“Social Security provides most of the income for abouthalf of households age 65 and older,” the GAO said. (Photo:Shutterstock)

(Bloomberg) –The bad news is that almost half of Americansapproaching retirement have nothing saved in a 401(k) or other individual account. The goodnews is that the new estimate, from the U.S. GovernmentAccountability Office, is slightly better than a few yearsearlier.

Of those 55 and older, 48 percent had nothing put away in a 401(k)-style definedcontribution plan or an individual retirement account, according toa GAO estimate for 2016 that was released Tuesday.

That's an improvement from the 52 percent without retirementmoney in 2013.

Two in five of such households did have access to a traditionalpension, also known as a defined benefit plan. However, 29 percentof older Americans had neither a pension nor any assets in a 401(k)or IRA account.

The estimate from the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, isa brief update to a more comprehensive 2015 report on retirementsavings in the U.S. Both are based on the Federal Reserve's Surveyof Consumer Finances.

The previous report found the median household of those age 65to 74 had about $148,000 saved, the equivalent of aninflation-protected annuity of $649 a month.

“Social Security provides most of the income for about half ofhouseholds age 65 and older,” the GAO said.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated earlier thismonth that 41 percent of U.S. households headed by someone age 35to 64 are likely to run out of money in retirement. That's down 1.7percentage points since 2014.

EBRI found these Americans face a combined retirement deficit of$3.83 trillion. READ MORE:

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