As 2023’s undertones of financial stress linger, “retirement anxiety” remains at the forefront. Per the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, workers who are making $100,000 or more tend to agree more that they have a comfortable nest egg for retirement, compared to those who are making $50,000 to $99,000, or less. (Worth noting is that $1.27 million was a magic retirement fund number determined in a different 2023 study about financial well-being.)  

In the study, income was a key factor in retirement comfortability, but so was 401(k) access. For example, about 60% of workers in that lower salary range ($50,000 or less) have the opportunity to contribute to an employer-manager 401(k) fund or a similar plan — and only 59% of those workers have taken up their employer on their offer.

The rate of access to a 401(k) plan and participation in it ticks up as the household income range increases. Nearly 3 in 4 of those making $50,000 to $99,999 have access to an employer-offered plan, with 76% participating. Likewise, almost 85% of workers making $100,000 to $199,999 have access to an employer-offered retirement plan, with a similar rate of participation.

Beyond income range and job role seniority status, all kinds of aspects of one’s cultural background affect their retirement fund well-being, according to Transamerica’s researchers.

Salary alone isn’t the sole determinant of 401(k) health

The wage gap rears its head in the retirement conversation: The median household income for women survey-takers was $59,000, compared to the $82,000 reported by men survey-takers. Women who aren’t retired yet have an estimated median of a little more than $20,000 saved, while men in the same position have a little more than $70,000 saved.

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