How Your Retirement Savings Compare To The National Average (2024)

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How Your Retirement Savings Compare To The National Average? ›

More Than Half of Americans Have Less Than $10,000 Saved

However, not a huge percentage of retirees end up having that much money. In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings.

The poll also found that among those who have been saving for retirement, 6.7% have saved between $10,000 and $49,999, 12.6% have saved between $50,000 and $99,999, 12% have saved between $100,000 and $199,999, 9.9% have saved between $200,000 and $299,999 and 16.5% have saved $300,000 or more.

Key findings. In 2022, the average (median) retirement savings for American households was $87,000. Median retirement savings for Americans younger than 35 was $18,800 as of 2022. 62% of Americans aged 18 to 29 have some retirement savings, but only 30% percent feel on track for retirement.

How much do people save for retirement? In 2022, about 46% of households reported any savings in retirement accounts. Twenty-six percent had saved more than $100,000, and 9% had more than $500,000. These percentages were only somewhat higher for older people.

It is 100% possible to retire with $400,000, provided you're not looking to enjoy a particularly expensive retirement lifestyle or hoping to leave the workforce notably early.

This effectively means the top 1% are those with more than $10 million (~25m) and the top 0.1% are those with roughly $1 billion. There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more. I very much doubt that any of them have that amount in savings.

If you have $400,000 in the bank you can retire early at age 62, but it will be tight. The good news is that if you can keep working for just five more years, you are on track for a potentially quite comfortable retirement by full retirement age.

According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, its seventh annual, Americans said it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy. (Net worth is the sum of your assets minus your liabilities.)

What is the average social security check? ›

Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.

The above chart shows that U.S. residents 35 and under have an average of $30,170 in retirement savings; those 35 to 44 have an average $131,950; those 45 to 54 have an average $254,720; those 55 to 64 have an average $408,420; those 65 to 74 have an average $426,070; and those over 70 have an average $357,920.

The average retirement savings for all families is $333,940 according to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Taken on their own, those numbers aren't incredibly helpful. There are a variety of decent retirement savings benchmarks out there, but how much money other people have isn't one of them.

Yes, it is possible to retire with $1 million. Retiring at the age of 65 with $1 million can seem like a lot of money to a lot of retirees. But the truth is, that amount depends entirely on your household, your finances and your needs.

Safe Withdrawal Rate

Using our portfolio of $400,000 and the 4% withdrawal rate, you could withdraw $16,000 annually from your retirement accounts and expect your money to last for at least 30 years. If, say, your Social Security checks are $2,000 monthly, you'd have a combined annual income in retirement of $40,000.

Specifically, Fidelity noted that as of the end of 2023, the number of 401(k) accounts with balances of $1 million or more was 422,000, up a hefty 21% over the previous quarter. (Also noteworthy was Fidelity finding that its IRA customers with accounts valued at a million dollars or more hit a record 391,562.)

Additionally, statistics show that the top 2% of the United States population has a net worth of about $2.4 million. On the other hand, the top 5% wealthiest Americans have a net worth of just over $1 million. Therefore, about 2% of the population possesses enough wealth to meet the current definition of being rich.

A recent analysis determined that a $1 million retirement nest egg may only last about 20 years depending on what state you live in. Based on this, if you retire at age 65 and live until you turn 84, $1 million will probably be enough retirement savings for you.

For instance, in California, an average retiree requires approximately $100,965 to lead a comfortable life, whereas in Kansas, that figure is just above $63,000. Retirees in certain states can enjoy between 15 and 16 years of life if they save one million dollars.