What is the average retirement savings balance by age?

Katherine Tierney, CFA^®, CFP^®
Senior Retirement Strategist, Client Needs Research

Key points

Deciding how much to save for retirement can be confusing.
Average savings benchmarks can show how you compare with others in your age bracket, but not how prepared you are to meet your individual needs. Determining that will require different tools and benchmarks.
Your financial security after retirement will be unique to you: It will depend on things you control, such as spending habits and savings and things you don’t, such as financial market volatility and tax rates.
To help you get started on an effective long-term strategy, we’ve calculated broad estimates of how much you should have saved during each decade of your career.

How much should I save for retirement?

The bottom-line goal of retirement planning is deceptively simple: accumulating enough money to live the life you want once your career is no longer occupying most of your time or generating a regular paycheck.

Achieving that goal requires asking questions that have no easy answers: How much money will you need? How can you measure your progress toward a target decades in the future?

Often, people trying to figure out how well they’re doing begin by comparing their own savings with those of others in the same age bracket. If you’re curious how you stack up, data collected by the Federal Reserve in its 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, shown below, can tell you.

Average retirement savings by age

Chart showing U.S. residents 35 and under have an average of $30,170 in retirement savings;

Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 1989-2022;
www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm Chart description

What those numbers can't tell you, though, is how close you are to your goal. The relevant data point isn’t what others your age have saved but how much money you need yourself. The answer depends almost entirely on you, your habits now and your plans for later.

For example, what’s your average monthly spending today and do you expect to maintain it after retirement? Do you expect to relocate? If so, will you live in a region where the cost of living is higher or lower than where you are now? How do you plan to spend your time — traveling the world in style or volunteering in your neighborhood and working in your garden?

To help you begin evaluating your progress, we’ve developed generalized benchmarks for someone retiring at age 65, below, that are more useful, and more detailed, than average savings levels.

Retirement savings goalposts by age

Below you'll find generalized retirement savings benchmarks by age and current salary that might let you retire comfortably, using broad assumptions about factors including taxes and spending preferences. For example, if you are 29, making $100,000, you would want a savings of $35,000 - $90,000 to maintain your current lifestyle. (The higher and lower ends of the range reflect differing assumptions about market volatility.)

Retirement savings goalposts by age
Age	$50,000 salary	$100,000 salary	$150,000 salary	$200,000 salary
20	$0 - $0	$0 - $0	$0 - $5,000	$0 - $100,000
21	$0 - $0	$0 - $0	$0 - $25,000	$0 - $135,000
22	$0 - $0	$0 - $0	$0 - $50,000	$0 - $170,000
23	$0 - $0	$0 - $0	$0 - $75,000	$0 - $205,000
24	$0 - $5,000	$0 - $5,000	$20,000 - $100,000	$120,000 - $245,000
25	$0 - $10,000	$0 - $20,000	$40,000 - $125,000	$155,000 - $280,000
26	$0 - $20,000	$0 - $35,000	$65,000 - $155,000	$190,000 - $320,000
27	$0 - $25,000	$0 - $55,000	$90,000 - $180,000	$225,000 - $360,000
28	$10,000 - $35,000	$20,000 - $70,000	$115,000 - $210,000	$265,000 - $400,000
29	$15,000 - $45,000	$35,000 - $90,000	$145,000 - $240,000	$305,000 - $445,000

Retirement savings goalposts by age
Age	$50,000 salary	$100,000 salary	$150,000 salary	$200,000 salary
30	$25,000 - $55,000	$50,000 - $105,000	$170,000 - $270,000	$345,000 - $490,000
31	$35,000 - $60,000	$65,000 - $125,000	$200,000 - $300,000	$385,000 - $535,000
32	$40,000 - $70,000	$85,000 - $145,000	$230,000 - $330,000	$425,000 - $580,000
33	$50,000 - $80,000	$100,000 - $165,000	$260,000 - $365,000	$470,000 - $630,000
34	$60,000 - $90,000	$120,000 - $185,000	$290,000 - $395,000	$515,000 - $675,000
35	$70,000 - $100,000	$140,000 - $205,000	$320,000 - $430,000	$560,000 - $730,000
36	$80,000 - $115,000	$160,000 - $225,000	$355,000 - $470,000	$605,000 - $780,000
37	$90,000 - $125,000	$180,000 - $245,000	$385,000 - $505,000	$655,000 - $835,000
38	$100,000 - $135,000	$200,000 - $270,000	$420,000 - $540,000	$705,000 - $890,000
39	$110,000 - $145,000	$220,000 - $295,000	$455,000 - $580,000	$755,000 - $945,000

Retirement savings goalposts by age
Age	$50,000 salary	$100,000 salary	$150,000 salary	$200,000 salary
40	$120,000 - $160,000	$245,000 - $315,000	$490,000 - $620,000	$810,000 - $1,005,000
41	$135,000 - $170,000	$265,000 - $340,000	$530,000 - $665,000	$865,000 - $1,065,000
42	$145,000 - $185,000	$290,000 - $365,000	$570,000 - $705,000	$920,000 - $1,125,000
43	$155,000 - $195,000	$315,000 - $395,000	$610,000 - $750,000	$980,000 - $1,190,000
44	$170,000 - $210,000	$335,000 - $420,000	$650,000 - $795,000	$1,035,000 - $1,255,000
45	$180,000 - $225,000	$360,000 - $450,000	$690,000 - $840,000	$1,100,000 - $1,325,000
46	$195,000 - $240,000	$390,000 - $475,000	$735,000 - $890,000	$1,160,000 - $1,390,000
47	$210,000 - $255,000	$415,000 - $505,000	$780,000 - $935,000	$1,225,000 - $1,465,000
48	$220,000 - $270,000	$445,000 - $535,000	$825,000 - $985,000	$1,290,000 - $1,535,000
49	$235,000 - $285,000	$470,000 - $565,000	$870,000 - $1,040,000	$1,360,000 - $1,615,000

Retirement savings goalposts by age
Age	$50,000 salary	$100,000 salary	$150,000 salary	$200,000 salary
50	$250,000 - $300,000	$500,000 - $600,000	$920,000 - $1,090,000	$1,430,000 - $1,690,000
51	$265,000 - $315,000	$530,000 - $630,000	$970,000 - $1,145,000	$1,505,000 - $1,770,000
52	$280,000 - $335,000	$560,000 - $665,000	$1,020,000 - $1,205,000	$1,580,000 - $1,855,000
53	$295,000 - $350,000	$595,000 - $700,000	$1,075,000 - $1,260,000	$1,655,000 - $1,940,000
54	$315,000 - $370,000	$625,000 - $735,000	$1,130,000 - $1,320,000	$1,735,000 - $2,025,000
55	$330,000 - $385,000	$660,000 - $775,000	$1,185,000 - $1,385,000	$1,815,000 - $2,115,000
56	$345,000 - $405,000	$695,000 - $810,000	$1,245,000 - $1,445,000	$1,900,000 - $2,205,000
57	$365,000 - $425,000	$730,000 - $850,000	$1,300,000 - $1,515,000	$1,985,000 - $2,305,000
58	$385,000 - $445,000	$765,000 - $890,000	$1,365,000 - $1,580,000	$2,075,000 - $2,400,000
59	$400,000 - $465,000	$805,000 - $930,000	$1,425,000 - $1,650,000	$2,165,000 - $2,500,000

Retirement savings goalposts by age
Age	$50,000 salary	$100,000 salary	$150,000 salary	$200,000 salary
60	$420,000 - $485,000	$845,000 - $975,000	$1,490,000 - $1,720,000	$2,260,000 - $2,605,000
61	$440,000 - $510,000	$885,000 - $1,020,000	$1,555,000 - $1,795,000	$2,355,000 - $2,710,000
62	$460,000 - $530,000	$925,000 - $1,065,000	$1,625,000 - $1,870,000	$2,455,000 - $2,820,000
63	$485,000 - $555,000	$965,000 - $1,110,000	$1,695,000 - $1,945,000	$2,560,000 - $2,935,000
64	$505,000 - $580,000	$1,010,000 - $1,155,000	$1,770,000 - $2,025,000	$2,665,000 - $3,050,000
65	$525,000 - $605,000	$1,055,000 - $1,205,000	$1,845,000 - $2,110,000	$2,770,000 - $3,170,000

Source: Edward Jones calculations, values rounded to nearest $5,000. Assumptions: You want to maintain your current level of spending in retirement (calculated as current income minus savings contributions and taxes); you expect to retire at 65 and live until 92; retirement contributions are pretax and equal 15% of gross income; pre-retirement income and postretirement spending adjust annually for inflation of 3%; portfolio earns annual return of 6% pre-retirement and 5% postretirement; Social Security benefits begin at 65 and equal the lesser of 35% of gross income and $41,112 (the maximum annual benefit at 65 in 2024); no portfolio withdrawals until retirement; effective tax rate of 25%; lower boundary assumes no market volatility and portfolio is entirely depleted at death; upper boundary incorporates market volatility expectations with 80% to 90% probability of portfolio lasting until death.

If your retirement savings aren’t within range, there may be a good reason for that – your specific goal and strategy may differ from our assumptions. For example, you may be planning to retire later or expect your spending to decrease in retirement. A financial advisor can help you develop a more precise goal, review your progress and, if needed, help you explore ways to ramp up your retirement savings.

How Edward Jones can help

When saving for retirement, going it alone can be risky.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Edward Jones can help you create an effective plan to reach your retirement goals, contact an Edward Jones financial advisor for a discussion today.

Katherine Tierney

Katherine Tierney is a Senior Retirement Strategist on the Client Needs Research team at Edward Jones. The Client Needs Research team develops and communicates advice and guidance for client needs, including retirement, education, preparing for the unexpected and leaving a legacy. Katherine has more than 15 years of financial services and retirement experience. She is a contributor to the Edward Jones Perspectives newsletter and has been quoted in various publications.

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What is the average retirement savings balance by age?

Key points

How much should I save for retirement?

Average retirement savings by age

Retirement savings goalposts by age

How Edward Jones can help

Katherine Tierney

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What is the average retirement savings balance by age?

Key points

How much should I save for retirement?

Average retirement savings by age

Retirement savings goalposts by age

20s (Ages 20-29)

30s (Ages 30-39)

40s (Ages 40-49)

50s (Ages 50-59)

60s (Ages 60-65)

How Edward Jones can help

Katherine Tierney