Nearly Half of Americans Aren't Prepared for Retirement

Nearly half of Americans aren’t prepared for retirement, according to a recent AP-NORC study.

How prepared someone is correlated with how old they are, with younger Americans much less prepared than their older counterparts. Out of an 18 to 49 age bracket, 56 percent of respondents were not very or not at all prepared. Many experts advise investing for retirement young to grow assets that are intended to last till the end of a person’s life.

While many of the adults in the study who felt unprepared were in the younger age bracket, almost a third of respondents over the age of 50 reported being not very or not at all prepared. In the U.S., 401(k) plans are how most people support themselves in retirement. According to Fidelity, the average 401(k) balance for a 50 to 59-year-old is $174,100.

The Secure Act, a bill that passed the House last month, also aims to make it easier for Americans to have access to and contribute to 401(k) plans. The bill includes provisions to let long-term part-time workers and small businesses offer the retirement option to their employees.