For the expansive definition, start from FIN, or all financial assets. Then, remove checking accounts and prepaid cards. Next, eliminate whole life insurance and trusts, which are generally estate planning tools. Finally, remove miscellaneous assets – that’s your baseball cards, silverware, and the like.
| Age | Average Retirement | Alternative Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | $5,860.98 | $12,316.00 |
| 25-29 | $20,361.47 | $53,481.03 |
| 30-34 | $35,812.12 | $79,554.37 |
| 35-39 | $70,361.89 | $172,989.85 |
| 40-44 | $102,301.38 | $227,623.23 |
| 45-49 | $138,665.36 | $266,563.69 |
| 50-54 | $242,421.82 | $487,115.45 |
| 55-59 | $284,015.50 | $563,233.05 |
| 60-64 | $326,800.45 | $764,269.26 |
| 65-69 | $337,197.20 | $785,099.44 |
| 70-74 | $279,162.01 | $796,571.87 |
| 75-79 | $238,017.43 | $710,223.67 |
| 80+ | $155,357.28 | $731,780.01 |
| Age | Median Retirement Savings | Alternative Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | $0.00 | $710.00 |
| 25-29 | $4,700.00 | $8,200.00 |
| 30-34 | $4,700.00 | $12,680.00 |
| 35-39 | $8,000.00 | $21,000.00 |
| 40-44 | $12,000.00 | $24,000.00 |
| 45-49 | $19,400.00 | $33,000.00 |
| 50-54 | $24,000.00 | $43,000.00 |
| 55-59 | $24,000.00 | $59,840.00 |
| 60-64 | $10,400.00 | $33,000.00 |
| 65-69 | $8,700.00 | $50,650.00 |
| 70-74 | $0.00 | $105,000.00 |
| 75-79 | $0.00 | $36,000.00 |
| 80+ | $0.00 | $42,000.00 |
Unfortunately the article doesn’t indicate if the top 1% retirement savings are average or median.
| Age | Top 1% Retirement Savings | Alternative Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | $150,000.00 | $167,000.00 |
| 25-29 | $365,000.00 | $705,010.00 |
| 30-34 | $365,000.00 | $846,000.00 |
| 35-39 | $730,000.00 | $2,051,000.00 |
| 40-44 | $1,234,600.00 | $2,696,000.00 |
| 45-49 | $1,397,000.00 | $3,471,000.00 |
| 50-54 | $2,311,000.00 | $5,385,000.00 |
| 55-59 | $3,105,000.00 | $7,430,000.00 |
| 60-64 | $3,550,000.00 | $9,140,000.00 |
| 65-69 | $4,574,000.00 | $10,424,000.00 |
| 70-74 | $3,141,000.00 | $13,389,000.00 |
| 75-79 | $3,300,000.00 | $9,205,000.00 |
| 80+ | $3,000,000.00 | $11,553,000.00 |
A staggering 78.7 percent of full-time workers in the lowest-earning decile (earning less than $27,400 a year) lack access to a retirement plan, compared to just 18.2 percent in the highest-earning decile (earning more than $180,600 a year).
Zooming out to the top half of American workers by income, only a quarter of them lack access to a plan — versus 65.2 percent of the bottom half.
This inequality exists for employer matches as well. In the bottom decile of the earnings distribution, 82.1 percent of workers do not receive employer matches to their retirement savings, compared to only 20.3 percent of workers at the top of the earnings distribution.
The above isn’t so important. The working poor don’t have any extra money to invest anyway.