Average Retirement Savings by Age: Are You on Track?

Understanding Average Retirement Savings by Age

Most people probably start retirement planning by asking, “How do I stack up?” Looking at average retirement savings by age gives you a quick reference point so that you can see whether your savings fall below, near or above national benchmarks and whether you might want to adjust.

Benchmarks by age group

Here’s a snapshot of retirement savings by age as of 2022 using the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) data compiled by independent research: 

Median savings are much lower than averages at every age because a small number of very large balances pull the averages upward, so median figures often give a better sense of what’s “typical.” for a household.

Separate surveys also show that roughly half of American households have no retirement savings at all, underscoring how important it is to create and follow a thoughtful plan.

Comparing Benchmarks and Income Multiples

Before you can use benchmarks effectively, it helps to understand income multiples. In this context, an income multiple compares your total retirement savings to your current annual salary — for example, having savings equal to 3x your salary means you have three times your annual income set aside for retirement.

Compare your savings to benchmarks and income multiples

Begin by totaling your retirement‑designated accounts: 401(k)s or 403(b)s from both current and past employers, traditional and Roth IRAs, and any taxable investment accounts meant for retirement. Then compare this total to the table above and to age‑specific 401(k) balances from large plan providers, which often show balances rising sharply in the years leading up to retirement.

It’s also useful to look at savings as a multiple of income. Fidelity’s guidance suggests aiming for about 1x your salary saved by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and around 10x by your late 60s.

As a rough example, if you’re 45 and earning $150,000 with about $450,000 saved, you’d be around 3x your salary — in line with the 40s guideline and potentially on track, depending on your goals. If, at the same age and income, you had $80,000 saved, your numbers might signal an opportunity to reassess and potentially increase contributions.

Assessing Your Current Savings

After you know where the averages fall, the next step is asking what those numbers mean for you. This is where income multiples — comparing your total savings to your annual income — and calculators can turn raw data into insight and a sense of direction.

How to interpret these benchmarks

In general:

• If you’re below both the median and the suggested income multiple for your age, you may want to consider increasing your savings rate or adjusting other parts of your plan.
• If you’re around the median but below the income multiple, your savings might look typical for your age yet still fall short of what you will need for your individual goals.
• If you’re above both, you may be in a stronger position — but you still need to evaluate your plan against risks like longevity, inflation and market volatility.

Benchmarks like these are helpful reality checks, but they don’t capture your income, lifestyle, location, health, legacy goals or other assets, such as a business or real estate. They’re best used as a starting point, not a verdict on your financial future.

For example, a couple with modest savings but a generous pension and lower‑cost lifestyle may be on steadier ground than a high‑earning household with larger balances but no pension and ambitious spending goals. Articles such as Retirement Planning Considerations for the Child‑Free show how planning can differ when your lifestyle and legacy goals don’t fit the “average” profile.

Use calculators to test your trajectory

Once you’ve done a quick comparison, use retirement calculators to see whether you’re on track for the lifestyle you want in retirement. These tools typically factor in your age, savings, contribution rate, assumed investment returns and retirement age to estimate future balances and potential income.

For example, after tallying accounts you might:

• Run Creative Planning’s retirement savings calculator to see how your nest egg might grow under different contribution rates.
• Review your portfolio allocation with an advisor or planning tool to help ensure your investment strategy matches your time horizon, risk tolerance and long-term goals, rather than leaving substantial savings in low-yielding cash or short-term fixed income.
• Use a retirement readiness or retirement income calculator to estimate how much annual income your savings, plus Social Security benefits and any pensions, might support.

If the projections show a gap, that isn’t a failure — it’s an early warning and a chance to adjust course while time and compounding are still on your side. Even a small increase in your savings rate, combined with a purposeful investment mix, can meaningfully improve the picture over time.

Improving Retirement Savings at Different Life Stages

The best strategy depends on your age, your income and how long you have until retirement. Thinking in terms of life stages can make decisions more intuitive and action‑oriented.

In your 20s and early 30s, build strong habits

Early in your career, your savings might feel small, but your biggest asset is time. The sooner and more consistently you save, the more you can benefit from the time value of money and compound growth over decades.

Practical moves include:

• Enrolling in an employer‑sponsored retirement plan and contributing at least enough to earn the full employer match (often one of the most effective “returns” you can capture early on)
• Automating increases in your contribution rate each year (for example, bumping it up by 1% annually) so that progress continues even when life gets busy
• Working with a fiduciary financial advisor to select an investment strategy that fits your long time horizon and risk tolerance, rather than defaulting to very conservative, low‑yielding holdings that may not keep up with inflation

If you’re not sure where to begin, use the benchmarks in this article as a quick gut check, then plug your numbers into Creative Planning’s retirement savings and retirement readiness calculators to see how increasing contributions and investing appropriately can meaningfully improve your retirement picture over time.

In your 40s and early 50s, catch up and coordinate

By mid‑career, many people juggle retirement saving with mortgages, college costs and perhaps care for aging parents. This is also when many households discover the real challenge is prioritizing how much to save for retirement versus other obligations competing for the same dollars.

Helpful steps at this stage include:

• Using calculators and working with a financial advisor to understand how much you need to save in order to pursue your long‑term retirement goals
• Targeting a total savings rate that at least captures the full employer match and, when possible, moves toward a higher rate over time as your income grows
• Consolidating old workplace retirement accounts where appropriate so that you can manage your investments more intentionally and avoid leaving money in outdated or high‑fee options
• Ensuring you have a targeted investment strategy so that the money you’re setting aside is invested purposefully, in line with your goals and risk tolerance

If you’re considering an earlier‑than‑average retirement, Taking Retirement in Your 40s or 50s explores healthcare considerations, withdrawal strategies and lifestyle trade-offs specific to early retirees.

In your late 50s and early 60s, maximize and plan income

In the decade before retirement, your focus often shifts from pure accumulation and growth to figuring out how to replace your paycheck and create an income strategy that can support you throughout retirement.

Take advantage of catch‑up contributions in 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs to accelerate saving.

Consider:

• Maximizing contributions to tax‑advantaged accounts, including catch‑up amounts, when your cash flow allows if you’re age 50 or older
• Ensuring your investment strategy continues to meet your long‑term needs, balancing growth and risk as you approach and enter retirement instead of shifting too aggressively to conservative assets
• Developing an income plan that coordinates when to take Social Security, how to use any pension or annuity benefits and which accounts to draw from first for tax efficiency and flexibility
• Working with a fiduciary financial advisor to build a personalized financial plan that pulls together your assets, liabilities and income sources to evaluate whether you’re on track toward your goals

For a closer look at how issues like inflation, market volatility and long life spans affect retirement income, see our article on Longevity Risk and Its Impact on Your Retirement.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Retirement shortfalls usually come from a handful of recurring missteps that compound over time, not one dramatic error. The more you understand these pitfalls, the easier they are to avoid or correct.

Common mistakes include:

• Starting too late – Delaying saving, even for a few years, significantly reduces the effect of compounding.
• Investing too conservatively – Don’t park substantial savings in cash or low-yield bonds, as doing so may not keep pace with inflation over a multi‑decade retirement.
• Reacting emotionally to market swings – An example would be panic‑selling during downturns, which can lock in losses and derail progress.
• Underusing employer plans – Contributing less than the amount needed to earn the full employer match is like turning down part of your compensation.
• Carrying persistent high‑interest debt – High‑interest balances can crowd out the dollars you need for long‑term goals.

Social Security, Pensions and Your Portfolio

Your retirement accounts don’t exist in a vacuum. For many households, Social Security benefits provide a floor of income that helps reduce the amount they need to draw from savings, and some households also benefit from traditional pensions that provide lifelong benefits.

Social Security

Social Security provides inflation‑adjusted income for life, which makes it a powerful tool for managing longevity risk. Your benefit depends on your earnings history and claiming age; delaying benefits up to age 70 can significantly increase monthly payments.

Creative Planning’s Timing Social Security: How to Get It Right explains how to coordinate claiming decisions with your savings, pension (if applicable) and tax strategy. Integrating Social Security benefits thoughtfully may allow you to withdraw less from your portfolio early in retirement, helping your savings last longer and giving your investments more time to recover from market downturns.

Pensions

Defined benefit pensions promise a formula‑based benefit, typically tied to your salary and years of service. While they’re less common in the private sector today, they remain important for many public sector and long‑tenured employees. Understanding how your pension is calculated, whether it adjusts for inflation, and available survivor options can help you decide how much you need to save in other accounts and how to coordinate your income streams.

Calculating What You Need

Benchmarks tell you how you compare to others, but they don’t define your number. To estimate what you need, you’ll want to connect three pieces: savings, spending and income.

• Savings – Take advantage of the time value of money and save early and often, making retirement a high priority in your budget so that you consistently build your nest egg over time.
• Spending – Map out your current spending to see where your money is going, then project essential expenses (housing, utilities, food, transportation, insurance, basic healthcare) plus discretionary items (travel, hobbies, gifting), and add a buffer for irregular costs (such as home repairs or potential long‑term care).
• Income – Map out how much income you expect to receive throughout retirement from your portfolio accounts, Social Security or pension benefits, and any other income sources (such as part‑time work or rental income).

A fiduciary advisor can use these inputs to build a personalized financial plan — rather than simply performing generic stress tests — to help you understand whether you’re on track to meet your goals and what adjustments might improve your outlook.

Putting It All Together

Average retirement savings by age is a helpful starting benchmark, but your plan should be built around your personal needs, wants and wishes, not someone else’s median. The real value comes from comparing where you are today to where you want to be, using calculators to test your trajectory and making informed adjustments along the way.

A comprehensive retirement strategy pulls everything together — savings rates, investment mix, retirement age, Social Security timing, withdrawal strategy, taxes and estate planning — into one coordinated plan. If you’d like help turning benchmarks into a personalized road map, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional at Creative Planning can work with you to design and maintain a plan that reflects your goals, values and resources.

For clients with more complex needs or significant assets, partnering with a dedicated wealth management team that integrates investment, tax, retirement, and estate planning can add another level of expertise to your retirement journey. If you’re ready for this level of support, you can schedule a meeting with a Creative Planning advisor to discuss your situation and explore a personalized strategy.