The typical U.S. worker has $955 saved for retirement, report finds

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The average American worker has less than $1,000 saved for retirement, underscoring the financial strain millions could face in old age, according to a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security.

That figure factors in workers with 401(k) and other retirement plan savings, while also including the roughly 56 million U.S. workers who lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Median savings for all employed adults between the ages of 21 and 64 amounted to $955, the nonpartisan think tank found, tapping data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation.

For workers who do have retirement savings, the median balance stands at $40,000, the group found — a far cry from the roughly $1.5 million that Americans say they need to retire comfortably. Adding to the financial pinch is Social Security's funding shortfall, which if not addressed by Congress could result in a roughly 20% cut to benefits starting in 2034.

"While there have been some noticeable improvements in the retirement savings system in recent years, many workers are still left out of that system, and major challenges lie ahead," the report noted.

More seniors are "unretiring," or returning to the workforce after retirement for financial reasons, according to a new report from the AARP. The group, which represents the interests of older Americans, found in a survey that 7% of retirees have returned to work in the last six months, with almost half citing financial pressures.

"With the cost of living still high and many people worried that they don't have enough saved for retirement, the trend of older adults working longer will likely continue," Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience programming at AARP, said in a statement.

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"The bottom line is that if Americans are not saving for retirement through their employer, then they are probably not saving at all," the report said.

The paltry level of retirement savings may also help explain rising poverty among older Americans. The share of seniors living in poverty climbed to 15% in 2024, up from 14% a year earlier and the highest rate among all age groups, Census data shows.

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