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Category: Financial / Topics: Circumstances, Life Events • Financial • Lifestyle, General • Planning • Retirement
Retirement Savings
by Stu Johnson
Posted: November 13, 2021
How do you compare?…
One source for material I use in publishing SeniorLifestyle is a feature on my Firefox browser called Pocket, which presents a wide variety of articles. A recent one that caught my eye was called "Average Retirement Savings Revealed: Are You Normal?" It was actually an "Advertorial"—a sponsored article, in this case by a firm called smartasset. This advertorial is aimed at promoting the use of and connecting you with a financial advisor, which is a worthy purpose, but I'll let you go to the original article to pursue that. Before you go there, however, let me pull out a few interesting points:
Shocking Savings Statistics
Around half of American households have no retirement accounts at all, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The National Institute on Retirement Security reports that almost 40 million households have no retirement savings, while the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates Americans have a retirement savings deficit at $4.3 trillion.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, and many Americans are saving for retirement.
In fact, Fidelity reported in August 2021 average 401(k) balances over $129,300 and average IRA balances over $134,900 and those who've been saving for over 10 years averaged over $400,000.
Additionally, the number of 401(k) millionaires reached a record high of over 365,000 in the first quarter of 2021.
General Guidelines for Retirement Savings
Some say that you should have saved the equivalent of one year’s salary by the time you hit 30, but saving more certainly won’t hurt. By the time you retire, it can be a good idea to have between 9 and 11 times your salary in retirement savings.
American's Average Retirement Savings by Age
According to Fidelity, the following is what the average American has saved for retirement.
- 20 to 29: $15,000
- 30 to 39: $50,800
- 40 to 49: $120,800
- 50 to 59: $203,600
- 60 to 69: $229,100
Where do you stand, in your savings and your planning?
Search all articles by Stu Johnson
Stu Johnson is principal of Stuart Johnson & Associates, a communications consultancy in Wheaton, Illinois. He is publisher and editor of SeniorLifestyle, writes the InfoMatters blog on his own website and contributes articles for SeniorLifestyle. • Author bio (website*) • E-mail the author (moc.setaicossajs@uts*) • Author's website (personal or primary**)* For web-based email, you may need to copy and paste the address yourself.
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Posted: November 13, 2021 Accessed 500 times
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