Retirement savings planning is unique for every person, but for most Americans, their current retirement savings plan just isn’t enough.
The key is to start as soon as possible and maintain saving for retirement, but often people wonder how much they’re on track. Here are a few facts to help with that:
- The average American has $65,000 in retirement savings and by their retirement age, that average is estimated to be $255,200, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019” survey.
- Nearly half of working-age families have nothing saved in retirement accounts, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Further, according to the Economic Policy Institute, despite nearly half of families having zero retirement savings, there is a large gap between mean retirement savings ($120,809) and median retirement savings ($7,800), which reflects inequality—that the large account balances of families with the most savings are driving up the average for all families.
So where do you land in the retirement savings range according to your age? The most recent Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances from 2019 provides this breakdown:
Additionally, Vanguard conducted an internal survey of their own customers to examine the median and average retirement savings amounts in different age groups:
| Age Bracket | Average Balance | Median Balance |
| 25 and younger | $6,264 | $1,786 |
| 25-34 | $37,211 | $14,068 |
| 35-44 | $97,020 | $36,117 |
| 45-54 | $179,200 | $61,530 |
| 55-64 | $256,244 | $89,716 |
| 65 and older | $279,997 | $87,725 |
Ultimately, starting early to accumulate retirement savings is critical. If you’re among the 45% with no retirement savings, fret not. Thankfully, there are solutions to make up for a late start to retirement savings.
Traditional avenues include reducing your risk in your portfolio of choice, maxing out your 401k contributions each year, opening a Roth IRA to save more, and paying down debt. While these are solid strategies, we’d add one more: Save Market Trust.
Save Market Trust helps make up for lost time safely through the combination of a conservative investment program and a guaranteed interest rate product that achieves principal protection based on a five-year term4 and a variable APY of 13.82%** using S&P 500 Risk-Controlled portfolio historical performance.
How is this possible?
When a program is started, the majority of the deposit is placed in a guaranteed interest rate product which will accrue yields by maturity that equals to the customer’s initial deposit. The guaranteed interest rate product guarantees at least your initial deposit will be returned at maturity, regardless of the performance of the investment portfolio, which is the second part of the program’s setup.
This is the explanation of the second part of Market Trust: Save makes market investments for you in a portfolio managed by our team of financial professionals. Typically, we place Market Trust customers into the S&P 500 Risk-Controlled portfolio.
When the investment program matures after five years, the net returns are paid out in cash, or you can elect to renew the program for an additional five-year term based on availability. As for the guaranteed interest rate product, it matures after five years and the principal is returned to you in full.
What’s most notable about Market Trust when compared to other investment-based retirement programs is that the principal is guaranteed in full if held for the complete five-year term, all the while, you reap the benefits of higher potential investment returns.
While approaching retirement with limited savings may feel overwhelming, late starters can still achieve a secure and enjoyable retirement with careful planning and dedication, as well as ensuring you choose the right products like Market Trust.
Remember, it’s never too late to start planning for the retirement you deserve.
