Average and Median 401(k) Balance by Age (2026 Data)

The average 401(k) balance was $167,970 at the end of 2025, and the median was $44,115, according to Vanguard’s How America Saves 2026. By age, averages run from $7,259 for workers under 25 to $330,186 for those 65 and older. Medians run from $2,234 to $107,269.

The median is the better yardstick. Half of all participants hold less than $44,115, while a small number of very large accounts pull the average up. Fidelity’s newer data puts the average at $155,800 as of June 30, 2026.

What Is the Average 401(k) Balance by Age?

The average 401(k) balance rises with age, from $7,259 under 25 to $330,186 at 65 and older. Vanguard’s figures cover about 4.6 million participants in the plans it runs:

Source: Vanguard, How America Saves 2026. Balances as of December 31, 2025.

These numbers count only money inside a 401(k). IRAs, pensions, home equity, and Social Security sit outside them. Vanguard’s plans also lean toward larger employers, so its participants earn more than the typical worker.

What Is the Median 401(k) Balance by Age?

The median 401(k) balance is $18,732 for ages 25 to 34, $78,730 for ages 45 to 54, and $107,269 for ages 55 to 64. Half of each age group holds less. The median for everyone in Vanguard’s plans is $44,115.

The $167,970 average lands near the 75th percentile, Vanguard says, so about three in four participants hold less than it. Average balances describe older, longer-tenured, and higher-income savers best. Here’s how the whole range breaks down:

• 1 in 4 participants had less than $10,000
• 35% had more than $100,000
• 18% had $250,000 or more

A balance below the average and above the median for your age puts you ahead of more than half your peers. Many savers also hold IRAs and other accounts outside a 401(k).

What Are 401(k) Balance Percentiles by Age?

The top 10% of 401(k) balances starts at $135,000 for families under 35 and $1,034,000 for families 55 to 64. Those figures come from Boldin’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances. The survey covers all U.S. families and combines both spouses’ workplace plans.

Source: Boldin analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances. Workplace accounts include 401(k), 403(b), thrift, and savings plans from current and past jobs. Percentiles cover families with an account. Ages 75 and older are left out because the sample is small.

Read across a row to see where your balance falls. A family headed by a 50-year-old with $334,000 in workplace plans sits at the 75th percentile for its age. One with $760,000 reaches the top 10%.

About half of families in their prime working years have a workplace account, and 18.4% still do at 65 to 74. Many retirees roll their 401(k) into an IRA, which is why IRA balances by age peak in the late 60s.

How Many People Have $1 Million in a 401(k)?

About 5.8% of families with a workplace account held $1 million or more in it in 2025, Boldin’s analysis of the SCF shows. At Fidelity, 769,000 401(k) accounts topped $1 million at the end of June 2026, up from 654,000 three months earlier.

How Do Fidelity’s 401(k) Balances by Age Compare?

Fidelity’s average 401(k) balance by age runs from $22,800 in your 20s to $286,900 in your 70s, as of June 30, 2026. Its Q2 2026 retirement analysis covers 25.8 million participants and puts the average across all participants at $155,800.

Source: Fidelity Q2 2026 data, as reported by Kiplinger. Balances as of June 30, 2026.

Fidelity’s figures don’t line up row for row with Vanguard’s. The two firms run different plans, report on different dates, and use different age bands. Neither set covers every worker.

Fidelity’s salary guidelines turn the averages into a target. At 50, with a $100,000 salary, the guideline points to about $600,000 across all your retirement savings.

How Does Income Affect Your 401(k) Balance?

Income is one of the biggest factors in a 401(k) balance. The median runs from $3,489 for participants earning under $15,000 to $230,536 for those earning $150,000 or more:

Source: Vanguard, How America Saves 2026. Balances by household income as of December 31, 2025.

Higher earners have more to save and tend to work for larger employers with richer matches. They also stay longer, which lets each year’s savings compound. On a tighter budget, the order you fund your accounts decides how far each dollar goes.

Catch-up contributions show the same gap. Fewer than 1% of participants earning under $30,000 made one in 2025, compared with 52% of those earning $150,000 or more.

How Much Do People Contribute to Their 401(k)?

The average Vanguard participant deferred 7.6% of pay in 2025, and the median was 6.6%. Vanguard’s target is 12% to 15% a year, counting the employer match. In 2025, 51% of participants met it or hit the legal maximum, up from 47% in 2021.

For 2026, the IRS raised the 401(k) limit to $24,500. Workers 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up, and workers 60 to 63 can add $11,250 instead. Few people get there:

• 14% of participants maxed out in 2025
• 51% of those earning $150,000 or more maxed out, compared with fewer than 1% of those earning under $50,000
• 17% of eligible participants made catch-up contributions
• At ages 60 to 63, 19% made a catch-up contribution and 9% hit the full $11,250

A worker over 50 earning less than $100,000 would need to defer more than 20% of pay to reach the catch-up range. The contribution limits apply to everyone, and catch-up contributions go mostly to higher earners.

Why Did 401(k) Balances Hit Records in 2025?

Markets drove the 2025 records. Stock prices rose 16% for the year, Vanguard reports, and the average participant earned 19.3%.

For people in a plan all year, the median balance rose 27%, and 94% saw their balance grow. Across all participants, the average balance rose 13% and the median 16%.

Balances on any one date reflect where markets stood that day. In 2026, 401(k) plans held $10.8 trillion as of June 30, according to the Investment Company Institute. Fidelity’s average balance rose 10.5% in the second quarter after falling in the first.

Why Are More People Taking 401(k) Hardship Withdrawals?

In 2025, 6% of Vanguard participants took a hardship withdrawal, up from 2% in 2021. The median withdrawal was $1,900, and 46% of those who withdrew did it more than once.

The reasons point to thin emergency savings. Of all withdrawals, 36% went to avoid foreclosure or eviction, 31% to medical bills, 13% to tuition, and 11% to home repairs. Workers earning under $100,000 were 3.5 times as likely to take one.

Easier access plays a part too. Only 10% of plans now require documentation before approving a hardship withdrawal. A separate emergency fund of a few months’ expenses keeps the 401(k) invested for retirement.

Is Your 401(k) Balance Enough to Retire?

Your 401(k) balance is enough if it, Social Security, and your other income cover what you’ll spend. At the 4% withdrawal rate, the $107,269 median for ages 55 to 64 supports about $4,300 a year. When you retire, when you claim, and your health costs before Medicare decide the rest.

Sequence-of-returns risk, taxes, and other savings change the math too. Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 study puts the average magic number at $1.46 million, though your own figure depends on your spending.

“Clients may ask, ‘What’s my magic number?’” says Bruce Lorenz, CFP® professional and Boldin Advisor. “They first need to answer, ‘What am I planning to spend?’ No one knows how long they’re going to live. And then the other complications come in such as inflation and unexpected events during retirement.”

“Balancing all of this with what guaranteed income they will have and where they stand is a worthwhile exercise,” Lorenz adds. “Getting a handle on expected spending can go a long way toward answering the question of when you can retire.”

The Boldin Planner turns a balance into a retirement income plan. It projects your savings with your own income, spending, Social Security, and taxes, year by year.

Average 401(k) Balance by Age FAQ