Retirement & Social Security Statistics
Average retirement benefits, 401(k) savings by age, and Social Security solvency
Compiled 2026-09-13 for a general US audience. Each statistic gives the number, the year/data vintage, and an original source (name + URL). Authoritative figures come from the Social Security Administration and the Social Security Board of Trustees [2][5]; retirement-savings figures from Vanguard’s How America Saves, the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and the National Institute on Retirement Security [1][6][7].
1. Social Security Benefits
| Statistic | Number | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Social Security retirement benefit (retired workers) | $2,071 / month | Jan 2026 | Social Security Administration [2] |
| Average benefit, all retirement beneficiaries | $1,976 / month | 2026 | SSA (via Safemoney aggregation) [3] |
| Total retirement beneficiaries | 56.3 million | 2026 | Social Security Administration [2] |
| Year-over-year benefit change | +2.8% COLA (2025→2026) | 2026 | Social Security Administration [2] |
| Maximum benefit — retire at full retirement age in 2026 | $4,000 / month (approx.) | 2026 | AARP [4] |
Note: the average retired-worker benefit (~$2,071) is higher than the average across all retirement beneficiaries (~$1,976) because it excludes lower-paying spousal/survivor benefits. The $4,000 maximum applies only to someone who delays claiming until full retirement age with a top-earning history — not typical. [2][4]
2. 401(k) / Retirement Savings by Age
| Age group | Average balance | Median balance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $6,899 | $1,948 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| 25–34 | $42,640 | $16,255 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| 35–44 | $103,552 | $39,958 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| 45–54 | $188,643 | $67,796 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| 55–64 | $271,320 | $95,642 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| 65 and older | $299,442 | $95,425 | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
| Average across all ages | $148,153 | — | Vanguard How America Saves [1] |
⚑ Important caveat: the median is far below the average at every age — a few very large accounts pull the average up. The median is the honest "typical person" number (e.g. 55–64: median $95,642 vs. average $271,320). These figures are 401(k)-plan participant balances, not total household net worth, and do not include houses, pensions, or non-401(k) savings. [1]
3. Retirement Preparedness
| Statistic | Number | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americans with less than $100,000 saved for retirement | 47% (including 18% with no savings) | 2026 | National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) [6] |
| Median amount saved in a retirement account | $955 | 2026 | NIRS — Retirement Insecurity 2026 [6] |
| Workers with any retirement savings (self/spouse) | 65% | 2026 | EBRI 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey [7] |
| Americans who don’t expect to retire comfortably | ~50% (46% say not financially prepared) | 2026 | Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study [8] |
| Self-estimated “magic number” to retire comfortably | $1.46 million (average) | 2026 | Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study [8] |
⚑ Caveat: "preparedness" numbers are survey-based self-reports, not account-level data — people under-report or guess. The $955 median (NIRS) is a deliberately stark measure of workplace-retirement account savings and excludes Social Security and home equity; it is not the same as a household’s total net worth. [6][7][8]
4. Social Security Solvency
| Statistic | Number | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projected OASI trust fund depletion date | 4th quarter 2032 | 2026 Trustees Report | Social Security Board of Trustees [5] |
| Share of scheduled benefits payable at depletion | 78% (an “automatic” ~22% cut under current law) | Projection, 2032 | Social Security Board of Trustees [5] |
| Combined OASI+DI depletion date | 3rd quarter 2034, 83% payable | Projection | Social Security Board of Trustees [5] |
| People covered / beneficiaries | 185M workers fund benefits for 71M beneficiaries | 2025 | Social Security Administration [2] |
⚑ Contested / important caveat: the “2032 depletion / 78% payable” figure is the Trustees’ actuarial projection under a set of intermediate assumptions, and only if Congress takes no action. It is not an enacted benefit cut — anyone drawing Social Security today, or starting in the next several years, is unaffected by the projection itself. The date keeps moving year to year (it moved a full quarter earlier from 2025 to 2026). Treat it as a policy-warning number, not a guarantee. [5]
Sources
[1] https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/retirement/savings — Vanguard, Average Retirement Savings by Age (How America Saves)
[2] https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-01903.html — Social Security Administration, FAQ: Average monthly benefit for a retired worker (plus monthly SSA statistical data for beneficiary counts)
[3] https://safemoney.com/retirement-statistics/social-security-statistics — Social Security Statistics 2026 (aggregation of SSA data; secondary)
[4] https://www.aarp.org/social-security/faq/maximum-benefit — AARP, Maximum Social Security Benefit Explained
[5] https://www.ssa.gov/trustfund/ — Social Security Board of Trustees, 2026 Annual Report (OASI depletion projections)
[6] https://www.nirsonline.org/research/nirsonline-org-reports-retirement-insecurity-2026/ — National Institute on Retirement Security, Retirement Insecurity 2026
[7] https://www.ebri.org/docs/default-source/rcs/2026-rcs/rcs_26-fs-3_prep.pdf — Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey
[8] https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2026 — Northwestern Mutual, Planning & Progress Study 2026
Contested / Stale Flag Summary (quick ref)
- Solvency (78% / 2032) — a Trustees projection contingent on "no congressional action," not an enacted cut; the date shifts year to year.
- Average vs. median savings — always use the median for "typical." The $955 median is workplace-account savings only, not net worth.
- Average benefit (~$2,071) vs. all-beneficiaries average (~$1,976) — different populations; state which.
- Preparedness stats (%) — survey-based self-reports, not account data.