Editing 401(k) (section)

===Insufficiency of retirement savings===

The amount of money available in retirement from defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s varies considerably depending on the amount contributed and performance of investments. Reliance on these plans instead of defined-benefit pensions and the small fraction of earnings replaced by government programs like [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] means many people have an insufficient amount of money for retirement. According to US Census data, in 2017, 49% of Americans aged 55 to 66 had "no personal retirement savings".<ref name="mistake" /> This gap can force people to choose between continuing to work into old age (if they are healthy enough to do so) and living in poverty.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

One bipartisan proposal to address this problem is to open the defined-benefit [[Thrift Savings Plan]] to all employees (currently it is only for federal government employees).<ref name="mistake" />