Key Points
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The average is bigger than you might expect, although most people in this peer group have saved up much less than the average.
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The real surprise is how much less Generation X has saved in their retirement accounts outside of workplace retirement plans (compared to baby boomers).
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Although it’s an interesting reference point for comparison, every retirement savings and spending plan should be tailor-made for that particular individual.
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How does your 401(k) account’s balance compare to everyone else’s your age? It’s not necessarily an end-all, be-all question. Most people in your age bracket could be behind on their savings. Or maybe you just won’t need as much as most other people do.
Still, even if you’ve only got a few more years left to do anything about it, knowing where you stand compared to your peers could at least be a little bit motivating.
With that as the backdrop, if you’re 60 years old right now, here’s where the average person around the same age is with their 401(k).
The number(s)
The two numbers come from two different sources, although both of them are in closely aligned agreement on the figure.
The first of these sources is the retirement plan administrator and mutual fund giant Fidelity. As of the end of March, it reports that the average 60- to 64-year-old participant in its retirement plans held $257,400 in their 401(k) accounts.
That five-year range is admittedly wide and important, in that it is a stage in life when most people can really tuck away some serious savings for retirement.
Except, perhaps it’s not quite as pivotal a stage in life as it seems like it should be. Fidelity adds that its 55-to-59 cohort has an average of $260,800 (yes, more) in their workplace retirement accounts, while its 65-to-69-year-old crowd has $258,800.
Numbers from rival fund company and retirement plan administrator Vanguard confirm Fidelity’s figure, indicating that as of the end of last year, the average balance of its 401(k) plan participants aged 55 to 64 was $305,006. This average is skewed considerably higher by a small handful of very large accounts, though. Vanguard reports that the median — or midpoint — balance for all 401(k) accounts held by people in this age bracket was a measurably smaller $107,269. This is arguably a closer approximation of where investors in this age group stand.
That said, know that 401(k) accounts aren’t the only place people save money. Fidelity points out that baby boomers (currently aged 62 to 80) are sitting on an average of $286,700 in their ordinary individual retirement accounts — or IRAs — while the typical Generation X worker (currently between the ages of 46 and 61) has saved $118,700 in retirement savings accounts outside of a workplace retirement plan. Again, assume this average is skewed higher by a small number of very large IRAs.
A plan of action is the key
These numbers are interesting to be sure. Just don’t celebrate too much if yours is bigger, or beat yourself up if you’ve saved up less. They’re the only one point of comparison that may or may not mean much. Your focus as a future retiree should be on defining exactly how much you need and then figuring out what you need to do to reach that goal. Even a loose plan for just the next few years can make a world of difference simply because it’s a framework for action.
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