Larry Fink has a clear message for Americans: You haven’t saved enough to retire comfortably, the billionaire BlackRock CEO wrote in his 2025 annual shareholder letter.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm with $14 trillion in assets under management, surveyed 1,000 registered voters asking how much they should comfortably retire on, and the average answer was about $2.1 million.
“That’s a lot. More than I expected,” Fink wrote. And “hardly anyone is close,” given that 62 percent of those surveyed had less than $150,000 saved for retirement. That figure is only about 7% of what they think they need to retire comfortably.
Fink, 73, has long warned about America’s retirement crisis, with one of his other main arguments being that the Social Security system will fail as life expectancy rises. In addition, retirement and the need for elderly care are becoming expensive.
“When you’re retired, you’re basically living on a fixed income,” Rita Choula, senior director of care at the AARP Public Policy Institute, previously said. wealth. “If you haven’t factored in another $7,000, $8,000, $9,000 a year in fixed income, that can have a big impact.”
Meanwhile, millions of baby boomers are reaching retirement age in waves, but they don’t have enough savings and many don’t have a clear plan to fill the gap.
“The problem is going to get tougher and uglier as the oldest X generators start to retire,” Fink argued. “I’m the first generation to rely primarily on 401(k)s. And the 401(k) trend is growing with Millennials and Gen Z.”
Even those who have built a nest egg and a 401(k) have a separate problem on their hands, he argues. Because 401(k)s don’t “come with instructions,” it’s hard to know how to save other than spending a lump sum for the rest of your life. It’s not that Fink is completely against the idea of 401(k)s, but he argues that they’ve failed as a mass retirement solution because they place the burden of financial planning on the individual rather than an employer or institution. He has historically argued for more mandatory retirement savings, and employers should play more of a role.
“The result? Even retirees who have saved well often spend too little, gripped by fear of running out. They curtail dreams and delay joy,” Fink wrote. “Economist Bill Sharpe called this problem ‘the ugliest and toughest problem in finance.’ Difficult, but doable.”
Some data support Fink’s view of retirement becoming a crisis. About half of American households nearing retirement age (ages 50 to 60) have no money saved in a 401(k) or IRA, according to Federal Reserve data.