Average Retirement Savings Balance by Age
Average Retirement Savings Balance by Age
Here are just the number for all of you degenerates who just want some milestones for your spreadsheets.
Average total retirement savings by age:
- <35 - $49,130
- 35-44 - $141,520
- 45-54 - $313,220
- 55-64 - $537,560
- 65-74 - $609,230
-
=75 - $462,410
Average 401k balance by age:
- <25 - $5,236
- 25-34 - $30,017
- 35-44 - $76,354
- 45-54 - $142,069
- 55-64 - $207,874
- 65 and older - $232,710
And retirement savings targets from various advisors:
Fidelity:
- 1x by 30
- 3x by 40
- 6x by 50
- 8x by 60
- 10x by 67
Rowley:
- 1x by 35
- 5x by 50
- 7x by 70
Anyway, do you like metrics like these?
Well, that's depressing. Both because the average retirement savings rate is so low overall and because my savings total is more appropriate for someone a decade younger.
That said, I've been hoarding cash and stocks to pay off my house, and the goal is within sight in less than 18 months. I feel like having no house payment (and no debt otherwise) will have a much greater effect on both my ability to save as well as my sense of security.
When my only regular non-discretionary expenses are food, utilities, insurance, and property taxes, I'd be able to live off of a minimum wage job indefinitely if I needed to. Not that I will, but it's nice to know a corporation no longer owns me.
Yeah, owning your house certainly has value, regardless of the financial impact. Life is all about trade-offs, and it's why I have an e-fund despite investing probably having the better expected outcome.
And the average savings rate is also depressingly low. I'm actually closer to an average retiree than a young hire in terms of total savings, yet I don't feel anywhere close to retirement (and I'm retiring fairly lean @ ~$50k expenses). I just don't see how it works for the average person, and maybe it doesn't, and people just have to drastically adjust expectations in retirement.
I think it's a decent metric. The important thing to know is that no single guide is going to work for everyone, everyone has to adjust it to their situation.
Me, for example, I have a 401K balance of zero. Every time I leave a job, I roll that over into my IRA, then into my Roth. I just like having control over my accounts; 401Ks have too many restrictions. But to each his own.
Same, I convert to Roth a little at a time to control taxes. I'm in the 12% bracket, so I convert up to the end of that bracket at the end of the year.
That said, 401l does have some advantages over an IRA, such as backdoor-Roth compatibility, legal protection from lawsuits, and the loan option. I don't need any of that, so I roll out ASAP.
So for those kinds of metrics, I just use the aggregate of all of my retirement accounts, so IRA, 401k, HSA, and taxable brokerage. I'm assuming most people only use their 401k or aggregate as well.