More than half of workers report less than $100,000 in retirement savings. Hypothetical projections based on 8% annual growth show how steady investing could build a meaningful balance over time.
In the 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey, 51% of workers reported less than $100,000 in savings and investments, excluding the value of a primary home. For someone starting at 45, there is less time for growth than for someone who began decades earlier. At 65, there is less time still. But saving now can add to a retirement balance, and working a few extra years may give savings longer to grow.
The question is not whether late starters can make up for decades of missed contributions. It is how much they can improve their position from here.
In an online survey of 2,000 Americans age 30 and older, only 40% of participants in workplace retirement plans knew exactly how their retirement savings were invested.
The savings gap is widespread
The 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey found that 16% of workers had less than $1,000 in savings and investments, excluding the value of a primary home. Another 9% reported $1,000 to $9,999, and 7% had $10,000 to $24,999. At the other end, 37% reported $250,000 or more. In all, 51% had less than $100,000, while 32% had less than $25,000.
The figures put individual concerns in context. They do not show what any one household needs. This is a broad snapshot, not a personal retirement plan. The amounts do not account for a worker's age, expected retirement date, income, debt, or other resources. A balance that looks large on its own may fall short for one person and work for another. Spending needs and retirement income matter.
Among workers age 45 and older who plan to retire within the next 10 years, 88% had thought about how they would generate retirement income. Yet 76% either had no retirement plan or spent fewer than five hours developing or updating one during the past year.
A low starting balance is a reason to make a plan, not to give up on saving. Contributions add money directly. Investment growth may add more, but it is uncertain and can be negative over shorter periods. The years before withdrawals begin also affect how much market risk someone may be able to take.
The challenge is common. LIMRA's findings show that thinking about retirement income does not always lead to a detailed plan. The gap is real.
More investors also feel responsible for funding retirement themselves. Natixis Investment Managers reported that 78% of global retail investors in 2025 felt more personally responsible for funding their retirement, compared with 67% in 2015, according to its 2025 Global Individual Investor Survey.
What the projections show
The calculations below use an assumed annual growth rate of 8%. Investing $7,000 a year would produce about $44,351 after five years and $109,518 after 10 years. After 20 years, the projection reaches $345,960. With annual investments of $15,000, the estimates are about $95,039 after five years, $234,682 after 10 years, and $741,344 after 20 years.
The longer projections rise substantially. After 30 years, the estimates are $856,421 for annual investments of $7,000 and $1,835,188 for $15,000. After 40 years, they are $1,958,467 and $4,196,716, respectively.
These are illustrations, not forecasts or promised balances. An 8% return will not match every investing period, and actual market returns vary. The figures also do not guarantee future purchasing power.
Time matters. Five or 10 years of contributions can build useful assets, but they do not erase the advantage of having more years to invest. Anyone who cannot contribute the larger amount should not treat the projections as an all-or-nothing test. Both the amount invested and the time invested affect the result.
Time horizon still matters
Stocks can help build wealth over the long term, but they can also lose value. The S&P 500's average annual return over long periods has been close to 10%. The projections use 8% as a more conservative illustration. Neither figure predicts what the market will return over a particular five-, 10-, or 20-year period. Long-term averages can hide sharp drops along the way.
For that reason, the guidance here is to keep stock-market investments to money that will not be needed for at least five years, and preferably 10. A market drop shortly before a withdrawal can force someone to sell at a loss. That leaves less money invested if the market later recovers. Money for near-term spending and long-term retirement savings serve different needs.
Short-term rate concerns are separate from a household's full retirement timeline. The risks discussed in this rate outlook coverage do not make returns over several decades predictable. The same care applies after retirement begins. Someone who retires at 65 and lives to 90 may have money invested for 20 or 25 years. Retiring does not automatically mean leaving the stock market. The right balance depends on when the money will be used and how much volatility a household can handle.
For people who feel behind, working a few extra years is one option. Work, health, and family circumstances may limit that choice. The figures support a narrower, more useful point: starting now can improve a future balance, but no projection replaces a realistic estimate of spending and withdrawal needs.
Late saving does not guarantee security. It gives people a chance to make the remaining time count. Keep money needed soon clear of avoidable market risk.
