Retirement in 2026: rising savings but health costs and poverty strain older Americans

As 2026 begins, retirement savings have reached unprecedented levels even as rising health care costs and growing poverty make retirement unaffordable for many, the New York Times report said. America is aging fast: by 2030 one in five Americans will be 65 or older, and by 2034 older adults are projected to outnumber children, according to the Census Bureau; the oldest baby boomers turn 80 this year.

Work and claiming patterns are shifting: the average age men quit work is 64 and for women it has risen to 62.6, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found. The average age for claiming Social Security has risen about two years since the mid-1990s, and about 40 percent of people on Social Security continue to work after claiming benefits.

Retirement assets totaled $45.8 trillion at mid-2025, nearly double a decade earlier, with most recent growth concentrated in 401(k)s and I.R.A.s. Participation and saving have strengthened for those with access: about 85 percent of workers with a 401(k) participate and Vanguard reported an average participant savings rate of 7.7 percent in 2024.

But only half of private‑sector workers are covered by a workplace plan at any given time, and median retirement account holdings for people 55 to 64 were $185,000 in 2022. Racial and ethnic disparities persist, with median Black and Hispanic household holdings reported at far lower shares of white household amounts.

Key Topics

Business, Retirement Savings, Ira, Social Security, Medicare, Affordable Care Act