SAVINGS IN AMERICA

November 8th 2010 at 9:23pm Published by firstdownadmin

The average American household has $175,510 in savings. That may sound like a lot, but an average can’t tell the whole story, since millions of families have nothing put away at all while others manage to be super-savers. Indeed, as it turns out, the median American household has only $11,700.

60 to 79.9 percent

• Average (all households): $133,770
• Average (households with savings): $148,600
• Median (all households): $77,020
• Median (households with savings): $96,800

40 to 59.9 percent

• Average (all households): $65,830
• Average (households with savings): $82,730
• Median (all households): $34,020
• Median (households with savings): $54,930

20 to 39.9 percent

• Average (all households): $29,080
• Average (households with savings): $46,950
• Median (all households): $0
• Median (households with savings): $26,450
• Bottom 20 percent
• Average (all households): $8,720
• Average (households with savings): $22,600
• Median (all households): $0

Median (households with savings): $0

That means that the typical 25-year old might want to have somewhere around $10,000 in savings. Averages for 20-somethings range widely: One median figure suggests young people have about $16,000 saved for retirement.

To afford a comfortable retirement, a 40-year-old couple with household income of $100,000 should have amassed savings of 2.6 times salary, or $260,000, according to research by J.P. Morgan. At age 45, with that pay, you should have 3.4 times your salary socked away.

If you want to put more away each month, start by cutting back on Americans’ three biggest expenses: housing, transportation and food. You can also research ways to trim your budget and look into strategies for boosting your income.