Workers Say They Want to Build Savings, but a New Survey Found 1 in 8 Had to Withdraw Money Within Hours

A new survey of U.S. workers points to a frustrating contradiction: saving money is a priority for many people, yet everyday expenses are forcing some to withdraw that money almost as soon as they put it away. The New York Post’s October 14 report said 27% of respondents had unexpectedly moved money out of their savings during the previous day, including 12% who had done so within just the previous few hours. The findings suggest that some workers are using their savings to bridge the gap between paychecks rather than leaving the money untouched for future emergencies.

Talker Research conducted the online survey for financial technology company Chime between September 3 and September 8, 2026, questioning 1,000 hourly workers and 1,000 salaried workers with internet access. The poll examined savings habits, financial concerns, and the tools employees use to manage the timing of their earnings and expenses. Its results reflect what participants reported about their own circumstances, rather than an audit of individual bank accounts or proof that every American worker faces the same difficulties.

The Desire to Save Is There, but the Published Figures Differ

The New York Post’s account of the survey said 84% of respondents considered building savings one of their top financial goals, while 92% reported having a savings account. Chime’s own 2026 State of Employee Savings report lists the savings-goal figure as 82%, creating a small discrepancy between the two published summaries. Neither source explains the two-point difference, so the safest conclusion is that saving is a priority for a large majority of respondents, even though the exact reported percentage varies.

Having a savings account, however, does not necessarily mean having enough money to cover several months of expenses. Someone might regularly deposit money with the intention of building an emergency fund, only to withdraw it again when bills exceed the cash available in their checking account. The survey’s central tension lies in that difference between wanting to save for the future and having enough money left over to keep those savings intact.

Hourly Workers Reported More Immediate Financial Pressure

The published results reveal a striking difference between workers paid hourly and those receiving salaries. According to Chime’s summary of the research, 20% of hourly respondents had withdrawn money from savings within the preceding few hours, compared with 5% of salaried respondents. That represents a fourfold difference in the reported percentages, although the survey does not establish precisely why the two groups experienced different levels of immediate pressure.

Hourly and salaried employment can involve different income patterns, but neither category tells the whole story of a person’s finances. Workers whose hours change from week to week may find it harder to predict their next paycheck, particularly when their bills remain relatively fixed. The findings highlight a difference worth investigating, but they do not establish that every hourly worker has less financial security than every salaried employee.

Savings Are Becoming Part of Some Workers’ Weekly Budgets

The survey’s findings also suggest that withdrawals are not always isolated responses to emergencies. Chime reported that 55% of hourly workers in the study withdrew money from their savings every week, with those withdrawals averaging $216 per month. For these respondents, money designated as savings may also be serving as a regular source of funds for expenses that arrive before payday.

Repeated withdrawals can make it difficult to build a financial cushion, even when someone is committed to saving. A deposit made after one paycheck might help cover expenses during the following week, leaving little of that money available when another payday gap arrives. The research does not reveal whether participants replaced every dollar they withdrew, but the reported frequency suggests that keeping savings intact is a challenge for many hourly workers in the sample.

Groceries, Medication, and Gas Are Among the Reported Expenses

Chime’s account of the findings identifies groceries, medication, and gas as common reasons workers draw on their savings in the days before payday. These are everyday necessities rather than expenses that necessarily involve an unusual purchase or an unexpected luxury. When money for basic needs runs short, even people who have managed to save may find themselves using those funds to get through the week.

The published results do not provide a complete breakdown of how much each category accounts for or establish that every participant faced all three expenses. They do, however, illustrate why savings can be difficult to preserve when ordinary costs compete with other financial obligations. For workers in that position, the challenge may be less about deciding to save and more about having enough income available to avoid drawing on the money already set aside.

Financial Concerns Can Follow Employees Into the Workplace

The research also asked workers how much time they spent distracted by financial concerns during an average week. Hourly workers estimated that money worries occupied approximately 20 hours of their week, according to Chime’s published summary. That figure is a self-reported estimate rather than a measurement of lost productivity recorded by employers.

Still, the result suggests that financial concerns may remain present during working hours instead of disappearing once employees arrive at their jobs. Questions about paying bills, covering essentials, and making money last until payday can compete with the attention people need for everyday responsibilities. The survey does not prove that financial anxiety caused a particular decline in performance, but it adds another dimension to the pressure respondents described.

A Separate Survey Also Found Widespread Financial Stress

The findings are consistent with broader concerns identified in other research, although separate surveys cannot be treated as direct confirmation of Chime’s withdrawal figures. In its 2026 Employee Financial Wellness Survey, published in April, PwC reported that 59% of respondents were currently stressed about their finances and 49% said their compensation was not keeping up with costs. PwC also found that 53% had less than $5,000 saved for emergencies, including 30% who had less than $1,000.

Those results highlight the importance of examining the size of a person’s financial cushion, not merely whether an account exists. Someone with a small balance may struggle to cover several ordinary bills or absorb one large, unexpected expense without borrowing money. That helps explain why a high rate of savings-account ownership can coexist with reports of financial difficulty.

Federal Reserve Research Shows Why Small Emergencies Matter

The Federal Reserve’s report on household economic well-being in 2025, published in May 2026, offers another perspective on Americans’ ability to handle unexpected costs. It found that 63% of adults said they could cover a hypothetical $400 emergency using cash, savings, or a credit card they could pay off at the next statement. The remaining 37% would need to use another approach or would not be able to cover the expense entirely through those resources.

The Federal Reserve’s question differs from the Chime survey’s questions about recent savings withdrawals, so the percentages should not be compared as though they measured the same thing. However, the results demonstrate that a substantial share of adults would need to find an alternative way to handle even a relatively modest emergency. The Fed also reported that 12% of adults said they would be unable to pay the hypothetical $400 expense by any means.

Workers Have Described the Struggle to Keep Income Ahead of Expenses

A separate worker-perspectives report published by Fed Communities gathered accounts from people trying to manage household costs against their available income. Participants described relying on savings, credit cards, payday loans, public assistance, and help from relatives when their earnings did not cover their expenses. Because the findings came from focus groups, they provide qualitative insight into people’s experiences rather than a nationally representative estimate of how many Americans face these circumstances.

Participants also described changing their shopping habits to keep expenses under control. Some said they looked for cheaper products, compared grocery prices across multiple stores, or cut back on restaurant meals to make their budgets work. These accounts illustrate how financial pressure can require repeated changes to everyday spending before a household reaches the point of drawing down its remaining savings.

Retirement Accounts Can Become Another Financial Backstop

The Chime survey also examined whether workers who participated in retirement plans had ever taken a 401(k) loan or hardship withdrawal. Its published summary reported that 66% of eligible hourly workers had done so at least once. That figure applies to the workers eligible for the question, rather than to all American workers or everyone who has a retirement account.

Retirement funds serve a different purpose from the money households use to pay their regular bills, and accessing those funds early can affect longer-term financial plans. However, the reported figure does not establish when respondents took a loan or hardship withdrawal, what prompted the decision, or whether they had repaid any loans. It is a sign of potential financial pressure among the surveyed workers, not a complete picture of their retirement readiness.

Early Access to Wages Emerged as One Potential Solution

The survey also examined earned wage access, a benefit that allows eligible employees to access wages they have already earned before their usual payday. Chime reported that 86% of workers with employer-sponsored access to this feature said it made saving easier. The finding suggests that some employees believe access to earnings between paydays can help them manage their immediate needs without withdrawing as much money from savings.

That response does not establish that early wage access causes people to save more over the long term. The survey was commissioned by Chime, whose workplace offerings include earned wage access, so its findings about this type of benefit should be considered in that commercial context. The published summary also does not establish whether the results would be the same for different programs, employers, or fee structures.

The Survey’s Methodology Helps Put the Numbers in Context

The questionnaire released by Talker Research confirms that the study included 1,000 hourly workers and 1,000 salaried workers. It shows that participants were asked about savings, retirement-plan withdrawals, financial distractions, paycheck-to-paycheck living, and access to earned wages before payday. The questionnaire also indicates that the survey screened out people who were self-employed, retired, students, or in several other employment categories.

The deliberately balanced sample provides a way to compare the hourly and salaried groups included in the study, but it should not be mistaken for a precise representation of every segment of the American workforce. The public materials describe an online survey, yet the reported findings are based on participants’ answers rather than independently verified financial transactions. Consequently, the figures are best understood as a snapshot of reported financial experiences and attitudes, with the usual limitations of self-reported survey data.

The Central Challenge Is Keeping Savings Available for Tomorrow

Taken together, the findings describe a gap between workers’ intentions and the financial demands they face in the present. People can have savings accounts and a genuine desire to build financial security while still encountering moments when the money available for everyday expenses falls short. The most striking figure remains the 12% who reported unexpectedly withdrawing money from savings within just the preceding few hours.

The survey does not prove that a particular financial product, workplace benefit, or budgeting approach can solve this problem for everyone. It does show why the existence of a savings account is not enough by itself to establish that a household has a reliable financial safety net. For many respondents in this study, the difficulty was not simply starting to save, but keeping that money available for the future while ordinary expenses continued to arrive before the next paycheck.