401(k) Savers Don’t Have Enough to Retire: Do You Own Gold and Silver?

American workers stash over $300 billion a year into 401(k) accounts and other employer-sponsored retirement plans, if you include employers’ matching contributions. This may sound like a lot of money, but it still may not be enough for many Americans to be able to retire.

Many workers say they would like to put more money into their 401(k) plans but simply don’t have enough left after paying everyday expenses to do it.

“It’s remarkable,” says HelloWallet CEO Matt Fellowes. “You’d expect most people at that point to be deleveraging: paying off their mortgage, paying back their student loans or have already paid off their student loans, and not having difficulty paying off credit card debt. But in fact those are the households that are most likely to be building up debt faster than retirement savings.”

The result is that these older workers have only about two years of retirement income saved. Yet Americans are living longer and will typically need about 17 years worth of retirement income after age 65.

Read More about Investing in a Precious Metals IRA/401(k) retirement plan.