Three in four Americans don’t have enough wealth to weather financial setbacks and achieve major life milestones, according to a recent report from The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit think tank.

About 34.5 million U.S. households fall short of what the group terms its “essential wealth” benchmark, which The Aspen Institute defines as having six weeks of take-home pay in savings combined with a high enough net worth to achieve both homeownership and retirement security. 

“The fact that most households fall short of that, we think, is a signal for a lot of the financial frustrations, the financial nihilism that we’re seeing nowadays,” said Steven Brown, director of insights and evidence for the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program. “People feel like they can’t get ahead, and that they don’t have enough.”

The widespread lack of financial resiliency may help explain why many Americans remain pessimistic about their financial futures despite signs of economic strength. Unemployment remains low and stocks have surged on AI-driven gains, yet half of adults say the American dream is no longer attainable, according to a recent CBS News poll. 

Homeownership feels out of reach for many, with about nine in 10 adults under 40 saying it’s harder for them to purchase a home than it was for their parents’ generation, according to a June Pew Research survey.

Focusing on wealth rather than income provides a clearer picture of what Americans can — or cannot — achieve financially, Aspen said. Liquid savings can help a household weather a short-term setback, while owning a home or other assets provides long-term investments that can aid in achieving goals like paying for a child’s education or retirement.

“Wealth is not just a material thing,” Brown said. “It gives you this peace of mind, agency, the ability to make decisions and choices.”

How much wealth do I need to thrive?

As part of its research, Aspen also examined how much a typical household would need across different age groups to meet the “essential wealth” threshold. The findings show — unsurprisingly — that the amount of money required increases with age.

People under 40 who meet the threshold for essential wealth have enough money to afford a down payment on an entry-level home, Aspen said. The figures for people who are 40 to 49 and 50 to 64 are based on median incomes, and could be higher or lower depending on a household’s income.

Brown emphasized that the thresholds are a ballpark estimate of what people might need, and that they could change depending on income, location and other variables.

“A household in California may need a higher number. A household in West Virginia or Mississippi may need a lower number, and so these can vary by place,” he said.

So where do Americans actually stand? Across all age groups, Americans are failing to meet the threshold to achieve lasting financial security. Twenty-nine percent of those aged 65 and older meet the essential wealth criteria, the highest level of any group.