By the time you're approaching 50, retirement is no longer a distant speck on the horizon. You're now in the home stretch of your career. That can feel good if you're confident you're on track for your retirement goals. But if you know you're behind or you're not sure where you stand, it can be cause for concern.
While everyone's retirement goal looks a little different, having a benchmark to compare yourself against can give you a rough idea of how you're doing. Here's a closer look at how much the average 50-year-old should ideally have saved for retirement.
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How much should you have saved for retirement by 50?
Your retirement savings target depends on several factors, including your desired lifestyle in retirement, how long you expect retirement to last, and what you expect your health will be like. But if you want a rough ballpark of where you should be at, you could follow the retirement rule of thumb that says you should have six times your salary saved by age 50.
The average American worker earned $1,204 per week in 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That adds up to $62,608 per year. If we multiply this amount by six, we reach a savings target of $375,648.
While it's a large sum of money, it might seem surprisingly low, given that retirement can often cost $1 million or more. But investment earnings play a big role here. Your investments should ideally continue to grow each year, and this can cause your nest egg to increase quickly as you near retirement.
How are actual 50-year-old savers doing in comparison?
Actual 50-year-old savers often fall well short of this savings target. According to 2022 Federal Reserve data, the typical saver aged 45 to 54 has a median account balance of just $115,000.
While that's short of where many would like it to be, there is still time to course-correct. Avoid making early retirement account withdrawals whenever possible, and continue making regular contributions.
If you have the cash to spare, you're also eligible to make catch-up contributions once you're 50. This lets you save an extra $1,100 in your IRA and another $8,000 to $11,250 in your 401(k) in 2026.
Keep an eye on how you're doing as you near your planned retirement date. If you're really concerned about coming up short, it might be worth delaying retirement for a little while. Not only will it give you more time to save, but it will also reduce the length and cost of your retirement, making it easier to achieve your goal.
