How Much Americans Actually Have Saved for Retirement: The Data by Age
Median retirement savings by age from the Federal Reserve and Vanguard, 2026 confidence and readiness data, Social Security's real math, and what the numbers say about closing your own gap.
Headlines in 2026 say retirement balances hit record highs — and they did. But the record average hides a very different median. In Vanguard's How America Saves 2026 report, covering nearly five million 401(k)-type accounts through year-end 2025, the average balance reached $167,970 while the median was just $44,115. Half of all savers in one of the largest retirement datasets in the country hold less than about $44,000. Meanwhile, only 35 percent of non-retirees told the Federal Reserve their retirement savings plan is on track. Here is what the actual numbers look like, age band by age band, and what they imply for your own planning.
Key statistics at a glance
- $185,000 — the median retirement account balance for households aged 55–64 that have accounts (Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances)
- About 54% — the share of U.S. families with any retirement account at all (Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances)
- 61% — the share of workers confident they'll have enough to live comfortably in retirement, down from 67% a year earlier (EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey, 2026)
- 2032 — the year the Social Security retirement trust fund is projected to be depleted, after which about 78% of scheduled benefits could be paid (2026 Trustees Report)
Why the average is nearly four times the median
Almost every retirement statistic comes in two versions, and the gap between them is the single most important thing to understand before comparing yourself to a benchmark. Averages are pulled sharply upward by a small number of very large accounts — long-tenured, high-income savers. Medians describe the person in the middle.
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances — the most comprehensive household wealth survey in the U.S., with the latest published edition covering 2022 — shows the pattern clearly. Among households aged 55–64 with retirement accounts, the mean balance was $537,560; the median was $185,000. That is a roughly three-to-one gap, and it holds at every age. When a headline tells you the "average American" has half a million dollars saved by 60, it is describing the arithmetic of a skewed distribution, not the typical household.
The medians are the honest benchmark. Use them.
Retirement savings by age: two datasets, one picture
The two best sources measure slightly different things. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances counts all retirement accounts per household (401(k)s, IRAs, pensions with account balances) — but only among the roughly 54% of families that have any. Vanguard's How America Saves counts individual workplace-plan accounts among people actively in a plan.
Household retirement savings, among households with accounts (Federal Reserve, 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances):
| <35 | $18,880 (Median) | $49,130 (Average) |
| 35–44 | $45,000 (Median) | $141,520 (Average) |
| 45–54 | $115,000 (Median) | $313,220 (Average) |
| 55–64 | $185,000 (Median) | $537,560 (Average) |
| 65–74 | $200,000 (Median) | $609,230 (Average) |
| Age of household head | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Individual 401(k)-type balances, year-end 2025 (Vanguard, How America Saves 2026):
| Age | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | $2,234 | $7,259 |
| 25–34 | $18,732 | $50,261 |
| 35–44 | $46,919 | $120,742 |
| 45–54 | $78,730 | $214,991 |
| 55–64 | $107,269 | $305,006 |
| 65+ | $103,202 | $330,186 |
Two things stand out. First, the numbers agree on shape: savings roughly double every decade through the 50s, then plateau. Second, even the strongest cohort — workers on the cusp of retirement — has a median workplace balance of about $107,000. Using the common 4% initial-withdrawal guideline, that supports roughly $4,300 a year of income. The typical near-retiree is not funding retirement from savings alone; Social Security is doing most of the work.
One caveat worth stating plainly: these figures describe people who have accounts. The 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found that roughly 46% of families had no retirement account at all. For them, the median is zero.
Confidence is falling even as balances rise
Balances hit records in 2025, yet Americans feel worse about retirement, not better. The 2026 EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey — conducted in January 2026 among 2,544 adults — found that 61% of workers feel confident they will have enough to live comfortably in retirement, down six percentage points from 2025. Retiree confidence fell five points to 73%. EBRI attributes the decline to inflation, debt, health care costs, and growing doubt about Social Security and Medicare: 80% of workers said they are concerned about government changes to the retirement system, and only about half of workers are confident Social Security will keep providing benefits of equal value.
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, fielded in October 2025, points to the same underlying strain. Only 63% of adults could cover a $400 emergency expense with cash or its equivalent, and just 35% of non-retirees said their retirement savings plan is on track. It is hard to compound long-term savings when a $400 surprise is a problem for more than a third of households — which is why an emergency fund and adequate life insurance protection are usually the base of the pyramid, not competing priorities with retirement saving.
Social Security: the floor, not the plan
For 2026, the average retired worker's Social Security benefit is about $2,071 per month after the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment — roughly $24,900 a year, according to Social Security Administration estimates. Per the SSA's 2025 Fast Facts & Figures, benefits make up about 30% of all income for Americans 65 and older, roughly half of the aged population lives in households getting at least 50% of family income from Social Security, and about a quarter rely on it for 90% or more.
The program's math is also tightening. The 2026 Trustees Report projects the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be depleted in 2032 — a quarter earlier than last year's projection. That does not mean benefits go to zero: ongoing payroll taxes would still cover about 78% of scheduled benefits, and combining the retirement and disability funds (which would take an act of Congress) would push depletion to 2034 with about 83% payable. But a plan that assumes today's full benefit levels indefinitely is carrying an unpriced risk of a roughly one-fifth cut inside a decade.
What actually moves the needle
Morningstar's Model of U.S. Retirement Outcomes (2024) projects that about 45% of U.S. households will run short of money in retirement if they retire at 65. The same model shows how much the controllable variables matter:
- Retirement age is the biggest lever. Projected shortfall risk falls from 54% for those retiring at 62, to 45% at 65, 38% at 67, and 28% at 70.
- Plan access is the second. Workers with decades of future participation in an employer plan face dramatically lower shortfall odds; Vanguard's 2026 data shows why — 61% of plans now auto-enroll workers and 71% include auto-escalation, features that quietly raise savings rates without willpower.
- Guaranteed income closes the tail risk. Because the typical median balance supports only modest withdrawals, converting part of a nest egg into guaranteed lifetime income — the role retirement annuities are built for — directly addresses the "run short of money" scenario the Morningstar model measures, especially for single women, whose projected shortfall risk (55%) is the highest of any household type.
Where to go from your own number
The data suggests a simple sequence. First, find your median: compare your household balance to your age band above, using medians, not averages. Second, stress-test Social Security: rerun your plan assuming 78–83% of your projected benefit, per the 2026 Trustees Report ranges. Third, buy certainty where the data says risk concentrates — longevity and market timing — which is what guaranteed-income products exist to do. If you want a specific number for your situation rather than a national median, you can get a personalized quote in a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median retirement savings by age?
Per the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, median household retirement savings among families with accounts are $18,880 under age 35, $45,000 at 35–44, $115,000 at 45–54, $185,000 at 55–64, and $200,000 at 65–74. Vanguard's 2026 data on workplace accounts shows lower medians — about $107,000 for savers 55–64 — because it measures individual accounts rather than whole households.
How much does Social Security pay the average retiree in 2026?
About $2,071 per month for the average retired worker, following the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, per Social Security Administration estimates — roughly $24,900 a year. SSA data shows benefits account for about 30% of all income for Americans 65 and older, and about half of the aged population gets at least 50% of family income from the program.
Is Social Security going to run out?
Not entirely, but the cushion is shrinking. The 2026 Trustees Report projects the retirement trust fund will be depleted in 2032, after which incoming payroll taxes could still cover about 78% of scheduled benefits. Combining it with the disability fund would extend full payments to 2034, with about 83% payable after that.
What share of Americans are actually on track for retirement?
Only 35% of non-retirees told the Federal Reserve's October 2025 SHED survey that their retirement savings plan is on track. Morningstar's 2024 retirement outcomes model similarly projects about 45% of households will run short of money if they retire at 65 — a risk that drops to 28% for those who work to 70.
Sources
- Vanguard — How America Saves 2026 (2026)
- Vanguard — Vanguard's 25th "How America Saves" Reveals a Quiet Retirement Revolution (2026)
- Boldin — Average 401(k) Balance by Age (2026)
- Federal Reserve — Survey of Consumer Finances (2022)
- Guardian Life — Average Retirement Savings by Age (2025)
- Federal Reserve — Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 (2026)
- EBRI — 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey (2026)
- AARP — Social Security Sets 2026 COLA Increase at 2.8% (2025)
- Social Security Administration — Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security (2025)
- Social Security Administration — 2026 OASDI Trustees Report Summary (2026)
- Bipartisan Policy Center — 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, Explained (2026)
- Morningstar — Beyond the Retirement Crisis Headlines: Model of U.S. Retirement Outcomes (2024)
- PLANADVISER — Morningstar: 45% of Americans Will Run Short of Funds if Retiring at 65 (2024)