Average Retirement Savings by Age, According to the Fed: Under 35 ($48,400), 35–44 ($182,400), 45–54 ($415,800), 55–64 ($670,200)

The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, published in its report Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025, is one of the most detailed public sources on how much American families hold in retirement accounts at each stage of working life. The averages rise sharply with age, which makes them an easy benchmark for checking your own balance. Before you compare yourself with them, you need to know which families they include.

Mean balances run $48,400 under 35, $182,400 at 35 to 44, $415,800 at 45 to 54 and $670,200 at 55 to 64.

The steep rise follows the way retirement money builds. Contributions, employer matches and market gains all compound, so each decade starts from a bigger base than the one before.

These Averages Count Only Families With an Account

The figures cover only families that hold an individual retirement account (IRA) or a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b). Families with no account are left out of the math entirely. In other words, these are averages among savers. If every household were counted, including those holding zero, the numbers would be lower.

The excluded group is large. The Fed limits its participation analysis to families whose reference person is 64 or younger, a cutoff meant to capture households that generally have not retired. Within that group, retirement plan participation was 65.1% in 2025, up slightly from 64.4% in 2022. That measure is wider than Table A because it also counts traditional pensions.

Participation is highest among families closest to retirement, at around 70% for ages 45 to 64. The youngest families, those under 35, have significantly increased their participation over the past 15 years.

Why the Typical Saver Has Less Than the Average

A mean adds up every balance and divides by the number of savers, so a few very large accounts can pull it far above what most people hold. Picture a room of workers with small 401(k)s. When one person with a seven-figure rollover IRA walks in, the average jumps, but the saver in the middle of the room has exactly what they had before. That middle figure is the median, and for most account holders it lies well below these means.

Table A does not report medians. However, the Fed notes in the text that median values increased for all age groups between the 2022 and 2025 surveys. That rise in medians helps explain the younger group’s results below.

Every Age Group Except the Youngest Gained Ground

The three older groups all posted higher means, which shows years of contributions, employer money and higher account values. The under-35 group is the only one that came in lower than in 2022.

A drop in the mean while the median rose usually points to new savers joining the group rather than existing savers going back. The Fed reports that lower-income families make up a growing share of retirement plan participants under 35. New, smaller accounts pull the average down even as the typical young saver gains ground. On that reading, the youngest group’s lower average is a sign of wider access to retirement plans.

A Simple Self-Check for Your Age Bracket

Fidelity’s savings guidelines frame targets as multiples of salary, which makes a useful second test alongside the Fed averages. The figures below pair each age group’s mean balance with Fidelity’s milestone and the group’s median family income in the 2025 survey:

• Under 35: mean of $48,400, a Fidelity target of 1x salary by age 30, and median income of $67,800.
• 35 to 44: mean of $182,400, a target of 3x salary by 40, and median income of $97,000.
• 45 to 54: mean of $415,800, a target of 6x salary by 50, and median income of $108,900.
• 55 to 64: mean of $670,200, a target of 8x salary by 60, and median income of $92,400.

Because the averages are skewed upward, falling below your bracket’s mean is a weak signal on its own. Your own salary multiple tells you more about whether you are on track.

What to Do With Where You Stand

If you have no account, you are outside these averages entirely, so opening one is the first step. In 2026, the 401(k) limit is $24,500 for workers under 50, and the IRA limit is $7,500.

If you are 50 or older and behind your multiple, catch-up contributions raise your 401(k) ceiling to $32,500. Workers aged 60 to 63 can contribute up to $35,750.

Finally, size your target against Social Security. The average retired worker’s benefit is estimated at $2,170 a month after the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, and your savings have to cover everything that check does not.

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