Only half of U.S. workers say they could definitely come up with $2,000 if an unexpected need arose within the next month. In addition, 31% of employees report they had to dip into their savings to pay for basic expenses during the past 12 months. An emergency fund is an important tool that allows you to avoid dipping into your retirement stash and paying the resulting taxes and fees, for a sudden expense. It is one of the very few strategies on which nearly every financial advisor can agree.