Accounting for Emergencies: The Relationship between Emergency and Retirement Savings

Research Summary: Commonwealth and SaverLife recently conducted a survey of SaverLife members who have access to workplace retirement savings to assess their awareness and perceptions of liquidity options in retirement and the relationship between emergency savings and retirement savings. The survey focused on the perspectives of people with low to moderate incomes (LMI), women, and people of color.

Key Findings:

1. People face multiple emergency expenses in a year and most experience an emergency expense of over $1,000 in a year.

2. LMI households want liquidity options within or alongside retirement savings, but preferences vary about how they access funds.