Retirement Account Balances Often ‘Are Far Too Low’ For a Secure Retirement

U.S. employees age 21 to 64 are often found in research to struggle with saving for retirement, but federal data reviewed in a National Institute on Retirement Security report found a serious gap in retirement preparedness.  

The report, “Retirement in American: An Analysis of Retirement Preparedness Among Working-Age Americans,” published this month, also cautions that the “research is not intended as a guide for how individual workers should prepare for retirement.” 

The report, which draws on the public-use version of the Survey of Income and Program Participation from the U.S. Census Bureau, referencing data from December 2022, broadly considers how workers, differentiated by age group and other demographic characteristics “are faring in their preparation for retirement” and where shortfalls exist. 

The research found workers with any amount of defined contribution plan savings had a median savings of $40,000. Considering all workers, including those with no savings, the median amount was only $955, indicating half of the sample had more assets, while half had less. 

In the oldest group of employees in the report, age 55 to 64, the median amount saved for retirement was $30,000.  

“Even among those with savings, balances often are far too low to support a secure retirement. Today, too many households are forced to choose between paying their bills and saving for tomorrow,” said Dan Doonan, NIRS’ executive director, in a statement. 

Overall, NIRS’ research considered how prepared for retirement working-age Americans are. The research sought to answer questions including how access to retirement plans, and how saving for retirement interacts with other financial commitments, such as repaying student loan debt and owning a home. 

The NIRS report also presented the total financial assets of the different working age groups in the U.S. Among all surveyed employees, respondents age 30 to 34 had the lowest average total assets at $201,345 and those aged 55 to 64 had the highest average total assets of $752,419. Retirement assets for the youngest age group made up 13% of their total assets and 31% of the total assets of the eldest working age group. On average, retirement savings accounted for one-quarter of financial assets for working adults. 

Total assets comprised retirement savings, businesses, home equity, vehicles and other financial assets. 

These findings mirror another report released in August by IRALogix, a technology company specializing in individual retirement accounts. Giving the nation a “retirement readiness score” of 45.1 for the second quarter of 2025, putting the group evaluated in the moderate risk zone, indicating that many Americans were not financially prepared to maintain their standard of living during retirement. Similarly, in T. Rowe Price’s 2026 U.S. retirement market outlook released in January, 63.1% of total American employees were stressed about budgeting and 62.1% were stressed about saving for retirement.