The average American family has $333,940 saved in retirement accounts. The median family has $87,000 — less than a third as much. Both figures come from the same Federal Reserve survey, and the gap between them is the single most useful thing in this article: a minority of very large accounts drags the average far above what a typical household actually has.
Here are the real numbers by age, and how to judge yours.
Average and median retirement savings by age
| Age group | Median balance | Average balance |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $18,880 | $49,130 |
| 35–44 | $45,000 | $141,520 |
| 45–54 | $115,000 | $313,220 |
| 55–64 | $185,000 | $537,560 |
| 65–74 | $200,000 | $609,230 |
| 75+ | $130,000 | $462,410 |
| All families | $87,000 | $333,940 |
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022, the latest published survey). Figures cover families who have a retirement account — 401(k)s, IRAs, and similar — so households with nothing saved aren't dragging these down.
Two patterns worth reading closely:
The average runs 2.5–3× the median at every single age. That ratio is remarkably stable, and it means comparing yourself to any "average retirement savings" headline will make you feel behind when you may not be. Use the median column.
Balances peak at 65–74, then fall. That drop isn't a failure — it's the plan working. Retirees spend down what they built, and required minimum distributions force withdrawals starting at 73.
Why these numbers look higher than 401(k)-only stats
You'll see lower figures elsewhere — Vanguard puts the median 401(k) balance around $44,000. That's not a contradiction. The Fed counts every retirement account a household owns: both spouses' 401(k)s, old plans from previous employers, rollover IRAs, Roth IRAs, the works. A single-plan statistic only sees one slice.
If you're benchmarking, the Fed's household-level figures are the fairer comparison — because your retirement will be funded by all of your accounts, not one of them. See average 401(k) balance by age for the plan-level view.
What you should actually have saved
Averages describe the crowd. Targets describe the goal — and the crowd is not on track. The standard benchmark, from Fidelity, is a multiple of your salary:
| Age | Target | Median household reality |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1× salary | Well short |
| 40 | 3× salary | Well short |
| 50 | 6× salary | Well short |
| 60 | 8× salary | Well short |
| 67 | 10× salary | Well short |
At a $75,000 salary that means $75,000 by 30, $225,000 by 40, and $450,000 by 50. Compare that to the medians above and the conclusion is uncomfortable but clear: the typical American is roughly half of where the guidelines say they should be.
Our full breakdown of the targets — including dollar figures at several salary levels — is in how much should you have saved by age.
If you're behind
Being behind the benchmark at 45 is recoverable; being behind at 62 is harder. The levers, in order of impact:
- Capture the full employer match. An instant 50–100% return. Nothing else competes.
- Raise your contribution rate by 1% a year. Painless in practice, and compounding does the rest. The combined employee-plus-employer savings rate hit a record 14.4% recently — close to the 15% that's typically recommended.
- Use catch-up contributions at 50+. The IRS deliberately lets older savers put in more.
- Postpone Social Security. Delaying from 62 to 70 raises your benefit by roughly 75% — the cheapest longevity insurance available.
- Cut the retirement number itself. Spending $60,000 a year instead of $80,000 lowers the target portfolio by $500,000 under the 4% rule. Reducing the goal counts as progress.
Retirement savings aren't your whole picture
Your retirement accounts are one asset class on a larger balance sheet. Home equity, taxable brokerage accounts, cash, and debts all belong in the same view — that's your net worth, and it's what actually determines when you can stop working.
A household with $150,000 in a 401(k) and $250,000 in home equity is in a very different position than one with $150,000 and a mortgage underwater — even though the retirement column reads identically.
Want every account — retirement, brokerage, cash, and property — in one running total? NetTrack tracks it automatically and shows exactly what changed each month. Start free.
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