Probability of Having Adequate Retirement Savings

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), only about 40% of American workers are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. This aligns with data showing that about 46% of households aged 55-64 have no retirement savings at all, and the median retirement savings for all working-age households is approximately $87,000.

The "retirement savings gap" is substantial. Fidelity recommends having 10x your final salary saved by age 67, but the median 401(k) balance for people aged 60-69 is only about $182,000 (while the average is about $537,000, heavily skewed by high savers). Social Security replaces only about 40% of pre-retirement income for average earners and is projected to face funding shortfalls by 2034 if no changes are made.

Factors contributing to inadequate retirement savings include stagnant wages, high cost of living, student loan debt, inadequate access to employer retirement plans (about 40% of private sector workers lack access), and insufficient financial literacy. Women face a particular challenge due to lower average earnings, career interruptions for caregiving, and longer life expectancy. Strategies to improve retirement readiness include starting to save early, maximizing employer matching contributions, increasing savings rate by 1% per year, and delaying Social Security benefits to increase monthly payments.