Posted on 02/22/2026 7:24:36 PM PST by Libloather
How's this for a somber retirement forecast: The typical American worker has less than $1,000 saved for retirement, according to a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS).
"The data are clear: Outside of high earners, Americans are choosing survival over savings and hoping to catch up later," NIRS executive director Dan Doonan told Yahoo Finance. "Even for those approaching retirement age — 55-to-64-year-olds — the median amount saved for retirement is only $30,000. We're looking at a looming crisis. These aren't just statistics — they represent millions of families who are doing everything right but still can't get ahead."
The report analyzes workers with 401(k) and other retirement plan savings, as well as the millions of US workers who lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
The median savings — half have saved more and half have saved less — for all employed adults ages 21 to 64 tallied $955, per the nonpartisan group, which analyzed data from the US Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Employer plans are a difference-maker
When you look exclusively at Americans enrolled in an employer-provided retirement plan, the numbers are more encouraging.
In Fidelity's 26,000 defined-contribution plans at companies across the country, covering 24.8 million participants, account balances last year clocked in at record highs, with an average 401(k) balance of $144,400 and an average IRA account balance of $137,902.
For these folks, the average 401(k) savings rate was 9.5%, and the average employer contribution rate was 4.7%, bringing the combined employee and employer 401(k) contributions to a record high of 14.2%. Fidelity's suggested savings rate is 15%.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Any secrets to share?
Wish you luck, but those next 30 could be hell physically - it just takes one aneurysm to cost you a leg or worse.
I love thrift shopping. It’s the thrill of the hunt. I wear a coat and tie to church every Sunday and nothing costs over $20. I have holy grail items like Gitman Brothers shirts, English ties, topcoats and wool/camel hair blazers.
Join communism. Lose even that!
I have scheduled a Financial Wellness meeting with her this weekend, along with a list of things she needs to obtain before our meeting to review.
She has a small pension, owns some modest property, and has no idea what she or her husband will get for Social Security.
By Friday we will have a clearer picture of their situation, and will develop the framework of a plan for what they will need in retirement and understanding what their gap will be.
Her husband is younger than she is, so they basically have a decade to correct for any deficiencies. Regardless, they have their work cut out for them.
“She’s counting on you to pick up the slack later...]
She knows me well enough to know that will not happen; I do not suffer fools, whether they’re family or not.
Good!
You are correct. I put it into IRAs when I left that company.
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