Retirement Throughout the Ages: The American Middle Class

People in the middle class embody the American Dream and hope for the future. They are working hard, caring for their families, and saving for the future. Simultaneously, they are under immense pressure navigating an evolving economy, artificial intelligence (AI), the aging population and need for caregivers, and uncertainties about Social Security. Middle-class American’s ability to achieve a financially secure and comfortable retirement is hanging in the balance.

Retirement Throughout the Ages: The American Middle Class, a collaboration between nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies^® (TCRS) and Transamerica Institute^®, explores the life priorities, health and well-being, work-retirement status, personal finances, retirement expectations and preparedness, and caregiving experience of people in the middle class. The report offers detailed comparisons of people in the middle class by age range including people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and age 70 and older. 

It provides recommendations for individuals, employers, and policymakers for rebuilding retirement security for middle-class Americans from access to workplace benefits, products and services, social safety nets, and financial education. It also offers a suggested reading list for those who want to learn more about the middle class.

This household income analysis is based on findings from the 25th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of more than 5,300 U.S.  residents aged 18 and older with an annual household income between $50,000 and $200,000. 

This 2025 report is a follow-up to the 2024 report, The Retirement Outlook of the American Middle Class, which offers a comparative analysis of people in the middle class by level of income including those with household incomes of $50,000 to $99,999 and $100,000 to $199,999.