How Much Is Saved in 401(k)s
10/22/23
Increasingly, retirement savings plans have become the way American workers accumulate the money they will need to supplement their Social Security payments in retirement. The most common retirement savings plan is the 401(k). 401(k)s are offered by employers, but it is typically up to the employee to decide whether to participate and how much to contribute. Many employers also contribute, but are usually not required to do so.
How Much People Are Saving
The following statistics are all “median” figures. “Median” is a half way point, where half of a group has more assets and half has less. Median is the most commonly cited measure used to describe retirement savings plan account balances.
| Median retirement account balances for: |
|
| Individual public and private sector workers: |
$30,000
|
|
|
| Median retirement account balances for: |
|
| Public and private-sector households: |
$86,900 |
| Households with a worker or spouse age 55-64: |
$185,000
|
How many people are participating
| Private-sector workers offered retirement savings plans: |
67%
|
| Private-sector workers participating in retirement savings plans: |
49%
|
| Private-sector workers offered retirement savings plans who participate: . |
73%
|
| Private and public-sector households participating in a plan: |
45%
|
Read Why Pensions Are Important to see statistics that demonstrate the importance of pension plans.
Find out the Annual Contribution and Benefit Limits for Retirement Plans
Sources
How much people are saving
- Data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) SSA Supplement.
- Bhuta, Neil, Jesse Bricker, Andrew C. Chang, Lisa J. Dettling, Joanne W. Hsu, Kevin B.Moore, Sarah Reber, Alice Henriques Volz, and Richard A.Windle. “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances.” Federal Reserve Bulletin, October 2023, Table 3, page 15. The figures are for 2022 and include account balances from IRAs and Keogh plans and public and private employer-sponsored retirement plans. Employer-sponsored plans include 401(k), 403(b) and thrift savings accounts from current and past employment. The Survey of Consumer Finances uses the term “families,” rather than “households,” but since the definition of “families” employed in the survey is comparable to the definition of “households” used in U.S. Census Bureau surveys, the term “households” is used here.
- Additional Information: SCF Interactive Chartbook, Median value of retirement accounts for families with holdings.
How many people are participating
- U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2023,” September 2023, Retirement Benefits, Table 1. The survey distinguishes between access to a retirement plan and participation in the plan. This figure includes full-time and part-time private sector workers with access to an employer sponsored 401(k), 403(b), profit-sharing, ESOP or money purchase plan. Workers are considered participating in a contributory plan, such as a 401(k), if either they or their employer contributed to the plan and they met the service requirement. All workers in noncontributory plans are counted as participating.
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