The last four years have been marked out by uncertainty and upheaval – the pandemic with its associated lockdowns and social distancing measures gave way to a cost of living crisis and soaring inflation. Counterintuitively perhaps, the pandemic saw American households build historically high levels of personal savings but as America emerged from lockdown these savings began draining away.

Public First was commissioned by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the American Savings Education Council to conduct a nationally representative poll of over 2000 Americans to better understand how the public are saving and planning for retirement.

While American jobs and wages continue to grow and inflation has fallen from its 40-year peak, more than half (57%) of Americans report not feeling comfortable about their financial situation with over a quarter (26%) saying that they either “struggle to make ends meet” or “often have to go without essentials like food or heating”. Only 1 in 5 Americans say that they are saving more than they did last year.

Why people save varies, the vast majority of Americans (81%) told us that building a fund for a ‘rainy day ’was very important, with retirement (76%) and paying off debt (72%) coming close behind. However, what is clear from our research is that while those on the highest salaries – $200,000 and more, place a clear premium on saving for retirement (91%), those on the lowest salaries (less than $25,000) don’t – or can’t – (65%).

Similarly, it is people in this income bracket who are most likely to report that they never expect to retire (19%). Almost half of Americans (49%) expect to retire somewhere between the ages of 55-67. While a variety of factors could impact whether individuals delay or bring forward their retirement it is interesting to note that a significant portion report that these externalities would have no effect on when they hope to retire. Only 39% of Americans have a plan in place to allow them to retire when they want.

It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that only 43% of Americans say they feel financially on track to retire at or around their planned retirement age. There is a significant gulf between men and women with 53% of men and only 33% of women reporting that they feel financially prepared for retirement. And while those planning to retire in the next five years are far more likely to say that they feel prepared – 65% vs 41%, almost a third of Americans who say they plan to retire in the next 5 years still don’t feel financially prepared.

In fact, fewer than half of Americans (46%) feel confident that they will be able to enjoy a comfortable life in retirement, with women feeling far less confident than their male counterparts (38% vs 55%). The difference based on income too is stark.

Taken together America feels uncertain about retirement – less than half the adult American population (48%) say that they are looking forward to retirement.

Polling Tables

Public First conducted polling for the Bipartisan Policy Center from 28th March to 7th April 2024. We surveyed 2,024 adults across the US, asking them about their views on pension policy and their plans for their retirement.

All results are weighted using Iterative Proportional Fitting, or ‘Raking’. The results are weighted by interlocking age & gender, state, ethnicity, and education level to Nationally Representative Proportions. Public First is a member of the BPC and abides by its rules. For more information please contact the Public First polling team: polling@publicfirst.co.uk.

You can access the polling tables here.