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Blog Your guide to financial planning and retirement
April 10, 2026 • 8 minutes
The median retirement savings for Americans aged 55 to 64 is $185,000, according to the most recent Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. The average is $537,560. The space between those figures shows how a small number of high-balance households pull the average far above what most people actually have saved.
The difference between $185,000 and $537,560 can make these numbers feel alienating, like you’re either far behind the average or invisible in the data. Neither reaction is the whole story.
How you fit into this picture depends on your age, income, and account type. Below you’ll find retirement savings benchmarks broken down by age group and generation, covering 401(k)s, IRAs, and total balances, drawn from Federal Reserve data, Fidelity, and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
Key figures at a glance:
A note on average vs. median: Averages are usually higher than medians because a small number of very wealthy households pull the number up. The median is simply the midpoint in a set of numbers. Example: The average of 1, 5, and 10 is 5.33. The median is 5.
Use the Boldin Planner to see your own totals and projections. Try different scenarios to see how adjustments affect your long-term picture.
Retirement accounts are tax-advantaged and typically off-limits until retirement. Take money out before age 59½ and you’ll face significant tax penalties in most cases.
The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies 2025 research, covering data through late 2024, puts the median total household retirement savings for not-yet-retired middle-class households at $67,000. That $67,000 figure sounds modest, and it is, relative to what a 26-year retirement requires. But it’s also a median, not a ceiling.
The Federal Reserve data below shows how much those numbers shift depending on where someone is in their working years. The spread between median and average above age 45 reflects how concentrated retirement wealth becomes as balances grow.
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances (2022)
The drop after age 74 reflects drawdowns in retirement rather than a savings shortfall. Those households are spending what they accumulated over decades. The more telling pattern is the space between median and average at every age group above 45, which reflects how much the top of the distribution pulls the average up.
Retirement accounts are only part of the picture. For a fuller view that includes home equity and other assets, see average net worth by age.
Transamerica’s 2025 research puts total household savings for middle-class retirees at $253,000 (estimated median), up from $186,000 in their prior survey. Some 17% of retirees have reportedly saved at least a million dollars, while 5% of them are estimated to lack household savings entirely.
If you’re wondering where the top of the distribution actually starts, see what it takes to be among the wealthiest retirees. For more on what households hold outside retirement accounts, see how much the average household has in savings.
It’s worth noting that the $253,000 figure covers total household savings excluding home equity, which is a broader measure than retirement accounts alone. The 401(k) and IRA data below shows where those balances specifically sit.
Some 45% of workers participate in a workplace retirement plan, according to the Pension Rights Center. The median balance across all public and private-sector households is $86,900. For households with someone between 55 and 65, that median climbs to $185,000.
Fidelity’s Q4 2025 data puts the average 401(k) balance at $146,400, up 11% from the prior year and the third straight year of double-digit annual gains. Fidelity’s generational breakdown from Q4 2024 shows how far apart these numbers get depending on where someone is in their career.
Generational figures: Fidelity Q4 2024. All-participants figure: Fidelity Q4 2025.
If you’re not sure how your 401(k) fits into your broader retirement picture, the Boldin Planner lets you model your balance alongside Social Security, other income sources, and projected expenses to get a clearer read on your timeline.
The Investment Company Institute reports that 36% of Americans have an IRA, with most in traditional accounts. Roth IRAs are gaining popularity, and in the right situation a Roth conversion can meaningfully cut your long-term tax bill.
Fidelity’s Q4 2025 retirement analysis puts the average IRA balance at $137,095, up 7% year over year. EBRI previously reported an average of $123,973, with accounts held 20 years or longer averaging $283,200. Time in the market explains most of that difference.
Fidelity’s generational breakdown from Q4 2024 shows where different age groups stand.
The savings numbers above get more useful when you think about how long they need to last. Transamerica’s 2025 research found that the middle class plans to spend 26 years in retirement (median), based on a median planned lifespan of 89. People in their 20s and 30s are planning for about three full decades of retirement.
Put that alongside the savings figures. A household retiring at 62 with the median $185,000 in retirement accounts and $1,900 a month in Social Security has a meaningful income gap to fill across 26 or more years. That gap is what retirement planning is designed to close, with drawdown strategy, account sequencing, and decisions about when to claim Social Security.
The median retirement age among middle-class retirees in their 60s is 62. That’s earlier than most people plan for. The Transamerica report found that a significant number of retirees left the workforce ahead of schedule, usually because of health or job loss rather than choice. Counting on extra working years to shore up savings is a reasonable assumption, but it isn’t guaranteed. For many households, the space between planned and actual retirement date is where savings shortfalls begin.
Social Security timing compounds this. Claiming at 62 rather than waiting until 67 or 70 means a permanently reduced monthly benefit. For the four in 10 people in their 60s who expect Social Security to be their primary income source, that decision carries real long-term weight. The average benefit at full retirement age runs about $1,900 a month. That’s enough to cover basic expenses for some households, but not a full income for most.
The Boldin Planner lets you run your specific accounts, Social Security estimate, and expected expenses together to see whether your savings are on pace for the retirement you’re actually planning.
The figures above tell you where most middle-class households stand. They can’t tell you whether you’re on track, because that depends on your retirement date, what you plan to spend, how your accounts are set up, and what Social Security will contribute to your income.
If your balances are behind the averages, that’s useful to know but it’s not the whole picture. Someone retiring at 67 with modest expenses and a pension needs a very different number than someone retiring at 60 with no defined benefit income. An informed plan accounts for that.
The Boldin Planner lets you build around your specific numbers so you can see what your retirement outlook looks like, not what the typical household’s looks like. That’s where the comparison starts being useful.
Median retirement savings in the U.S. range from $18,880 for households under 35 to $185,000 for those aged 55 to 64, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. The median drops to $130,000 for households 75 and older, which reflects spending down in retirement rather than lower lifetime savings. Averages run significantly higher at every age group because a small number of high-balance households pull the mean up.
The average 401(k) balance was $146,400 as of Q4 2025, up 11% from the prior year, according to Fidelity. That overall figure varies widely by generation: Gen Z averages $13,500, Millennials $67,300, Gen X $192,300, and Baby Boomers $249,300.
The average IRA balance reached $137,095 in Q4 2025, up 7% year over year, according to Fidelity. Accounts held for 20 years or longer average $283,200, according to EBRI, a figure that reflects the compounding effect of sustained long-term saving.
Middle-class households not yet retired have saved a median of $67,000 in total household retirement accounts, according to 2025 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies research covering data through late 2024. Middle-class retirees report a median of $253,000 in total household savings excluding home equity, a figure that reflects a full working lifetime of accumulation.
Middle-class households plan to spend 26 years in retirement (median), based on a median planned lifespan of 89, according to 2025 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies research. The median actual retirement age among middle-class retirees in their 60s is 62. That’s earlier than most people plan for, often due to health or job loss rather than choice.
The right retirement savings target depends on when you plan to retire, what you expect to spend, how your accounts are structured, and what role Social Security will play in your income. Modeling your own numbers against your own retirement timeline gives a far more accurate picture than any national average can.
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