Most workers who aren’t saving for retirement through their employers aren’t saving at all, the study found

Most workers who aren’t saving for retirement through their employers aren’t saving at all, the study found

New data suggests the average American worker has under $1,000 saved for retirement.

A report from the National Institute on Retirement Security found that the median savings for all employed adults between the ages of 21 and 64 were approximately $955. The study includes workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings plans, as well as the approximately 56 million workers who do not have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Workers with retirement savings plans have a median balance of approximately $40,000 saved, according to the report. That figure is nowhere near the $1.5 million that Americans say they need to feel comfortable fully retiring.

    • FirstCircle@lemmy.mlEnglish
      11·
      9 hours ago

      Even SS is indexed by how much you earned as a wage-slave over your lifetime. If you’ve done something other than slaving for the Boss, or if your slaving has been for low pay, you get commensurately less in SS payments and the state will be happy to see you starve and freeze in old age.

      • essell@lemmy.world
        7·
        8 hours ago

        That’s unbelievably backwards. I had no idea America designed a system to perpetuate class divide into retirement.

        • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          7 hours ago

          The actual formula is a bit complicated, but it boils down to a few key points:

          • you “pay into” the system at a fixed tax rate relative to your income, subject to a maximum cap after which you do not get taxed anymore.
          • in order to be eligible for benefits, you need to have 10 years of some amount of income. I think the threshold for that is extremely low, something like $8k/year.
          • when you retire, your income from your 35 highest earning years are sort-of-averaged together, subject to that cap I mentioned, to determine a monthly payment.
          • But, that value assumes you retire and take payments at 67. Take payments early, and you get less per month. Take payments later, and you get more.
          • Of course, none of this is guaranteed for future retirees. Current payments from workers go towards payments to current retirees, with the excess either saved for later or not due to the whims of the current administration. If there is ever not enough money to make payments, everyone likely takes that haircut.