May 7, 2026
It’s the biggest question when it comes to retirement savings: How much do I need to save to retire comfortably? President Donald Trump recently said that $465,000 in retirement savings would make someone “rich.” But is that really enough to get you through your golden years? Some experts aren’t so sure.
The president made the comment recently when he signed an executive order that would expand retirement account access for those who don’t have access to workplace retirement savings plans (1).
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CNBC reported that when the president signed the executive order, he said that young workers who saved regularly with the account would be able to save $465,000 by the time they retire — “In other words, they’ll be rich,” Trump said.
Barry Glassman, a certified financial planner, told CNBC in an email that while the accounts had advantages, “I don’t believe they are going to make people rich… While $465,000 could provide a healthy sum for retirement, with 3% inflation, in 30 years that’s equivalent to less than $200,000 today,” Glassman wrote.
Most Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement
According to Pew Charitable Trusts, about 56 million American workers don’t have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans (2).
A 2023 study by Vanguard found that, because lower-income earners have to self-finance a higher proportion of their pre-retirement income than higher-income workers, even when Social Security benefits are factored in, most Americans are at risk of falling short of their estimated spending needs in retirement (3).
Those Americans who do have access to employer-sponsored plans still may be behind when it comes to their savings.
A Fidelity report for the fourth quarter of 2025 analyzing the 401(k) balances of 24.8 million participants in corporate defined contribution plans found that the average 401(k) balance was $146,400 (4). And a Vanguard report, based on 2024 data, found that while the average defined contribution plan balance was $148,153, and the median balance was $38,176 (median being a “halfway point,” where half the people had more, and half had less) (3).
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How much do you actually need for retirement?
The answer to the big question of how much you will need for retirement will be different for every individual, but experts generally agree that it’s important to consider your lifestyle, how long your retirement will be and your overall health when making a plan for retirement savings.
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A benchmark that many experts use to guide retirement savings is that you should aim to save 15% of your income every year, including employer matches.
You can also calculate your savings goals based on your “replacement rate,” which is the percentage of your pre-retirement income you’d need to maintain your standard of living in retirement. Planners often use replacement rates between 70% and 80% of pre-retirement income (5).
How Trump’s executive order factors in
The executive order Trump signed directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a website that will “connect American workers who do not have access to employer‑sponsored retirement plans with high-quality, low-cost IRAs offered by private-sector financial institutions” (6).
Those who contribute to qualifying IRAs and meet income requirements will also be eligible for the Saver’s Match contribution, which goes into effect in 2027 (7). Those with an adjusted gross income below $20,500 ($41,000 for married filing jointly) can get a 50% match on up to $2,000 in retirement savings, to a maximum match of $1,000 (8).
The $465,000 figure Trump cited is based on the example of a 25-year old worker who saves $165 a month, and gets the maximum Saver’s Match every year, with a 6% rate of return on their savings until they retire at 65 (6).
But Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners, told CNBC that while projection makes sense, “assuming an investor saves in a diversified stock portfolio consistent with historical, inflation-adjusted stock returns,” it also assumes the worker gets the full Saver’s Match every year for 40 years, meaning their income never surpasses the threshold for low-income workers.
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The CNBC report also noted that low-income people “likely don’t have enough income flexibility or free cash flow to save consistently over their lifetime” (9).
Still, Sun told CNBC that the $465,000 figure would be a meaningful amount “for many, if not most families.” But Sun cautioned that rather than being a massive retirement windfall, when the amount is broken down into a yearly retirement income, it becomes more like a “modest paycheck.”
Using the 4% rule to calculate how much of your retirement savings you can draw down per year, that $465,000 would mean about $19,000 of retirement income per year, according to CNBC.
Any step toward retirement savings is important, especially for those who haven’t started yet. And for workers who don’t have access to employer-sponsored plans, signing up for an IRA can be a great first step toward building a retirement savings plan.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CNBC (1); Pew Research Center (2); Vanguard (3); Fidelity (4); Trower Price (5); White House (6); CNBC (7, 9); Congress (8);
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
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