Here’s how much the average American has in retirement savings by age (2024)
(NEXSTAR) – While many Americans want to retire comfortably, it’s a goal that may seem out of reach for some struggling to save due to the rising costs of housing and everyday expenses.
According to a recent AARP survey, about 1 in 4 U.S. adults aged 50 and older say they never expect to retire and 70% are concerned about prices increasing faster than their income.
For those who plan to stop working, determining the right amount of money to set aside can be tricky as several factors come into play, like your spending habits, lifestyle, and location.
A GoBankingRates study, for example, found that you’d need over $1.1 million to fund a 25-year retirement in Miami, Florida, compared to nearly $570,000 in McAllen, Texas – based on the annual cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and healthcare costs.
One way to benchmark your savings is to see how you compare with others in your age range, though, as Edwards Jones points out, it won’t “tell you how close you are to your goal.”
“The relevant data point isn’t what others your age have saved but how much money you need yourself. The answer depends almost entirely on you, your habits now and your plans for later,” the financial services firm noted on its website.
Below are the median amounts for individuals, categorized by age:
Age Range
Median Retirement Savings
Under 35
$18,880
35-44
$45,000
45-54
$115,000
55-64
$185,000
65-74
$200,000
75 or older
$130,000
The average retirement savings account balance for all families is higher, at $333,940, since the wealthiest households tend to drive the average up. This also applies to individual account balances, as illustrated in the following table.
It says by age 30, you should aim to have the equivalent of one year’s salary saved. So, if your annual salary is $60,000, your 401(k) balance should ideally be $60,000.
Here’s the full guideline from Fidelity:
By age30:Save 1x your income
By age35: Save 2x your income
By age 40:Save 3x your income
By age 45: Save 4x your income
By age 50:Save 6x your income
By age 55: Save 7x your income
By age 60:Save 8x your income
By age 67: Save 10x your income
However, it’s important to remember that while this can be a useful tool, it’s not a mandate.
“These milestones are aspirational. You likely won’t meet all of them,” Fidelity explained on its website. “But they can serve as goalposts to help you make a plan to save enough to maintain your lifestyle in retirement.”
The Associated Press and Nexstar’s Addy Bink contributed to this story.
The answer depends almost entirely on you, your habits now and your plans for later,” the financial services firm noted on its website. Data from the Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (2022) indicates the median retirement savings account balance for all U.S. families stands at $87,000.
The answer depends almost entirely on you, your habits now and your plans for later,” the financial services firm noted on its website. Data from the Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (2022) indicates the median retirement savings account balance for all U.S. families stands at $87,000.
How Many People Have $1,000,000 in Retirement Savings? According to Fidelity's Q3 2023 report, about 378,000 people had more than a million dollars in their 401(k)s.
Let's walk through the scenario. With $300,000 planned for your use as a retiree, a retirement age of 50, and an anticipated life expectancy of 85 years, you need that money to last you 35 years. This should mean that your yearly income is around $8,571, and your monthly payment is around $714.
The Federal Reserve also measures median and mean (average) savings across other types of financial assets. According to the data, the average 70-year-old has approximately: $60,000 in transaction accounts (including checking and savings)$127,000 in certificate of deposit (CD) accounts.
According to the 4% rule, if you retire with $500,000 in assets, you should be able to withdraw $20,000 per year for 30 years or more. Moreover, investing this money in an annuity could provide a guaranteed annual income of $24,688 for those retiring at 55.
Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.
To be considered wealthy at age 65 or older, you need a household net worth of $3.2 million, according to finance expert Geoffrey Schmidt, CPA, who used data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine the household net worth needed at age 65 or older to determine the various percentiles of wealth in ...
According to EBRI estimates based on the latest Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts, while just 0.1% have $5 million or more.
Specifically, those with over $1 million in retirement accounts are in the top 3% of retirees. The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) estimates that 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million, and a mere 0.1% have $5 million or more, based on data from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances.
As a result, an oft-stated rule of thumb suggests workers can base their retirement on a percentage of their current income. “Seventy to 80% of pre-retirement income is good to shoot for,” said Ben Bakkum, senior investment strategist with New York City financial firm Betterment, in an email.
In most cases $300,000 is simply not enough money on which to retire early. If you retire at age 60, you will have to live on your $15,000 drawdown and nothing more. This is close to the $12,760 poverty line for an individual and translates into a monthly income of about $1,250 per month.
Household wealth or net worth is the value of assets owned by every member of the household minus their debt. The terms are used interchangeably in this report. Assets include owned homes, vehicles, financial accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and more.
£300k in a pension isn't a huge amount to retire on at the fairly young age of 60, but it's possible for certain lifestyles depending on how your pension fund performs while you're retired and how much you need to live on.
How much do people save for retirement? In 2022, about 46% of households reported any savings in retirement accounts. Twenty-six percent had saved more than $100,000, and 9% had more than $500,000. These percentages were only somewhat higher for older people.
How long will $1 million in retirement savings last? In more than 20 U.S. states, a million-dollar nest egg can cover retirees' living expenses for at least 20 years, a new analysis shows. It's worth noting that most Americans are nowhere near having that much money socked away.
Introduction: My name is Velia Krajcik, I am a handsome, clean, lucky, gleaming, magnificent, proud, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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