Americans start managing their retirement finances early in life, thanks to many financial instruments and products for those who want save money for their late years. As the graph shows, retirement savings increase with age. The age group boasting the highest average value of retirement savings are individuals between 65 and 69, with over 335,000 thousand. As many people start retiring, retirement savings start decreasing for individuals over 70 years of age.

According to the results of a survey conducted in the United States 2021, turning a certain age was the main trigger for starting to save for retirement. The survey, conducted among 1,000 working and fully retired Americans, revealed that many respondents started saving for retirement for work-related reasons.

Roughly 28 percent of Americans had household retirement savings reaching 250,000 U.S. dollars or more by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, eight percent of respondents stated to not have any household retirement savings at all. The share of people with retirement savings ranging from 100,000 to 250,000 U.S. dollars has decreased between 2020 and 2023.

The statistical business entity allocates the retirement savings contribution rate for laborers and the balance of special accounts.

The statistic shows the average retirement account balances of Americans between 50 and 64 as of November 2010, by pension plan. On average, Americans from the bottom 25th percentile (0 - 10,800 U.S. dollars) had 281 U.S. dollars in a KEOGH pension plan, a tax deferred pension plan available to self-employed individuals or unincorporated businesses for retirement purposes. The same income group had, on average, 9,160 U.S. dollars in IRA (individual retirement account) pension plans. Additional info: Retirement saving It is never too early to start thinking about retirement. Plans and provisions for our twilight years often get put off as we deal with life’s more pressing demands, and with solid economic recovery still far from guaranteed, savings plans have been impacted. Despite this, those who wish to enjoy the golden years of their life should save early and save often. There are a number of saving strategies and a number of possibilities available for retirement saving, and this can seem quite daunting and difficult to figure out at first. The U.S. Department of Labor recommends determining net worth to be a good place to start i.e., the total value of assets minus the value of debts. Having ascertained this, and judging by your age, you can start planning how to get the most out of your retirement savings. You should contemplate where you want to be and how you’re going to get there. If you have age on your side, you can afford to be aggressive and put money into riskier funds. If your fund loses in value, you have time to let it grow. However, if you are getting close to retirement, more intensive and low-risk saving methods are recommended.

PRSA05 - Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Personal Retirement Savings Accounts...

Curious about the average 401(k) balance? Americans hold $6.6 trillion in assets in 401(k) plans, making the 401(k) one of the nation’s leading vehicles for retirement savings. Let’s look at some statistics that break down America’s 401(k)s, from participation rates to average balances.

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. The share of individuals with retirement savings was lower in the younger age groups, and among adults from 18 to 29 years old, just 57 had retirement savings.

In 2023, the main challenge facing Americans trying to save for retirement was being able to make meaningful investments. According to a survey carried out in October 2023, roughly 77 percent of individuals who did not have access to a retirement plan from their employer felt they did not have enough cash to contribute to their retirement savings, while 78 percent of women and non-binary individuals surveyed felt they were unsure about what investments best suited their individual goals.

We study how couples allocate retirement-saving contributions across each spouse's account. In a new dataset covering over a million U.S. individuals, we find retirement contributions are not allocated to the account with the highest employer match rate. This lack of coordination—which goes against the assumptions of most models of household decision-making—is common, costly, persistent over time, and cannot be explained by inertia, auto-enrollment, or simple heuristics. Complementing the administrative evidence with an online survey, we find that inefficient allocations reflect both financial mistakes as well as deliberate choices—especially when trust and commitment inside the households are weak.

Americans start managing their retirement finances early in life, also thanks to many financial instruments and products for those who want save money for their late years. This is true also for the wealthiest one percent of the population. Among top one percent individuals, those between 65 and 69 years saved on average nearly 2.7 million U.S. dollars for retirement.

CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 100% data was reported at 8.000 % in Aug 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.000 % for Jul 2018. CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 100% data is updated monthly, averaging 4.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 249 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.000 % in Aug 2018 and a record low of 1.000 % in Jul 1999. CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 100% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H029: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?

Individuals with a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP); Tax filers with RRSP contributions by sex, age and income groups (preliminary T1 Family File; T1FF).

PRSA01 - Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Personal Retirement Savings Accounts...

CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 50% data was reported at 11.000 % in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 10.000 % for Apr 2018. CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 50% data is updated monthly, averaging 15.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to May 2018, with 246 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.000 % in Jan 2004 and a record low of 10.000 % in Apr 2018. CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 50% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H026: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?

United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Mean data was reported at 34.500 % in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 36.800 % for Apr 2018. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Mean data is updated monthly, averaging 34.800 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to May 2018, with 246 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 39.400 % in Oct 2001 and a record low of 29.900 % in Oct 1999. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Mean data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H026: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?

United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 0% data was reported at 24.000 % in Aug 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.000 % for Jul 2018. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 0% data is updated monthly, averaging 19.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 249 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.000 % in Dec 1997 and a record low of 13.000 % in Oct 2002. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 0% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H029: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?

PRSA06 - Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Personal Retirement Savings Accounts...

United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 1-24% data was reported at 24.000 % in Aug 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 24.000 % for Jul 2018. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 1-24% data is updated monthly, averaging 27.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 249 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.000 % in Oct 2004 and a record low of 21.000 % in Jun 2017. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: 1-24% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H029: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?

United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Don’t Know data was reported at 0.000 % in May 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.000 % for Apr 2018. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Don’t Know data is updated monthly, averaging 2.000 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to May 2018, with 246 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.000 % in Feb 2001 and a record low of 0.000 % in May 2018. United States CSI: Savings: Adequate Retirement Income Probability: Don’t Know data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by University of Michigan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.H026: Consumer Sentiment Index: Savings & Retirement. The question was: What do you think the chances are that when you retire, your income from Social Security and job pensions will be adequate to maintain your living standards?