Money in One Chart

where money goes

If you feel behind on retirement, you are in the majority, and the first move is small.

Only 35% of working adults said their retirement saving was on track in October 2025. In 2021 it was 59%. The fastest way to move that feeling is one line in your plan portal.

You asked for the three-line checklist. It is below, as the slides from the post, then the one move, then the tool the chart points at.

Slide 1 of 7: If you feel behind on retirement, you are in the majority, and the first move is small.Slide 2 of 7: The share of working adults who feel on track for retirement has fallen by almost half since 2021.Slide 3 of 7: This many working adults feel not on track, or are not sure.Slide 4 of 7: Feeling behind makes people avoid the one screen that would tell them where they stand.Slide 5 of 7: You may not be able to fix this with what you earn, but you can move it, and the match is the largest single step.Slide 6 of 7: Three lines to find, in this order.Slide 7 of 7: Save this for the next time you avoid the portal.

Three lines to find, in this order.

  1. 01
    Your contribution rate.First page of the plan portal.
  2. 02
    Your employer's match formula.Plan summary, or one email to HR.
  3. 03
    The gap between them.Close it first. Everything else is second.

The tool this chart points at

A low-fee brokerage

For the IRA, the index fund and the rollover. Broad index funds with expense ratios under 0.1%.

Open it

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Sources: Federal Reserve SHED 2025.

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