Americans have an average of $955 saved for retirement, survey finds

TAMPA, Fla. - A report from the National Institute on Retirement Security shows startling numbers for Americans' retirement savings.

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The report shows that Americans ages 21-64 only have an average of $955 saved for retirement. The amount of money you need in retirement is largely dependent on the lifestyle you want to live — but experts agree that $1,000 or less will not do it for you.

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"I thought that number was kind of shocking," said Lisa Leslie, a certified financial planner who works at the University of Florida. "Because, $1,000 is not a lot."

"That's an absolutely startling figure, because obviously, you know, things are becoming more expensive," said Chris Maxey, the owner and a financial advisor at Mosaic Financial.

For Americans with access to a work-sponsored retirement plan, like a 401K, the average savings rate is higher — but still only $40,000.

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"That's probably not going to be enough. No, unfortunately not," Maxey said. "That's, you know, if you need $2,000 a month from that, that's not going to get you very many months, right?"

These figures incorporate a wide age range, from 21 to 64. So, for younger people, having less saved is not as much of an issue, but saving and investing is something experts said you should start today.

"If you can make adjustments now, if you're 30, 40, 50 years old, making the adjustments today will then pay dividends in the future," Maxey said.

By the numbers:

There is no magic number for how much to save for retirement. Some experts said you should save 1x your salary by 30 and 10x your salary by 67.

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"They're a nice discussion piece," Leslie said. "They're a nice way to get you looking at what you have. I don't think they are very precise."

But according to a recent survey from Northwestern Mutual, polled adults believe they need to have $1.46 million saved to leave comfortably in their golden years.

"What are your expenses now? What are they going to look [like]? It's hard to tell if you're 30 years old, and you're going to work another 30 years," Leslie said.

What you can do:

There are ways to turn this around for yourself. If you have a workplace retirement account, you should aim to save 15% including an employer match.

"It really takes some discipline and some analysis and really diving in to figure out, 'okay, how can I create a sustainable budget to make sure that I'm going to be successful long-term?'" Maxey said.

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If you don't have access to a workplace retirement account, consider opening your own. A Roth IRA is a good place to start.

"The Roth, which isn't tax deducted now, it's not tax-deductible, what you put in it, but as you take it out, you don't have to pay taxes on it," Leslie said. "And if you have 40 years of growth, that's a lot of money not to pay taxes on."

Anyone with a work history will qualify for social security but the amount you get varies by person and when you start taking payments. According to this report, 7% of retirees returned to work in the last six months.