Brought to you by The Pew Charitable Trusts
April 14, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought financial hardship for many Americans: A quarter of adults said they have had trouble paying their bills since the pandemic began, and another third said they dipped into savings to make ends meet. For Financial Literacy Month in April, let’s take a closer look at some top facts about how Americans manage their money — based on data from 2018-2021.
On the other hand, 45% of nonretirees said that their retirement saving was not on track, and the rest are not sure. Black (23%) and Hispanic (22%) nonretirees are less likely to view their retirement savings as on track than White nonretirees (42%). Learn more.
Breaking down emergency savings by income level, 75% of upper-income adults say they have a three-month rainy day fund, while only 48% of middle-income and 23% of lower-income adults say the same. Learn more.
Eighty-three percent of American adults had at least one credit card in 2020. Learn more here and here.
The other 50% of credit card holders said they carried a balance from month to month at least once in the prior year. Learn more.
Upper-income Americans are most likely to have a mortgage or home loan — 60% do. This is compared to 50% of middle-income Americans and only 19% of lower-income Americans. Learn more.
This is down from 38% during the height of the pandemic shutdown in April 2020. Learn more.
Among lower-income adults, 37% say they or someone in their household has experienced a pay cut. Learn more.
Learn more about Americans today: Retirement, Savings, Debt, Banking, Expenses