
One-Quarter of Working Americans Have Zero Retirement Savings - spking
https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-households-remain-financially-fragile-fed-survey-shows-11558627721
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ChrisLomont
Also, a quarter of working Americans are early in a career, and people
generally earn most of their retirement wealth later in a career.

Here's [1] a interesting set of data that demonstrates this. Here's an age
breakdown of the worforce [2].

Since about a quarter of the workforce is under 25, I'd not expect them to
have much retirement at all. Sure some older people also have too little, but
this article makes it sound much worse than it probably is by treating wealth
as static.

So since younger workers generally (and historically) have had little net
worth but ended up with decent net worth, I wish articles like this would
point this effect out and explain the nuance better.

[1] [https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-
states/](https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator-united-states/)

[2] [https://dqydj.com/workforce-by-age-calculator-united-
states/](https://dqydj.com/workforce-by-age-calculator-united-states/)

~~~
pedrosorio
> Since about a quarter of the workforce is under 25

Your [2] source shows 12.18% under 25 in 2015.

~~~
ChrisLomont
You’re right. But the overall point still stands when comparing with net worth
by age graphs. People have median low net worth till later in their careers.
And early on much of that worth is equity, not retirement savings.

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rayiner
This is kind of an unhelpful statistic. Thanks to extended adolescence and
over education many Americans don’t really start working until their mid to
late 20s. So the fact that younger workers have no savings doesn’t say much
about the economy. It also ignores social security. Even if you earn $15,000 a
year, so long as you work 35 years, social security will keep you around the
poverty level. It also ignores pensions, which 13% of workers (and almost a
quarter of baby boomers) are entitled to receive.

~~~
SerLava
Oh Lord, it says a lot about the economy. People aren't entering extended
adolecense because they love Mom's spaghetti.

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OrwellianChild
The data cited in this article comes from the Federal Reserve's _Survey of
Household Economics and Decisionmaking_. Their website[1] has the full 2018
report[2] as well as CSV of the data going back to 2013 when it started.

The headline comes from the _Retirement_ section of the PDF, which begins on
page 55 of the PDF.

As mentioned by others, this "None" category isn't nearly so interesting as
some of the other data in the report. Notably:

> _When asked about their finances, 75 percent of adults say they are either
> doing okay or living comfortably. This result in 2018 is similar to 2017 and
> is 12 percentage points higher than 2013._

[1]
[https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm](https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm)
[2]
[https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/files/20...](https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/files/2018-report-
economic-well-being-us-households-201905.pdf)

~~~
onion2k
_75 percent of adults say they are either doing okay or living comfortably_

That percentage would go up if people's expectations of what "doing okay"
means goes down. If society is telling millennials that they're doing well if
they can afford a room in a shared house and a new iPhone then they will
report that they're "doing okay", especially if they have peers who can't
afford those things. That doesn't make it true compared to a generation before
them who could afford to buy a house and a new car at the same age and strata
of society.

It's a measure of perception rather than anything objectively useful.

~~~
mercer
As an early 'Millennial' I'm quite surprised by how much those about a decade
or younger than myself are okay with things being much worse for them than
they were for me.

It was easier for me to find housing, study without massive student loans, and
receive health care without high costs and/or navigating complicated options.

While I can't tell for sure, it also seems like it was easier for me to get a
job out of college that paid acceptably, and that offered decent prospects for
the future.

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, because what I've heard from those a decade
or so _older_ than me is the same story. Among them, things like being a
'long-term student' or getting a job with a straight track to various
promotions, seemed much more common, and rent was cheaper. And they've
expressed being surprised that I seemed so okay with things getting a bit
worse than it was for them.

------
wj
And of the ones that do there is a lot of leakage with people taking loans or
cashing out accounts when they change employers.

This is specifically what I am working on but taking the angle of helping
people break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and make some progress towards
their goals. If someone can save up enough to establish a small emergency fund
then they are less likely to raid their retirement savings when their car
breaks down or they get a medical bill they cannot afford. Further, when one
feels like they have their financial life in order they are more willing to
make 401(k) contributions beyond their matching amount.

It is difficult though. The default action for people and their personal
finances is inaction. Working through some ideas to help that but there is no
silver bullet.

~~~
mcfunk
In order to even consider the problem in terms of savings though, we first
have to get to a place where 78% of American workers are not living paycheck
to paycheck.

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-
pa...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-paycheck-to-
paycheck-government-shutdown/#18a39dc84f10)

~~~
wj
Yup, budgeting really is step one in building up enough of a cushion to break
that cycle. And budgeting is a change of mindset that is hard for people to
adopt. Going from looking at "how much is in my account" to "how much do I
have left in my grocery budget" takes time but, when fully bought into, is a
powerful way to take charge of your finances and drive the changes needed to
build an emergency fund, get out of debt, save for retirement, etc.

Of course a budget doesn't always work. Sometimes one can only reduce their
spending so much but still not reach a balanced budget let alone save a few
dollars. In those cases the income side of the equation needs to be focused
on. I suspect, but don't have data to back this up, that the job market isn't
as strong as the official numbers would lead us to believe so there might not
be a higher paying opportunity waiting down the street. Certainly wage growth
is lagging. There is definitely a disconnect between the macro economy and
Main St. in a lot of towns.

This is a huge problem that is only getting bigger as health care costs
continue to rise, particularly for people stuck in the Medigap in retirement.
But there are no easy answers or short cuts. I think we continue to do what we
can to chip away at the problem and, like with budgeting, small improvements
can have outsized results over the long term.

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RickJWagner
This is the direct result of failure in the educational system.

With a little bit of financial knowledge (applied), nearly every American
should have something to fall back on.

Financial education should be mandatory.

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mjevans
With the baby boomers planning for retirement, housing over-valued, and land
likely in a similar over-valuation (anywhere that's actually useful)...

Where exactly should I be stashing my retirement to last past when the baby
boomers?

I guess maybe that's why people buy so many guns and such, they have a
valuation and will be worth something come revolution or as collectors
items...

~~~
jressey
A percentage equal to your age in long term bonds and the rest in index funds,
I strongly recommend Vanguard. It is my opinion that investing in rental
property is the best thing you can do. If the the economy tanks, that just
means people who had money have to sell their house and rent.

~~~
wcoenen
Your first and second sentence seem to contradict each other.

~~~
jressey
I think that's fair to say. If you wish to incur risk and put some of your
savings to work, then I would recommend the rental property game. I think it
is the most effective way for a white collar worker to amass wealth in a
single working lifetime. You must also take advantage of compounding savings
in the market.

The mix of these 2 is dependent on the risk the person/couple is willing to
incur.

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empath75
I’m actually surprised the number is that low, tbh.

