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Evidence Continues to Pile Up: Americans Aren’t On Track for Retirement
Last Updated: June 24, 2025
Not Surprising, but Still Alarming: Americans Are Still Falling Behind on Retirement
We all know someone.
A parent who planned to retire at 65 but is still working at 72.
A friend who quietly confesses they’re not sure they’ll ever be able to stop working.
A colleague whose medical emergency set back their retirement plans by thousands of dollars.
These stories aren’t rare—they’re all too common. And in our work advising 401(k) plans, we see this reality every day.
The 401(k) is the primary retirement savings vehicle for most workers. Nearly 72 million Americans have access to one. But despite how common they are, far too few employees are financially prepared to retire. Shouldn’t it be working better?
This Isn’t a New Problem. But the Evidence Keeps Piling Up.
If you work in HR or finance, this probably doesn’t surprise you. Retirement insecurity has been a concern for years, but the data confirming it continues to grow.
According to the Federal Reserve’s recently published Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households, only 35% of Americans say their retirement savings are on track. That number has barely moved in years: 34% in 2023, 31% in 2022, 40% in 2021, 36% in 2020, and 37% in 2019. Despite millions poured into “retirement readiness” initiatives, financial wellness programs, education campaigns, and digital tools, the needle doesn’t seem to be moving.
Other recent national research reinforces this picture. According to the 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), 82% of workers did not feel very confident they would have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. Similarly, research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) finds that 79% of Americans believe the country is facing a retirement crisis.
Just within the last year, major media outlets have echoed the concern through headlines like these:
• Business Insider (May 2025): “The Rise of Millennial Retirement Panic”
• Reuters (March 2025): “Choppy Trump Policies, Stocks Drop Has Some Rethinking Retirement Plans”
• Time (February 2025): “For Many of America’s Aging Workers, ‘Retirement Is a Distant Dream’”
• Axios (September 2024): “Older Workers Aren’t Retiring, Creating Career Gridlock for Younger Ones”
• National Council on Aging (August 2024): “Addressing the Nation’s Retirement Crisis: The 80%”
• Forbes (April 2024): “Americans Are Worried About Retirement Savings, and They Should Be”
These aren’t just numbers or fringe stories—they’re a collective gut-check: the system isn’t working. It’s the reality for a growing portion of the workforce. And it’s not going to fix itself.
What’s Holding the 401(k) Back?
The 401(k) has been around for nearly 50 years. It’s not some new or untested concept—it’s the primary way millions of Americans save for retirement. The problem isn’t with the tool itself, but with how it’s being managed.
Most plans simply aren’t run with the same discipline or rigor we bring to other areas of the business. Instead, the 401(k) is often treated as a passive, optional benefit—something that’s offered, but not actively managed toward a specific goal.
Rather than being guided by a clear objective, many plans are designed just to check the box: offer a benefit, stay compliant, avoid legal trouble. But “Let’s not get sued” isn’t the same as “Let’s help our people retire.” And that’s the core issue: most plans don’t have retirement readiness as the goal.
Then there’s the accountability gap. No one is truly responsible for ensuring employees are on track to retire. Executive leadership, HR, finance, advisers, and recordkeepers all play a role, but no one has to own that outcome. Responsibility is shared, but accountability is missing. Even if retirement readiness is the stated goal, if no one is held accountable for achieving it, then that goal remains out of reach. Without clear ownership and accountability, meaningful progress stalls, and employees continue to fall behind.
And, it’s not just the lack of a clear goal or accountability. The KPIs, or the industry’s standard success metrics, are all over the place. Plan fiduciaries get plenty of data and reports, but there clearly is not enough progress. How do we know if the plan is actually getting people on track—or not? And what metrics truly drive retirement readiness?
With so many reports, it can be overwhelming to know what really matters. Participation rates, education attendance, and positive survey responses may feel like wins, but they don’t answer the essential questions: Are people saving enough? Are their investments growing? Are their fees low enough to preserve their savings?
Those are the metrics that matter. But too often, they’re not the ones committees are being shown. And without a clear goal guiding the plan, it’s easy to mistake activity for progress. As management expert Peter F. Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” In our experience, if we’re not measuring whether employees are actually on track to retire, then we’re not really managing the plan. We’re just maintaining it. And when that’s the standard, it’s no surprise that outcomes fall short, and workers are left to carry the consequences.
WHAT NOW?
This is the problem we’re focused on solving. The good news is that it can be solved!
If any of this resonates—if you’re nodding along or feeling the same frustrations—you’re not alone. And you’re not stuck.
Join us for our live webinar, ‘What’s Your Problem, 401(k)?’ We’ll unpack the root issues holding plans back in more detail and share practical, actionable steps employers can take to drive real retirement readiness for your employees
At Pension Consultants, Inc., we don’t just talk about the problem; we offer a proven approach that brings clarity, accountability, and the right metrics to 401(k) plan management. We work alongside fiduciary committees to set the right goal, measure what matters, and manage plans to truly help employees get on track for retirement.
If you’re ready to move beyond checking boxes and start helping your people retire with confidence, let’s get acquainted.
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1) Gappa, Stang. 401(k) Account Access Statistics in 2023. Capitalize Money, Inc., June 2024.
2) Federal Reserve Board. Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024. May 2025.
3) Federal Reserve Board. Report on Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households. Reporting years 2022 – 2018.
4) Employee Benefit Research Institute. 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey Summary Report. 2023.
5) National Institute on Retirement Security. Retirement Insecurity 2023: Americans’ Views of Retirement. August 2024.
6) Feder, J. Lester. “The Rise of Millennial Retirement Panic.” Business Insider, May 2025.
7) Farrell, Stephen, et al. “Choppy Trump Policies, Stocks Drop Has Some Rethinking Retirement Plans.” Reuters, March 18, 2025.8) Semuels, Alana. “For Many of America’s Aging Workers, ‘Retirement Is a Distant Dream.’” Time, February 2025.
9) Pandey, Mansee. “Older Workers Aren’t Retiring, Creating Career Gridlock for Younger Ones.” Axios, September 1, 2024.
10) Doonan, Dan. “Americans Are Worried About Retirement Savings—And They Should Be.” Forbes, April 2024.Pension Consultants, Inc. is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser, located at 300 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield MO, 65806. For questions or more information contact us at 417.889.4918.
