Employees in their late 50s have saved on average three times as much for retirement as workers in their 60s, according to a study by Wells Fargo & Co., but both groups are far from their goals.

The Wells Fargo Annual Retirement Study released Friday says working Americans over age 60 have a median savings of $50,000 while their goal is $300,000. This compares to employees age 55 to 59 who have a median savings of $150,000 toward a $500,000 goal. The survey included 851 older working people and 400 retirees.

“This study shows what a tremendous difference a few years can make when it comes to retirement savings,” says Joe Ready, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. “Those who are not yet retired and working past age 60 started saving at age 37, six years later in life than those in their late 50s. The fact that people in their late 50s have three times the savings of those age 60 or older shows that starting early and saving consistently are the key to retirement saving.”

Many working Americans put off saving because they assume they will have more time and money to save later in life. A third of working Americans age 55 to 59 say they “plan to save for retirement later in order to make up for not saving enough now,” Wells Fargo says. This compares with 21 percent of those who are 60 or older who have those same plans. In addition, 63 percent of those ages 55 to 59 and 49 percent of those over 60 say they “hope to earn more money in the future to save enough for retirement.”

Fifty-four percent of the over 60 group say they will work until at least 70 in order to have enough savings for retirement, compared with 40 percent of those age 55 to 59. However, working longer may not be the solution, as nearly half of the retired respondents say they retired earlier than planned because of circumstances beyond their control.

Counting on winning the lottery probably is not a good option, but 34 percent of workers over 60 believe they would need to win the lottery to survive financially in retirement, compared with 21 percent of the younger group.

Wells Fargo offered tips for maximizing retirement savings: start early and use an employer’s 401(k) plan to get the company’s match, increase the savings rate regularly, and do not touch that money for other purposes.