing to expand its integrated retirement ecosystem through higher transfer and recurring deposits, DCIO sales, and new lifetime income collective investment trusts and target date solutions, which is set up to support fee based revenue and earnings from Retirement and Income Solutions.”
What really moves the needle from here is how pressure on fee levels and asset mix shapes the earnings power behind that ecosystem.
Those fee and mix cross-currents are exactly what the full narrative for Principal Financial Group unpacks, highlighting where Principal Financial Group could be accelerating or stalling as retirement flows continue to shift.
NasdaqGS:PFG Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Nov 2026
Overview: Brighthouse Financial provides U.S. annuity and life insurance products that help individuals turn retirement savings into predictable income and protection.
Operations: Brighthouse Financial generates US$2.9b from Annuities, US$1.1b from Life, US$1.2b from Run Off, and US$0.6b from Corporate and Other, all in the United States.
Market Cap: US$2.5b
Brighthouse Financial matters to this retirement focused screen because it sits squarely in the annuity and life insurance bucket that households often use to fill Social Security gaps. The bearish analyst Narrative on Simply Wall St centers on how that retirement demand interacts with a more complex balance sheet story.
“Although Brighthouse Financial continues to report solid annuity and life insurance sales linked to the U.S. retirement wave, the Q1 2026 net loss of $792 million driven by market-sensitive accounting volatility suggests that future periods could see similar swings that weigh on reported earnings and dilute the benefit of higher revenue.”
What really matters from here is how one unresolved pressure on Brighthouse Financial’s retirement guarantees ultimately feeds through to pricing power and profitability.
That pressure point is where the story gets interesting, and the full narrative for Brighthouse Financial breaks down whether accounting swings are masking a more resilient retirement engine.
NasdaqGS:BHF Earnings & Revenue History as at Nov 2026
Overview: CNO Financial Group sells health, life and annuity products plus related financial services to middle-income pre-retirees and retirees across the U.S.
Operations: CNO Financial Group generates about US$2.0b from Health, US$1.1b from Life and US$0.7b from Annuities, with all US$4.5b of revenue coming from the United States.
Market Cap: US$5.2b
CNO Financial Group sits close to the heart of this screener because it aims its retirement income and protection toolkit squarely at middle-income Americans who are most exposed if Social Security benefits are trimmed. The analyst consensus Narrative on Simply Wall St highlights how execution on that focus is shaping the story.
“Sustained investments in technology modernization and data driven tools, including a three year program of about US$170m to replace aging core systems and roll out new CRM, enrollment and learning platforms, are aimed at improving agent productivity and supporting lower expense ratios and higher net margins over time.”
What happens if one quiet shift in how those middle-income clients buy retirement cover changes the payoff from all that spending on distribution?
That hinges on whether CNO Financial Group’s tech spend is quietly rewiring how middle income retirees shop for protection, a question the full narrative for CNO Financial Group tackles head on by examining where execution could be accelerating or stalling.
NYSE:CNO Earnings & Revenue History as at Nov 2026
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This article is general in nature and was produced with the assistance of AI automation, based on data and analysis from Simply Wall St. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
