Long-term budgeting is difficult because most people can't plan out their lives 30 years in advance. Sure, they may have some idea of how they want things to look, but life is full of surprises and is constantly changing.
Regardless of what kind of retirement people envision, I think most people would agree that it is best to be adequately prepared for retirement from a financial perspective, especially because everything typically gets more expensive as time goes on. While there's definitely no one-size-fits-all solution, there is plenty of information that retirees can draw on when setting goals for how much they should have saved and invested as they enter retirement.
What the experts say vs. reality
Two valuable sources of information include what experts recommend when it comes to saving for retirement and how much people actually save. The experts at Fidelity, one of the largest custodians of retirement assets in the world, recommend workers aim for certain benchmarks (cited as a multiple of their annual salary) as they age.
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In its recommendation, Fidelity assumes that a person will retire at age 67, save about 15% of their income annually starting at age 25 (including matching retirement funds from employers), and invest about half of their savings in stocks over their lifetime. Fidelity also assumes that workers plan to live a similar lifestyle before and after retirement.
Based on these assumptions, Fidelity recommends that people save the equivalent of their salary by age 30 and two times their salary by age 35, exponentially increasing their savings as they get older. By age 60, they should have eight times their salary saved, and then 10 times by age 67.
However, this seems like a lofty goal for the average American because elevated inflation has significantly increased the cost of living. Data from actual retirement accounts also suggests Americans are saving far less than what Fidelity recommends.
In its 2025 How America Saves report, Vanguard reported figures for the retirement plans it administers, which includes nearly 5 million participants. According to that data, the average 401(k) balance for Americans 65 and older was just shy of $300,000. In 2024, the average U.S. salary came out to roughly $63,800, so savings of $300,000 would be roughly 4.7 times the average U.S. salary. Furthermore, the median 401(k) balance for Americans age 65 or older was just $95,425, not even twice the median U.S. salary.
Meanwhile, the average individual retirement account (IRA) balance for people between the ages of 60 and 78 came out to slightly over $271,000 at the end of the second quarter of this year, according to data from Fidelity.
There is no right answer, but try to maximize your savings
As I mentioned above, there is no right answer for how much to save for retirement by age 67, at least not one that applies to everyone. However, you can consider the factors that will determine what is right for you, including your job and financial situation. Your planned lifestyle in retirement is also important. Some people choose to live simpler lives that incur few expenses, while others want to purchase second homes and travel, which is obviously going to require more savings.
Regardless of how much money you make or your goals for retirement, the key is to try to maximize your savings. One way to do this is by setting aside some funds every year for your 401(k) or IRA. It doesn't necessarily have to be 15% of your annual income, but consistency goes a long way. The other big way to maximize savings is to start saving and investing as soon as possible in your career with a long-term time horizon because the power of compounding can accumulate significant wealth over a few decades.
Workers don't need to be aggressive when they invest, either. Target date mutual funds or exchange-traded funds tracking popular indexes like the S&P 500 can go a long way.
