Millions of Americans nearing retirement age with no savings (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of Americans have no enough retirement savings? ›

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.

90% Of Lower-Income Adults Over 50 Have Nothing Saved For Their Retirement As Millions Near Retirement Age. A massive number of lower-income workers over 50 have little to no savings for retirement, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Another big part of the problem when it comes to saving for retirement is that savings plans are not universally available in the U.S. Almost half of private sector employees ages 18 to 64, or 57 million Americans, do not have the option to save for retirement at work.

Putting that much aside could make it easier to live your preferred lifestyle when you retire, without having to worry about running short of money. However, not a huge percentage of retirees end up having that much money. In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings.

Adults with any retirement savings in the U.S. 2021-2022, by age group. In 2022, 88 percent of U.S. citizens who were 60 years old or older had some type of retirement savings. This information can be interpreted by the number of people in that age group without any retirement savings, which amounted to 12 percent.

If you retire with no money, you'll have to consider ways to create income to pay your living expenses. That might include applying for Social Security retirement benefits, getting a reverse mortgage if you own a home, or starting a side hustle or part-time job to generate a steady paycheck.

You may have to rely on Social Security

Many retirees with little to no savings rely solely on Social Security as their main source of income. You can claim Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but your benefit amount will depend on when you start filing for the benefit.

By some measures, millennials lag on retirement preparedness and net worth relative to older generations such as Gen X and baby boomers. There are many reasons for this, such as a shift away from pensions toward 401(k) plans and high student debt burdens.

A fundamental strategy employed by millionaires is their continuous commitment to investing. Many individuals invest with the long-term goal of achieving a financially comfortable retirement. They typically invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, target date funds, and other assets, diligently saving for retirement.

Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.

How many Americans have $100,000 in savings? ›

Most American households have at least $1,000 in checking or savings accounts. But only about 12% have more than $100,000 in checking and savings.

How Many Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck? A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year.

The Federal Reserve also measures median and mean (average) savings across other types of financial assets. According to the data, the average 70-year-old has approximately: $60,000 in transaction accounts (including checking and savings) $127,000 in certificate of deposit (CD) accounts.

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

To be considered wealthy at age 65 or older, you need a household net worth of $3.2 million, according to finance expert Geoffrey Schmidt, CPA, who used data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine the household net worth needed at age 65 or older to determine the various percentiles of wealth in ...

The result? Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) had less than $1,000 in their savings account. Breaking the survey data down a bit further, we find that 34% of Americans don't have a dime in their savings account, while another 35% have less than $1,000.

If you've got nothing saved for retirement, you're not alone. Nearly 30% of Americans have $0 saved for retirement, per recent data from personal finance website GOBankingRates. Another 33% have less than $50,000 saved.

Among the 47 million households headed by someone age 60 or older, 7% had household investable assets of at least $2 million, Drinkwater said. Only 6% of the 89 million households in the U.S. headed by someone 40 to 85 years old has that amount, Drinkwater said.

14% of Americans Have $100,000 Saved for Retirement

Most Americans are not saving enough for retirement. According to the survey, only 14% of Americans have $100,000 or more saved in their retirement accounts. In fact, about 78% of Americans have $50,000 or less saved for retirement.