Why are Americans so unprepared for retirement?

The simplest answer is that in general, they are not educated on retirement and finances. Many people believe that Social Security will cover a majority of their retirement expenses, so they save less of their personal income. The reality is that Social Security is only intended to account for roughly 40% of your income. As well as not being well educated about retirement economics, Americans also tend to live less than frugal lives. Whether they are living paycheck to paycheck, or taking on unnecessary debt, there is plenty of room to improve.