A significant portion of Americans lack sufficient funds for retirement, with various studies showing around 40% of non-retired adults have no retirement savings, while a majority (over 50%) feel they are falling behind on saving enough to maintain their standard of living, often due to high everyday expenses and debt. Specific figures suggest up to 39% of working households might not maintain their lifestyle, and tens of millions struggle, with many older adults (50+) having nothing saved.
Key Takeaways
Surveys have found that the number of Americans without retirement savings is between 20% and 46%. Low-income households are most likely to lack savings, often because of limited access to retirement plans.
The bottom 50% of Americans have no retirement savings. That is a crisis. After a lifetime of work, you should not retire into poverty. We should have a mandatory class in high school to teach money management, taxes and retirement planning.
Roughly 7% to 9% of American households have $500,000 or more in retirement savings, though figures vary slightly by source, with data from late 2025 suggesting around 7.2% and older 2022 data indicating about 9%, showing it's a significant milestone achieved by less than one in ten families, despite higher averages driven by wealthy individuals.
Low Income The primary reason people don't save for retirement in America is they simply don't make enough money. As of 2023, the median household income in the US is around $80000. If you're an average family of four living on that income, there's just not a lot of money left over to save.
One in five Americans over the age of 50 have no retirement savings, according to a survey by the AARP. And even if you have something tucked away, it may not be enough — though that is something you can change even late in the game.
Must Read. According to the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), just 3.2% of retirees have reached $1 million or more in their accounts (1). This is troubling news if you count yourself among the 40% of retirees who say they'll need at least $1 million for true financial security in retirement (2).
The above chart shows that U.S. residents under 35 have an average of $49,130 in retirement savings; those 35 to 44 have an average $141,520; those 45 to 54 have an average $313,220; those 55 to 64 have an average $537,560; those 65 to 74 have an average $609,230; and those 75 or older have an average $462,410.
The old adage 'Retire without debt' may be going the way of the electric typewriter and rotary phone. A new analysis from the personal finance site LendingTree finds that 97% of retirement-age adults have non-mortgage debt. The average balance: $11,349.
Today, nearly half a million Americans over age 80 are still working, and the 75-plus demographic is the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. For some, the decision is driven by financial need — rising health care costs, longer lifespans, and inflation have stretched savings thin.
For a 70-year-old, average retirement savings vary significantly by source, but generally fall between $250,000 and over $600,000 (mean/average), while the median (half have less) is much lower, around $100,000 to $200,000, highlighting a wide gap due to high earners skewing averages. Key figures show the mean for ages 65-74 around $609,000, but the median for that group is closer to $200,000.
About 40 percent of all U.S. households where the head of the household is between 35 and 64 are expected to run short of money in retirement, according to a 2019 report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
WASHINGTON—A new AARP survey finds that 20% of adults ages 50+ have no retirement savings, and more than half (61%) are worried they will not have enough money to support them in retirement.
According to estimates based on the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, a mere 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts. The number of those with $2 million or more is even smaller, falling somewhere between this 3.2% and the 0.1% who have $5 million or more saved.
The average retiree's monthly expenses in the U.S. hover around $4,600 to $5,400, with younger retirees (65-74) spending more, often over $5,000 monthly, while those 75+ spend closer to $4,400 as transportation and entertainment costs decrease, though healthcare costs can rise, with housing, transportation, healthcare, and food being the biggest categories.
The short answer: to retire on $80,000 a year in Australia, you'll need a super balance of roughly between $700,000 and $1.4 million. It's a broad range, and that's because everyone's circumstances are different.
Eliminating a big debt early on could save you thousands of dollars in interest, freeing up money that could be added to your retirement savings and start gaining compound interest instead. Another thing to consider is that keeping up with large debts becomes more difficult in retirement.