Retirement Savings by Age: What American Families Had in 2025
Median and average retirement account balances for every age group, how many families have no retirement savings at all, and where your own savings would rank, from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.
01Retirement Savings by Age, 2025
How much American families had in retirement accounts in 2025, by the age of the head of the family. The median and average balance columns cover only families that have at least one retirement account; the share column and the last column count every family, including the 45.1% with none.
| Age | Have an account | Median balance | Average balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 48.8% | $21,000 | $48,500 |
| 35-44 | 59.6% | $61,000 | $182,400 |
| 45-54 | 63% | $133,000 | $415,800 |
| 55-64 | 63.1% | $239,000 | $670,300 |
| 65-74 | 49% | $257,000 | $767,500 |
| 75 and older | 44.6% | $257,000 | $798,700 |
| All families | 54.9% | $106,000 | $451,100 |
In 2025 dollars. Retirement accounts are IRAs (traditional and Roth), Keogh accounts, 401(k), 403(b), thrift and similar employer plans from current or past jobs. Traditional pensions that pay a set monthly benefit and Social Security are not included, which is one reason older families show lower ownership: many rely on pensions instead.
02Where Do You Stand?
Enter your age and what you have in retirement accounts to see how it compares with other families. Net worth is optional.
The ranking is for families, not individuals, so a couple should enter their combined savings. It compares you with families in your age group in 2025, in 2025 dollars, from the Fed's public survey data, and is approximate between the percentiles we show below. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
03Retirement Savings Percentiles by Age
What it takes to be in the bottom quarter, the middle, the top quarter, the top 10% and the top 5% of families your age. These count every family, including those with no retirement account, so a percentile of $0 means at least that share of families have nothing saved in one.
| Age | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $0 | $0 | $19,000 | $75,000 | $144,000 |
| 35-44 | $0 | $7,000 | $95,000 | $326,000 | $564,000 |
| 45-54 | $0 | $37,000 | $202,000 | $713,000 | $1,410,000 |
| 55-64 | $0 | $45,000 | $400,000 | $1,260,000 | $2,110,000 |
| 65-74 | $0 | $0 | $251,000 | $1,180,000 | $1,880,000 |
| 75 and older | $0 | $0 | $175,000 | $1,130,000 | $1,900,000 |
| All families | $0 | $5,000 | $132,000 | $630,000 | $1,380,000 |
The 75th percentile is the balance that three in four families of that age are below. Computed from the 2025 survey's public data file, weighted to represent all U.S. families, and rounded.
04Net Worth by Age
Retirement accounts are only part of what families own. Net worth adds home equity, other savings, investments, businesses and vehicles, and subtracts mortgages, student loans and other debt.
| Age | Median 2022 | Median 2025 | Change | Average 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $42,700 | $32,800 | −23% | $135,700 |
| 35-44 | $148,100 | $156,000 | +5% | $669,300 |
| 45-54 | $270,000 | $254,700 | −6% | $1,240,000 |
| 55-64 | $398,700 | $411,300 | +3% | $1,870,000 |
| 65-74 | $448,700 | $431,900 | −4% | $1,870,000 |
| 75 and older | $366,300 | $504,600 | +38% | $1,950,000 |
| All families | $210,900 | $216,100 | +2% | $1,230,000 |
In 2025 dollars, so the change is after inflation. The Fed's own summary report, which uses its full internal data, gives a 2025 median of $215,900 for all families; the public tables used here differ slightly.
05How Retirement Savings Have Changed Since 1989
Balances are for families that have a retirement account, in 2025 dollars. The survey is taken every three years.
| Survey | Under 35 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 | 75 and older | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $21,000 | $61,000 | $133,000 | $239,000 | $257,000 | $257,000 | $106,000 |
| 2022 | $20,700 | $49,200 | $125,900 | $202,500 | $218,900 | $143,400 | $95,200 |
| 2019 | $16,500 | $76,100 | $126,900 | $170,000 | $208,100 | $105,300 | $82,500 |
| 2016 | $16,200 | $49,900 | $110,700 | $162,000 | $170,300 | $162,000 | $81,000 |
| 2013 | $16,700 | $59,500 | $121,200 | $144,900 | $207,600 | $96,100 | $82,200 |
| 2010 | $15,800 | $46,300 | $89,700 | $149,500 | $149,500 | $80,700 | $65,800 |
| 2007 | $15,000 | $57,900 | $98,700 | $156,600 | $120,600 | $54,800 | $70,500 |
| 2004 | $18,900 | $48,100 | $95,400 | $142,700 | $137,600 | $51,600 | $60,500 |
| 2001 | $12,800 | $52,400 | $87,900 | $100,800 | $109,900 | $87,900 | $53,900 |
| 1998 | $14,000 | $39,900 | $69,800 | $93,800 | $75,800 | $59,900 | $47,900 |
| 1995 | $12,700 | $30,900 | $59,300 | $67,800 | $61,400 | $49,800 | $36,000 |
| 1992 | $10,200 | $20,600 | $63,500 | $68,000 | $45,400 | $63,500 | $31,700 |
| 1989 | $10,100 | $25,200 | $42,900 | $60,600 | $37,800 | $40,400 | $27,800 |
Median retirement account balance among families with an account, by age of the head of the family, in 2025 dollars.
06What the Numbers Show
The average is far above the median. The average balance for families with an account was $451,100 in 2025, more than four times the median of $106,000. A relatively small number of very large accounts pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical family has. That gap is why headlines about "average retirement savings" often look out of reach.
Many families have nothing in a retirement account. 45.1% of all families, and 51.2% of families under 35, had no retirement account in 2025. For families under 35 that puts the median across everyone at $0; for families aged 55 to 64, the decade before most people retire, it is $45,000.
Balances rise with age. Median balances climb steadily, from $21,000 for account holders under 35 to $257,000 for those aged 65 to 74, as people contribute for longer and their investments compound. Families 75 and older with an account have the same median as those aged 65 to 74. Ownership is highest from 45 to 64 and falls after 65 as people retire, roll accounts into other savings or spend them down, and because more older families rely on traditional pensions.
Savings have grown. After inflation, the median balance for families with an account rose from $27,800 in 1989 to $106,000 in 2025, and the share of families with an account went from 37.2% to 54.9%, over a period in which 401(k)-type plans largely replaced traditional pensions at private employers and, since the mid-2000s, more employers have enrolled workers automatically.
07About the Data
The Survey of Consumer Finances is the Federal Reserve's detailed survey of family balance sheets, run every three years with NORC at the University of Chicago. It interviews several thousand families, including a group of very wealthy families drawn from tax data so that the top of the distribution is measured properly. A "family" is the head of household, their spouse or partner, and anyone else in the home who shares their finances; age groups go by the age of the head of the family.
The age tables and history on this page come from the Fed's public historical tables, which restate every survey in 2025 dollars. The percentiles and the ranking tool are computed from the 2025 public data file using the survey's weights, so they represent all U.S. families. The next survey, for 2028, is expected to be released in the fall of 2029.
08Questions People Ask
What is the average retirement savings by age?
For families with a retirement account in 2025, the average balance was $48,500 under 35, $182,400 at 35-44, $415,800 at 45-54, $670,300 at 55-64, $767,500 at 65-74 and $798,700 at 75 and older. The medians are much lower: $21,000 under 35, $61,000 at 35-44, $133,000 at 45-54, $239,000 at 55-64, $257,000 at 65-74 and $257,000 at 75 and older.
What is the median 401(k) balance by age?
The Fed's survey counts 401(k)s together with IRAs and other retirement accounts. On that measure, the median for families with an account was $106,000 in 2025, ranging from $21,000 for families under 35 to $257,000 for families aged 65 to 74.
How many Americans have no retirement savings?
45.1% of U.S. families had no retirement account of any kind in 2025, including 51.2% of families under 35 and 36.9% of families aged 55 to 64. Some of them have a traditional pension or other savings instead.
How much should I have saved for retirement by 40?
Typical families aged 35 to 44 with an account had $61,000 in 2025, and the top quarter of all families that age had $95,000 or more. A common planning rule of thumb from Fidelity is to have at least three times your salary saved by 40, six times by 50 and ten times by 67, counting all retirement savings; how much you need depends on when you retire and what other income, such as a pension or Social Security, you will have.
Is this per person or per household?
Per family. A married couple's accounts are added together, so a single person comparing themselves with these figures is comparing against many two-earner households.
09Sources
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: Survey of Consumer Finances (public historical tables and the 2025 summary extract data file)
- Federal Reserve: Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025
- Federal Reserve press release, October 9, 2026
- Fidelity: How much do I need to retire?
Related: 401(k) and IRA Contribution Limits · 401(k) Plan Lookup · all Financial Tools
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Source data: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances. Page last updated October 24, 2026. How we build our data pages.