American workers have dreams of throwing in the towel by their mid-60s and spending the rest of their days in cushy retirement—but it’s become less of a reality for most. In fact, many professionals aging towards their workforce exit could make the leap with thin financial safety nets.
Nearly half of working-age Americans in the private sector don’t have a retirement account, according to a recent AARP data analysis from Apollo Global Management’s chief economist Torsten Slok. As expected, those that are still building their careers are the worst off; about 57% of Gen Zers and young millennials aged 18 to 34 do not have a plan set up. However, the issue even extends to older generations who have decades of experience under their belts.
About 43% of Americans aged 34 to 44 employed by private companies do not have a retirement plan in place, as well as 41% of those 45 to 54 years old, and 40% of U.S. workers who are 55 to 65. That means that around four in 10 U.S. Gen Xers, and even some baby boomers, aren’t squaring away money in retirement plans.
And as many of these older workers barrel towards the end of their careers, it could spell trouble for their living expectations after leaving payroll.
Americans aren’t prepared to stop working, and some retirees are ‘living the nightmare’
The majority of Americans say they’re living paycheck-to-paycheck; as housing costs, child care, and groceries gobble up a majority of workers’ income, setting funds aside for retirement can feel like a tall order. Finances have become so dire that some are even dipping into what they’ve already set aside for post-work life.
About 38% of professionals across all generations have withdrawn money from their retirement accounts, according to a 2025 report from Payroll Integrations. And Gen Zers still grinding for a decent wage were the most likely to take money out of their plans, with nearly half of the young adults having already dipped into their retirement funds.
However, 31% of millennials and 41% of Gen Xers and baby boomers also siphoned money from their retirement savings. Most of the early withdrawals stemmed from unexpected emergencies and paying off looming debt.
And to make ends meet, many Americans are bucking traditional timelines and holding onto their jobs for longer.
The number of those who are working past 65 has quadrupled in the U.S. since the 1980s, according to 2023 analysis from Pew Research Center. And there’s real concern over their funds running dry late in life; over two in five retired Americans, amounting to about 20 million people, worry that their funds won’t be able to support their ideal retirement lifestyle, according to a 2025 survey from investment banking firm D.A. Davidson.
For some who have already called it quits on their careers, that fear has already become a reality. Nearly 20% of American retirees are “struggling” or “living the nightmare,” according to a 2025 study from Schroders. Meanwhile, only 5% said they were “living the dream.”
Americans say it takes $2.1 million to retire comfortably—but few are on track
Clocking out for good and kicking your feet up comes with a cost—and the price tag has been set in the millions.
When BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, surveyed U.S. voters earlier this year on how much they think they’d need to retire comfortably, the average response landed around $2.1 million.
The company’s CEO, Larry Fink, said that “almost no one” is close to reaching that goal. BlackRock’s study found that 62% of respondents had less than $150,000 saved for retirement—about 7% of the $2.1 million they think they’d need to stop working. Fink also pointed to several factors exacerbating America’s retirement savings problem, including the U.S.’s lack of preparedness for rising life expectancy, and climbing senior care costs. And he predicted it’ll only get worse for future generations.
“The problem will only get harder and nastier as the oldest Gen-Xers start to retire,” Fink wrote in his 2025 annual shareholders letter. “They’re the first generation primarily dependent on 401(k)s. And the 401(k) trend is growing with Millennials and Gen Z.”
