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AUTHOR: R Quinn on 3/17/2026
The responsibility for retirement income has steadily shifted to individuals and away from employers (unless you work for government), but far too many workers have accepted that responsibility. Longterm thinking does not seem a widespread skill. I find this information a bit depressing. How do we change the situation?
Frankly I don’t know, but if we don’t make changes- if individuals don’t make changes in their financial behavior and if we don’t do better for those with inadequate means to fend for themselves, there will be adverse economic consequences as society continues to age. In my view anyway.
Hey, we need more Americans reading HumbleDollar and the reality it’s writers bring to personal finance. 🤑
Fact: most workers don’t stay with one employer long enough to get any value from a pension plan. The median job tenure is about 4 years, a bit longer in the public sector.
Fact: the peak for workers pensions in the private sector was about 50% in the 1970s. However, far less actually received a pension because they left the job before vesting or the receive a minimal deferred annuity at age 65 if they were vested. Today about 15% of private sector workers have a defined benefit pension, but short job tenure still means they most receive little value.
Fact: Today more workers have an employer-based retirement plan than ever before, just not a defined benefit pension. About 65–70% of private-sector workers have access to a retirement plan (401k and the like), the bad news, roughly 50–55% actually participate.
Fact: workers in their 50s have an average 401k balance of $246,700 – $270,000 and a median of $85,000 – $95,000.
Workers in their 60s have an average of $269,100 – $280,000 and median of $88,000 – $90,000.
Neither are going to provide much of a retirement.
Fact: 40% of retirees get 50% or more of their income from Social Security 15–20% of retirees rely on it for 90% or more of their income.
Unfortunately, for decades we haven’t been able to come to grips with changes necessary to keep Social Security sustainable.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
May well be that we are near the end of a “golden age” of retirement – where Congress, has all but eexhausted their ability to deficit spend and buy votes, having bestowed significant largess on Americans ages 65+ – benefits that Congress was unable or unwilling to fund – via improvements in Social Security, bailouts of government sponsored entitlement programs, Medicaid, bailouts of multiemployer pension plans, Medicare enhancements, PPACA health coverage subsidies, etc.
As a result, today’s retiree satisfaction likely varies substantially, but is probably at or near all time highs.
https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2017/2017-post-retire-exp-85-years-old/
However, coming generations of individuals reaching traditional retirement age of 65 have a much different outlook. Many have not separated their lives into the old structure of three stages, birth through a period of education, decades of work, and one – three decades of retirement. Instead, it appears that more and more Americans favor a variety of transitions, gaining new skills at older ages, and continuing employment beyond a career occupation.
See: https://preview.thenewsmarket.com/Previews/FINP/DocumentAssets/714932.pdf
Myself, I’ve had a few transitions – roles and associated ages:
Through high school at age 18
Failed attempt at college 19
Two years “wearing the green” 19 – 21
Full time (make do) employment for wages, health coverage (working 50 – 60 hours/week) with a return to school undergraduate and MBA full time at night (typically 16 hours a quarter, mostly financed via GI Bill) – 21 – 27
Corporate position 27 – 58
Back to graduate law school, 28 – 33
Back to graduate law school 57 – 60
Independent consulting, consulting firm employment, non-profit employment, law firm employment 58 – 73 (today)
University instructor 64 – 65
I suspect many more Americans will find themselves still working in their 70’s in the future, however, it won’t be in career roles, transitioning from full time to part time to full leisure … not the envisioned (and often preferred) phased retirement (for those who did a good job of financially preparing for retirement), but, a disjointed period of “start and stop”, commencing in a worker’s 50’s, taking and sometimes losing various positions for wages and/or engagement that may only be tangential to the career occupation.
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And yet, somehow, magically, we have 60+ Million Americans age 65+ who are not living in poverty.
Official poverty figures show poverty among individuala age 65+ declined from 35.2% in 1959 to 9.9% in 2024.
The Census Bureau defines the official poverty measure as “the inability to satisfy minimum needs.” By that definition, “the poor are those whose resources—their income from all sources, together with their asset holdings—are inadequate.” The thresholds used in the official measure are the cost of a defined quantity of goods and services required by a specific size and type of family to satisfy its minimum needs. The thresholds have been adjusted for inflation, increasing in current dollars by 776% since 1967, but the definition hasn’t changed.
However, eventhough much has changed since the 1960’s, our federal government still misrepresents poverty – suggesting 6MM of the 60+MM are living in poverty.
That 9.9% number is the very definition of “statistics” from the famous quote that Mark Twain popularized: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics.’
The Census Bureau’s estimates don’t include government transfer payments. In addition to not counting refundable tax credits, the official Census Bureau measure doesn’t count food stamps, Medicaid, rent subsidies, energy subsidies and health-insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, taxpayer subsidies for Medicare Part B and Part D, Supplemental Security Income, etc.
In total, benefits provided in more than 100 other federal, state and local transfer payments, many, some would say a disproportionate amount directed to older Americans, aren’t counted by the Census Bureau as income to the recipients.
It is concern about this largesse that prompted 19 different state or local governments to add an employer mandate to prompt more Americans to save for retirement in an Individual Retirement Account – to reduce the future, anticipated burden of transfer payments on state budgets.
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I think using any poverty measure as a benchmark is is misleading, even in king the support you mention or a number higher than the FPL does not paint a picture of a comfortable retirement.
100% FPL (the base poverty level) for two is $21,640 per year. Even double the FPL can still be a gloomy picture for many.
My property taxes alone are more than 50% of that number. Take a few thousand more for auto insurance- neither of which are income related. Then add basic Medicare and Medigap premiums.
Retirees quite a bit above the poverty line still have finances to be concerned about, if they don’t prepare long before they retire.
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The people retiring on Social Security and little or no other income or savings generally have been living a sparse life up to retirement age. How do you expect them to have a “comfortable”retirement.
You can’t measure everyone by your own income and investments. There are many places where a very nice home can be had with property taxes a lot less than $13000 per year.
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well, if you don’t like those statistics, look at SOA and EBRI surveys, especially those surveying retirees over age 85.
most are living within their means – not at all different than when they were working for wages.
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