As the private sector continues to shift from defined benefit retirement plans to defined contribution ones, overall participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans continues to hover around the 50% mark, according to a report from the National Institute on Retirement Security released Feb. 5.
An analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation data showed that 51% of workers had a DC plan through their main employer. Of workers with a positive DC plan balance, 80% had a DC plan through their main employer, NIRS said.
“If workers are saving for retirement in a DC plan, it is almost certainly because they have a plan at their job,” NIRS said. “This suggests that working Americans have struggled to save adequately for retirement largely because they are not offered any retirement savings plan at work.”
Among workers with positive DC plans, median balances were $40,000 in December 2022, the report found. However, when looking at all workers, including those without any retirement savings, the median amount saved was only $955.
“The bottom line is that if Americans are not saving for retirement through their employer, then they are probably not saving at all,” NIRS said.
NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan said that as Americans face “a growing affordability crisis,” retirement needs to be a part of the conversation.
“Most retirement programs today rely on workers saving voluntarily, with the tension between saving and the cost of buying a home, daycare, and college creating enormous challenges for the middle class,” Doonan said in a news release. “This research shows the fragility of both the nation’s retirement infrastructure and retirement preparedness for the typical U.S. household.”
Doonan highlighted data on the retirement savings of those ages 55-64; among that age group, the median saved for retirement is $30,000.
“Even among those with savings, balances often are far too low to support a secure retirement,” Doonan said. “Strengthening access to reliable retirement plans is essential if we want Americans to retire with dignity rather than anxiety.”
The amount workers have saved is in stark contrast to how much they expect to need in retirement. Just shy of 50% of U.S. workers said they’ll need at least $1 million in savings to retire comfortably, according to a December 2025 report from Betterment at Work, a provider of 401(k) plans.
Part of the problem may be that employers are unaware of their workers’ reality. While more than three-quarters of employers think their employees are prepared for retirement, less than half of workers think so, per an August 2025 PNC Bank report.
