1978

The year that Ted Benna, the father of our modern retirement fund system, stumbled upon an obscure add-on to tax code 401 — otherwise known as the 401(k). (Marketplace)

27 percent

The drop in the value of the average 401(k) plan tracked by Fidelity Investments during the financial crisis. (Reuters)

$120,000

The amount the typical middle-class household nearing retirement has saved — one-tenth what many say it needs. (Center for Retirement Research)

25

The age you are supposed to start saving for retirement by… and never stop. (Fidelity)

320

The number of acres the government offered homesteaders to go to Montana in the 1910s and start to farm. (Marketplace)