Everyone wants to know the same thing: am I ahead or behind? Here are the honest numbers, but fair warning, the averages are less comforting and less useful than they look. By the end of this page you'll have a better yardstick than "other people."
Retirement savings by age: the headline table
The most authoritative source is the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the Fed's big triennial snapshot of household wealth. These figures cover households that have retirement accounts, so the true picture across all households is lower still, roughly a quarter of American households have no retirement account at all.
| Age | Median retirement savings | Average retirement savings |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Workplace-plan data tells the same story. Vanguard's How America Saves report, based on year-end 2025 data from millions of 401(k) accounts it administers, shows an average balance of $167,970 against a median of just $44,115. By age, Vanguard's medians run from $16,255 for 25–34 year olds to $95,642 for 55–64 year olds, with averages of $42,640 and $271,320 respectively. Those are single-plan balances, so they miss IRAs and old accounts left at previous employers, but the shape of the data matches the Fed's.
Why the averages mislead
Look at the 55–64 row: a $185,000 median against a $537,560 average. Both numbers are correct. They just answer different questions.
The average adds everyone up and divides, so a handful of multi-million dollar portfolios drag it far above what most people actually have. The median is the middle household, half have more, half have less, and it's the honest picture of "typical." When a headline says Americans your age have half a million saved, it's quoting the mean, and it's describing a distribution stretched by its richest tail, not your neighbors.
There's a second distortion: comparison itself. The typical American household is undersaved for even a traditional retirement at 67. Beating the median mostly means you're less behind than most, which is not the same as being on track.
Traditional benchmarks vs FIRE benchmarks
If averages are the wrong yardstick, what's the right one? Two frameworks dominate.
The traditional track. Fidelity's widely cited guideline says to hold 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by 67. It assumes you retire at 67 with Social Security filling part of the gap. Useful, mainstream, and built entirely around your salary.
The FIRE track. FIRE benchmarks ignore your salary and target your spending: roughly 25 times annual expenses, at any age, per the 4% rule. Someone earning $150,000 but spending $50,000 needs $1.25M, not $1.5M, and someone frugal on a modest income can be closer to independence than a high earner with high burn. Get your own target from the FIRE Number Calculator.
| Question it answers | Fidelity guideline | FIRE benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Retire when? | Around 67 | Whenever you hit the number |
| Target based on | Salary multiples | Spending × 25 |
| Counts Social Security? | Yes | Usually treated as a bonus |
| By 40, roughly | 3× salary | Depends only on spending and timeline |
25× your spending, calculated in 60 seconds.
What to do if you're behind
Behind at 30. You have the one asset nobody can buy: 35+ years of compounding. A modest portfolio now outgrows a large one started at 45. Focus entirely on your savings rate, get the full employer match, automate contributions, and let time do the heavy lifting. The gap between you and "on track" is smaller than any table makes it look.
Behind at 40. These are usually peak earning years, which makes them peak saving years if you hold lifestyle flat. Push tax-advantaged accounts hard, attack the two biggest budget lines (housing and cars) rather than the small stuff, and run the Early Retirement Calculator to see what different contribution levels do to your date. Ten focused years from 40 can transform the 50s row of that table.
Behind at 50. You have real tools: catch-up contribution limits on retirement accounts, likely your highest income ever, and often shrinking expenses as kids launch and mortgages age. The other lever is the target itself, a smaller retirement budget cuts the goal by 25x every dollar. A leaner number, or a Barista-style phase of part-time work with benefits, can turn "impossible by 60" into "very doable by 62."
The Coast FIRE reframe: a better question than "am I average?"
Here's the question that actually settles the anxiety: is what I've already saved enough to grow into a full retirement on its own? That's Coast FIRE. A 35-year-old with $120,000 invested is barely above the Fed's median, yet at a 5% real return that money grows to roughly $520,000 by 65 without another dollar added. Depending on their spending, that one unremarkable balance may have most of a traditional retirement already funded.
See the exact targets for your age on the Coast FIRE by age page, then check your own numbers in the calculator. Many people discover they're far closer to "future handled" than any comparison table suggested.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average retirement savings by age?
Per the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, among households with retirement accounts the medians are $18,880 under 35, $45,000 at 35–44, $115,000 at 45–54, $185,000 at 55–64 and $200,000 at 65–74. Averages run roughly two to three times higher at every age.
Why is the median so much lower than the average?
A small number of very large portfolios pull the average up. The median is the middle household and describes what's typical, which is why this page leads with it.
How much should I have saved by 40?
Fidelity's guideline says 3 times your salary by 40 on a traditional retire-at-67 path. FIRE benchmarks instead target 25 times your annual spending whenever you want independence, which can be more or less than the salary rule depending on how you live.
Is beating the average good enough to retire?
No. Most households are undersaved, so beating them is a low bar. Measure against your own FIRE number, spending × 25, and your Coast FIRE number for your age.
Coast FIRE numbers for every age, in one table.