Most people assume retirement savings build slowly but steadily over time. Work for decades, contribute a little each year, and eventually the balance looks respectable. The newest national data challenges that assumption in a big way. The median retirement savings for employed Americans ages 21 through 64 is just $955. That figure comes from the National Institute on Retirement Security's Retirement in America report for 2026, released this month using U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Pr