Middle Class Families are on Financial Thin Ice

The typical middle-class American family is not prepared for a major financial shock.

This family could only replace 21 days of income with readily accessible funds, leaving it on financial thin ice in case of an emergency, according to a new report from Pew's financial security and mobility project. Those funds include cash on hand or in savings and checking accounts.

Even if the family liquidated all its retirement savings and investments, it could only replace 119 days of income.

The lowest-income families are even more strapped, with only 9 days of ready cash. But even the richest Americans can only dig up 52 days in an emergency.

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