Saving for retirement is something you have to do throughout your entire career because it can take a long time to build the nest egg you need to support yourself as a senior. Ideally, you'll start saving as young as possible, and you will grow your wealth over time as you invest, take advantage of compound growth, and increase your income.
To help ensure you're on track to hit your savings target, there are recommended guidelines for how much you should have saved at different ages, such as saving an amount equal to one year's income by age 30, eight times your annual income by 60, and 10 times that by 67. Not everyone is able to stick to these guidelines, though, so it can be really helpful to see what other people in your age range are doing with their own 401(k) plans.
While ultimately you will need to make sure you are saving enough to hit your personal target, comparing your balance to others can still offer important insight into whether you're generally doing better, worse, or on par with your peers.
Let's look at average and median 401(k) balances by age, based on data from the 2025 How America Saves report prepared by Vanguard.
Image source: Getty Images.
This is the average 401(k) balance by age
The Vanguard How America Saves report shows both median and average 401(k) account balances by age. Here's what those numbers look like so you can compare.
|
Age Range |
Average 401(k) Balance | Median 401(k) Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Below 25 | $6,899 | $1,948 |
| 25–34 | $42,640 | $16,255 |
| 35–44 | $103,552 | $39,958 |
| 45–54 | $188,643 | $67,796 |
| 55–64 | $271,320 | $95,642 |
| 65+ | $299,442 | $95,425 |
Source: Vanguard 2025 How America Saves report.
When you take a look at those average and median balances among those 65 and over, it's clear there is a problem. Even the average balance -- which is being skewed higher by many wealthy people with very high 401(k) balances -- is not really high enough to provide a ton of income for those 65 and over.
In fact, the 4% rule (a common yardstick used to set retirement withdrawal amounts) says you should only withdraw 4% of your funds in your first year of retirement, and then adjust up for inflation, if you want the best chance of making your money last throughout your whole retirement.
Assuming that you followed this rule, $299,442 in your 401(k) would only give you $11,977.68 to live on. Even when combined with Social Security, that's likely too low for most seniors.
Are your retirement savings on track for your age?
As this troubling data shows, far too many people of all ages don't have the amount they need for a comfortable retirement. Typically, you should aim to have saved:
- One year's salary by 30.
- Twice your annual salary by 35.
- Three times your salary by 40.
- Four times your salary by 45.
- Six times your salary by 50.
- Seven times your salary by 55.
- Eight times your salary by 60.
- 10 times your salary by 67.
If you are behind on this schedule, you can still catch up, but you may need to save more later on to do so.
You should start working on investing as much as you can -- and ideally around 15% of income -- as soon as you can so compound growth can make hitting your retirement targets easier. If you get serious about saving, you can end up with more than others in your age range (who may not have enough) and can have the retirement you deserve -- one that's free of financial worries.
