Here's how much the average American family has saved for retirement

Many Americans are not prepared for retirement.

In fact, "nearly half of families have no retirement account savings at all," the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported.

Just how much has the average American family saved up? According to the EPI, the mean retirement savings of all families is $95,776.

But that number doesn't tell the whole story. Since so many families have zero savings and since super-savers can pull up the average, the median savings, or those at the 50th percentile, may be a better gauge. The median for all families in the U.S. is just $5,000, and the median for families with some savings is $60,000.

"The large gap between mean retirement savings ($95,776) and median retirement savings ($5,000) indicates inequality — that the large account balances of families with the most savings are driving up the average for all families," the researchers explained.

When it comes to retirement, the rich get richer and the poor barely scrape by, the EPI reported: "Participation in retirement savings plans is highly unequal across income groups. In 2013, nearly nine in 10 families in the top income fifth had retirement account savings, compared with fewer than one in 10 families in the bottom income fifth."

To see how the size of your nest egg stacks up against your peers, check out the average amount families have saved broken down by age:

	CEO annual compensation (in thousands)		Worker annual compensation (in thousands)		Stock market (adjusted to 2016)		CEO-to-worker compensation ratio
	Based on options realized	Based on options granted	Private-sector production/nonsupervisory workers	Firms industry	S&P 500	Dow Jones	Based on options realized	Based on options granted
1965	$843	$800	$40.00	n/a	587	6,066	20.2	18.4
1973	$1,102	$1,046	$46.90	n/a	519	4,464	22.5	20.5
1978	$1,508	$1,431	$48.00	n/a	325	2,774	30.1	27.4
1989	$2,808	$2,664	$45.60	n/a	604	4,694	58.9	53.7
1995	$5,947	$6,595	$45.70	$53.10	848	7,042	122.6	136.8
2000	$20,664	$21,313	$48.30	$56.00	1,989	14,947	376.1	411.3
2007	$19,112	$13,282	$50.20	$56.00	1,710	15,255	347.5	240.8
2009	$10,746	$10,341	$52.20	$58.20	1,061	9,941	196.6	183.9
2010	$12,827	$11,677	$52.40	$59.00	1,255	11,744	230.3	206.3
2011	$12,958	$11,997	$51.80	$58.70	1,353	12,760	232.7	213.2
2012	$15,261	$11,587	$51.40	$58.30	1,442	13,554	281.5	209.8
2013	$15,603	$11,986	$51.70	$58.50	1,694	15,465	291.8	214.5
2014	$16,569	$12,469	$51.90	$58.80	1,958	17,011	298.7	224.5
2015	$16,341	$12,496	$52.70	$59.70	2,087	17,810	286.1	219.7
2015 (June 2016)	$15,699	$12,173	$52.90	$59.20	2,087	17,810	275.4	215.4
2016 (June 2017)	$15,021	$12,636	$53.30	$60.80	2,095	17,927	259.8	218
2016(projection)	$15,636	$12,970	$53.30	$60.80	2,095	17,927	270.5	223.8
Percent change							Change in ratio
1965-1978	78.90%	78.90%	19.90%	n/a	-44.70%	-54.30%	9.9	9
1978-2000	1270.10%	1389.50%	0.60%	n/a	512.70%	438.80%	346	383.9
2000-2016	-24.30%	-39.10%	10.50%	8.50%	5.30%	19.90%	-105.6	-187.5
2009-2016	45.50%	25.40%	2.20%	4.50%	97.50%	80.30%	73.9	39.9
1978-2016	936.70%	806.50%	11.20%	n/a	545.20%	546.30%	240.4	196.4

Again, due to retirement inequality, the median savings broken down by age is very different.

Whereas the average savings of a family with members between 32 and 37 is $31,644, the median savings is less than $500. At the other end, the average savings of families close to retirement — ages 56 to 61 — is $163,557. The median is $17,000.

How big should your nest egg be? According to retirement-plan provider Fidelity Investments, to be financially ready to retire by age 67, you should aim to have 10 times your final salary in savings.