Retirement Saving Statistics: Are You Saving Enough?

Financial experts say we ought to start saving in our 20s if we want to enjoy a comfortable, worry-free retirement.

How realistic is that? Are we responsible enough to invest in our futures, or are we mainly concerned with living in the present and surviving on a day-to-day basis? In order to find out exactly where America stands on this matter, we’ve taken a look at some of the latest and most relevant available numbers.

Key Retirement Savings Statistics for 2025 - Editor's Choice

• Almost a third of Americans had less than $1,000 in retirement savings in 2024.
• 56% of people in the United States have no idea how much they need to save for retirement.
• People in the United States feel the best age to retire is 63.
• 27% of US retirees have no savings in 2025.
• 21% of Americans used the assistance of AI to help them plan for retirement in 2024.

28% of Americans had less than $1,000 in retirement savings in 2024.

(Forbes Advisor)

When we look at the overall data, 32% of Gen Zers have less than this amount in savings, followed by Millennials at 31%.

In 2024, Americans said that they would need $1.46 million to retire comfortably.

(Northwestern Mutual)

This number has grown by a staggering 50% since 2020, and by 15% from last year alone.

45% of retirees in the US worry that they’ll outlive their savings.

(Clever Real Estate)

What's more, some 43% stated that they would rather die than run out of money.

In 2024, people in the United States felt that the best age to retire is 63.

(MassMutual)

The average actual retirement age right now is 62.

78% of Americans will work past 65 years of age because they don’t have enough retirement funds.

(Northwestern Mutual)

Just over half of people would continue working after 65 simply because they choose to do so. People who will have to work out of necessity are generally concerned about how much money they have saved up or distrust the social security system’s ability to provide enough for them.

Of those who would continue working by choice, 58% enjoy their jobs, 46% want more income, and 39% simply want to remain social.

Only 5% of Gen Zers were primarily saving for retirement in 2024.

(Forbes Advisor)

The latest data shows that only a tiny minority of young people in the US are saving for retirement. After the Gen Z population, just 11% of Millennials were primarily saving for their retirement.

The average amount an adult in the US has saved for retirment in 2024 was $88,400.

(Northwestern Mutual)

This represented a slight drop from $89,300 the year before.

Just 30% of Americans had plans to minimize the taxes they paid on retirement savings in 2024.

(Northwestern Mutual)

Among those that had plans, the main strategy was making strategic withdrawals from traditional and Roth IRA accounts in order to remain in a lower tax bracket.

43% of Americans in 2024 said that they wished they started saving for retirement earlier.

(Empower)

What's more, some 48% of respondents said that they would prefer a longer retirement with less money than to retire later in life.

There were over 418 thousand IRA and 544 thousand 401(k) millionaires in the United States by Q3 2024.

(Fidelity Investments)

This is a record number by all accounts, with IRA millionaire accounts growing by 5%, and 401(k) accounts growing by 9.5% compared to Q2 2024.

The average 401(k) balance in 2024 was $293,695.

(Empower)

The numbers for those aged 50 or older were at $583,231.

21% of Americans used AI to help them plan for retirement in 2024.

(Empower)

Americans are increasingly adopting artifical intelligence to consult regarding financial and savings matters.

92% of US retirees in 2025 believe that people underestimate how much money they'll need to retire comfortably.

(Clever Real Estate)

The vast majority of retirees stated that a person would need $580,000 to retire comfortably in 2025, up from $540,000 in 2024.

27% of retirees in the US have no savings in 2025.

(Clever Real Estate)

Out of those, 56% stated that the reason they had no retirement savings was due to the fact that they were living from paycheck to paycheck.

64% of pre-retirees in 2024 increased their savings in order to better prepare for retirement.

(MassMutual)

The same survey found that 66% of respondents placed a higher emphasis on taking care of their health, while 65% contributed more money to their retirement account in order to better prepare for retirement.

60% of retirees in 2024 spent less than they did before retiring.

(MassMutual)

In a similar manner, 57% of pre-retirees anticipated having to cut down on their spending once they were retired.

The average debt among retirees who have debt is $19,415 in 2025.

(Clever Real Estate)

The same data showed that 64% of retirees still have non-mortgage debt, with 31% owing $10,000 or more.

In 2024, women had less than one third the median retirement savings of men.

(Prudential Financial)

Women are also nearly three times as likely to delay retirement for caregiving duties.

79% of Americans in 2024 stated that the country is in a retirement crisis.

(The National Institute on Retirement Security)

This is a staggering increase from 67% in 2020.

52% of retirees in 2025 believe that their fellow retirees rely too heavily on government assistance instead of their own personal savings.

(Clever Real Estate)

On the other hand, 80% of them stated that the government should do more to help retirees.

57% of American workers felt significantly behind on their retirement savings in 2024.

(Bankrate)

Out of those, 35% stated that they felt significantly behind.