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If you follow these things with even passing interest, a headline or a survey bemoaning Americans鈥� lack of retirement preparedness seems to lurk around every corner. Here鈥檚 another.

The latest cause for alarm: Retirees in 49 of 50 states aren鈥檛 bringing in adequate income, according to a recent study from 鈥淢any financial experts say retirees need at least 70 percent of the income they earned in their working years, but only seniors in Washington, D.C., and Nevada are meeting that threshold,鈥� the study reads. 鈥�Massachusetts鈥� seniors face the largest income gap for the second year in a row; they bring in just under half as much money as Massachusetts residents between 45 and 64 years old.鈥�

鈥淢any Americans are struggling to make ends meet in their golden years,鈥� Interest.com managing editor Mike Sante said in the study鈥檚 release statement. 鈥淓specially in high-cost areas such as the Northeast, retirees are not only competing against the higher incomes of their younger counterparts, but they are also battling higher costs for housing, gas, food and other necessities.鈥�

The study drew on data from the Census Bureau鈥檚 most recent 鈥淎merican Community Survey,鈥� dividing the median income of households aged 65 and older by the income of households under age 65. Seniors in 28 states were able to replace at least 60 percent of their pre-retirement income; in addition to Nevada and Washington, D.C., seniors in Hawaii, Arizona, and Mississippi came close to meeting recommended levels. Massachusetts and North Dakota fared the worst, and the high coast of living meant seniors in the Northeast fared generally poorly.

Washington retirees fared so well because of the large number of retirees with generous public pensions, an option that is rapidly disappearing for most of the country鈥檚 workers in favor of contribution-based plans that shift the responsibility of saving and investing onto the worker. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really concerned about folks in their 30s, 40s, and 50s getting to be that age,鈥� Mr. Sante says in a phone interview.听鈥淭oday鈥檚 seniors aren鈥檛 making that 70 percent even though they have a couple of things going for them, like generous corporate and government pensions. 鈥淵ou could get $50,000 or $60,000 a year without thinking about it when you were working, and that isn鈥檛 possible now. You have to do the work of saving.鈥�

The study is the latest in a rash of conflicting information about how financially ready (or not) Americans are for their retirement years. In August, a study from Bankrate (Interest.com鈥檚 parent firm), found that one-third of Americans听aren鈥檛 putting away recommended amounts.

But there鈥檚 some recent evidence that habits are improving. A study released over the summer from Transamerica鈥檚 Center for Retirement Studies found that retirement savings have either doubled or tripled across all age groups since 2007, a jump credited to a booming stock market and heightened awareness of the need to save.

So, are we saving enough? Or is there a retirement crisis? Like most things, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. The financial industry, for one, may have a tendency to overstate the issue, says Ben Harris,听deputy director of the Brookings Institution鈥檚 Retirement Security Project, based in Washington. Financial planners 鈥渁re paid by commissions that [traffic] in liquid wealth, so it鈥檚 in their best interest to recommend saving a lot of money."

The demographic savings gaps, too, are often measures of inequality more than anything else. 鈥淚f someone is poor for their life, it鈥檚 unrealistic to expect them to be rich in retirement,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭he poor have many problems, but retirement security tends to not be one of them because of Social Security and Medicare.鈥�

Still, Americans counting on听long-term retirement security face some serious obstacles. One is the cost of medical care: The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) estimates that a married couple without employee-subsidized health care would need to save around $400,000 to cover their medical expenses in retirement. Another, Mr. Harris says, is 鈥減eople just don鈥檛 know how long they鈥檙e going to live, especially women. People can outlive their assets."

To combat the latter issue, especially as life expectancies rise, the US Treasury introduced new regulations this year making it easier for people to buy longevity annuities, which provide protection in case of outliving one鈥檚 assets. But encouraging people to save more and finding the right products for those who have saved enough remain challenging.听 鈥淩ight now we have a very weak long-term savings market,鈥� Harris says.

But there鈥檚 no reason to panic, for the most part. 鈥淢ost people, if they can get between $300,000 and $500,000 saved up, that will provide the boost they need to have a very fine retirement,鈥� Sante says. 鈥淏ut that first $100,000 is the hardest, so getting started is [key].鈥澨�