How to Bridge a Retirement Shortfall [Video]

If you want to get yourself thoroughly depressed, spend a little time looking at statistics about Americans’ retirement preparedness. Some of the data are hopeful. Recent research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, for example, indicates that seven out of 10 American workers feel confident in their ability to retire comfortably. Strong stock market returns no doubt help on that front.

But that survey is about sentiment, and the actual data on retirement preparedness are more sobering. In Vanguard’s most recent How America Saves report, the average participant balance in Vanguard plans was $134,000 in 2023, but the median balance was just $35,000. For workers with Vanguard plans who were between ages 55 and 64, the average and median balances were $245,000 and $88,000, respectively, in 2023. Roughly half of people between age 55 and 66 have no retirement savings at all, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and women are in worse …