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

The Federal Reserve has released a more detailed look at what American families actually keep in retirement accounts, and one important detail changes how these numbers should be read.

The Fed's latest Survey of Consumer Finances, included in Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025, is among the clearest public sources for seeing how retirement balances differ across working life. The average amounts climb quickly with age, making them a tempting comparison point for savers. But before using them as a benchmark, it helps to understand who is included in the calculation.

Mean balances are $48,400 for households under 35, $182,400 for ages 35 to 44, $415,800 for ages 45 to 54, and $670,200 for ages 55 to 64.

Those figures rise because retirement assets tend to build over time. Contributions, employer matches, and investment gains all add up, so each later decade usually starts from a larger base.

Only Families With Accounts Are Counted

These averages include only families that have an individual retirement account (IRA) or a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b). Households with no retirement account are excluded entirely. Put another way, these are averages for savers only. If every household were counted, including those with zero balance, the numbers would be lower.

The excluded group is substantial. The Fed limits its participation analysis to families whose reference person is 64 or younger, a cutoff intended to capture households that generally have not retired. In that group, retirement plan participation reached 65.1% in 2025, slightly above 64.4% in 2022. That broader measure also includes traditional pensions, so it covers more than Table A.

Participation is strongest among families closest to retirement, at about 70% for ages 45 to 64. Younger households, especially those under 35, have also seen participation rise notably over the past 15 years.

Why Most Savers Hold Less Than the Average

A mean adds every balance together and divides by the number of savers, so a few very large accounts can lift it far above what most households actually have. Imagine a room full of workers with modest 401(k) balances. If one person with a seven-figure rollover IRA enters the room, the average jumps even though the middle worker's balance has not changed. That middle value is the median, and for most account holders it is well below the mean.

Table A does not publish medians. Still, the Fed says median balances increased across all age groups between the 2022 and 2025 surveys. That helps explain the pattern seen in the youngest bracket below.

All But the Youngest Group Saw Gains

The three older groups all posted higher averages, reflecting years of saving, employer contributions, and larger account values. The under-35 group was the only one to come in below its 2022 level.

A lower mean alongside a higher median often suggests that more new savers have entered the group rather than existing savers pulling back. The Fed notes that lower-income families now make up a larger share of retirement plan participants under 35. Smaller new accounts can drag down the average even while the typical young saver improves. On that reading, the drop in the youngest group's average points to broader access to retirement plans.

A Practical Check for Your Age Range

Fidelity's savings guidelines use salary multiples, which makes them a useful second comparison next to the Fed averages. Here is how each age bracket lines up with the mean balance and the group's median family income in the latest 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 averages are pulled upward by very large balances, being below the mean for your age group is not necessarily a warning sign. Your own salary multiple is a more useful measure of whether you are on pace.

What to Do If You Are Behind

If you do not have a retirement account yet, you are outside these averages entirely, so opening one is the first move. In 2026, the 401(k) limit is $24,500 for workers under 50, and the IRA limit is $7,500.

For savers age 50 and older who are behind their target multiple, catch-up contributions lift the 401(k) ceiling to $32,500. Workers ages 60 through 63 can contribute up to $35,750.

It also helps to compare your goal with Social Security. The average retired worker's monthly benefit is estimated at $2,170 after the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, and retirement savings must cover everything that benefit does not.