About half of American households over the age of 55 have nothing saved for retirement.

Those were the findings in a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In all, 48 percent of those individuals have no savings in a workplace retirement plan or in an IRA as of 2016, the GAO found.

The congressional watchdog based its conclusions on an analysis of the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.

As bleak as things may be for close to 1 out of every 2 older adults, the GAO's findings show an improvement from just a few years ago.

In 2013, about 52 percent of households over age 55 had nothing saved for retirement, the federal agency found.

"Those are scary numbers even if it is an improvement," said Avani Ramnani, a certified financial planner and director of financial planning and wealth management at Francis Financial in New York City.