Most Americans Don't Have a Sufficient Emergency Fund
For something we all agree is important, emergency savings are in short supply. New research from Empower shows the median emergency fund is just $500 — barely enough to cover a car repair, let alone a job loss or medical bill. Reality check: most financial advisors recommend having at least 3-6 months' worth of expenses stashed away. For most people, that equates to a number of at least $10,000, and can be much higher depending on your monthly expenses.
But it gets worse; one in three respondents (32%) said they have no emergency savings at all, and nearly 3 in 10 (29%) say they couldn’t afford an unexpected $400 expense. A third (30%) don’t believe they could handle unexpected costs in the year ahead. Roughly one in five Americans say their current savings wouldn’t even stretch to cover a single month’s worth of expenses, and 42% say they couldn’t weather a job loss with what they have saved. Rising costs are, of course, making it worse. Well over half (63%) say inflation has made it harder to both grow and sustain their cash reserves, and 58% feel as if saving for emergencies is “almost impossible” at the moment.
The biggest barriers in their way are:
- 39% cite inflation and rising prices.
- 35% point to high monthly expenses
- 32% say income is too low or irregular
- 22% prioritize paying off debt first
Nearly half (46%) have less in their emergency fund now than a year ago, and 40% say they’d need to rely on family if something went wrong. Still, there is some optimism left — half believe their emergency fund will grow in the next year, and 64% say building one is a top financial priority. For many, that means adding small amounts when they can, setting up automatic transfers, or working with a financial professional to create a plan.
The takeaway here — data points like this are often skewed all over the graph depending on the source and methodology — but the truth often lies in the anecdotal evidence like this. Asking real people real questions about their real financial situation.
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