Nurses Fall Behind on Retirement Goals
Nurses are some of the strongest participants in retirement plans, yet findings from Fidelity show significant disparities in their savings.
According to findings from the firm’s 2025 Nurses Financial Wellness and Retirement Readiness Study, 96% of nurses surveyed said they participate in defined contribution (DC) retirement plans, but while the average DC plan balance is around $112,000, the median is far lower at $43,000.
Recently retired nurses have also only saved between 3.5 to 4.1x their income in DC plans, well below the 10x guideline recommended by Fidelity, and have an average balance of around $370,000 in their retirement accounts, falling short of the firm’s guidelines by over 50%. For working nurses, the estimate average income replacement ratio is 89%, but just 56% are on track to meet their retirement goals.
The disconnect could be tied to emergency savings, Fidelity notes. Just 37% of nurses have adequate emergency savings and 51% carry credit card balances. Thirty percent struggle with student loan debt—carrying an average loan amount of $47,000.
As a result, a small portion of nurses are taking out loans from their savings, but still higher compared to the past years. Thirteen percent of nurses have an outstanding retirement plan loan, and Gen X has the highest loan usage, at 22%, compared to Millennials and Baby Boomers, at 12%. However, Millennials have a higher loan amount relative to their overall balances, report Fidelity. The average outstanding retirement plan loan amount is $13,400 and the average hardship withdrawal is $12,000.
Fidelity’s research urges plan sponsors to provide features, like rainy-day funds, to mitigate retirement plan withdrawals among employees. “Offering resources that enable nurses to save for emergencies can help them stay on track with retirement savings,” Fidelity researchers write.
While only half of nurses expect to receive a pension for retirement, this means that the other half are left without a guaranteed income stream. Incorporating automatic enrollment options as an anchoring point for employee deferrals could push participants to save more and ultimately maximize their contributions, Fidelity observes. While 71% of nurses maximize their match when automatic enrollment default rates are less than the match ceiling, 87% boost their contributions when the benefit is at par or more than the match ceiling.
Nurses enrolled in an automatic escalation program also see higher savings—those enrolled in such features are estimated to retire with $4.6 million of plan assets, or an $800,000 increase compared to those unenrolled.
SEE ALSO:
401(k) Participants Demand Retirement Income Support, Financial Wellness
How Public Employee Spending Spikes Damage Financial Wellness (and Contribution rates)
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado.
