Most workers can replace 60 percent of their pre-retirement income with Social Security and 401(k) savings, according to new research released Wednesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The projection holds true if Social Security benefits are not reduced and if the worker has 30 years in a 401(k) plan, EBRI says. Given those conditions, 83 percent to 86 percent of workers would be able to replace 60 percent of their wages earned at age 64 on an inflation-adjusted basis.

If the worker’s amount of income to be replaced is increased to 70 percent of the age 64 income, the percentage who could manage it on Social Security benefits and 30 years of contributions to a 401(k) plan drops by 10 percentage points to 73 percent to 76 percent of workers.

At an 80 percent replacement rate, 67 percent of workers will still meet the threshold.

If the calculations are based on only those workers with automatic 401(k) enrollment plans and automatic increases, the percent that can replace 60 percent of income increases to between 88 percent and 94 percent. Participants in automatic enrollment plans with automatic increases tend to have larger account balances.

Data is not available on actual amounts of income replaced in retirement in the past, EBRI says. However, average account balances in 401(k) plans for those people in their 60s increased from $158,000 in 1996, the first year EBRI compiled data, to $224,000 today, says Jack VanDerhei, EBRI research director  and author of the analysis.

However, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, to maintain the same buying power, someone with $158,000 in 1996 would need $234,000 today.

At the same time, VanDerhei notes that Social Security benefits are an integral component of retirement income security, particularly for lower income workers.