If You've Saved This Much for Retirement by Age 60, You're Ahead of the Game

How do your retirement savings compare to everyone else's? Your age obviously has a lot to do with it. Older investors have had more time to tuck some money away, and to grow what they're saving. Even within peer groups, though, there's a wide range of numbers.

Yet, they all contribute to an overall average amount, and produce a median -- or midpoint -- figure.

Where does the average 60-year-old stand these days in terms of retirement savings?

The numbers

There's no ironclad answer, since every source of such information considers a slightly different data set. All of them are reasonable indications of a nationwide average in their own right, though.

Take mutual fund giant and brokerage firm Fidelity's figures as an example. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, its Gen X customers -- currently aged 46 to 61 -- have an average of $215,600 in their workplace 401(k) plan accounts administered by Fidelity, plus another $118,700 in individual retirement accounts that aren't connected to their job. That's a total of $334,300 between the two distinct types of retirement savings accounts.

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This number may understate what the typical 60-year-old American actually has tucked away for retirement, however. That's partly because it only reflects individuals' savings held by Fidelity (they may have more held elsewhere), but mostly because it reflects the savings of many 40-somethings who haven't had as much time to grow their nest eggs as the typical 60-year-old has.

For perspective, Fidelity adds that the average 55- to 64-year-old's 401(k) balance currently stands at a measurably higher $259,100. Assume their IRA balances are similarly bigger as well, as they certainly are for the baby boomers. Indeed, Fidelity says its customers in this 62+ crowd are sitting on average total retirement account values of $547,000, with their IRA balances being bigger than their 401(k) accounts.

The Federal Reserve's most recent (2022) survey of American consumers' finances jibes with these numbers, indicating average total retirement savings of $537,560 for 55- to 64-year-olds.

The Fed's data also shows us something else very important, however. That is, while the average is over half a million dollars, the median retirement savings figure for this age group is a much smaller $185,000. That just means that while half of these people have more than $185,000 tucked back for retirement, the other half has less. This smaller number is arguably closer to the actual amount most people around the age of 60 have managed to save up for retirement.

Deliberate, specific action is the key

These numbers can either be satisfying or frustrating, depending on how you compare. Just don't worry about them too much either way, particularly if you're behind. If you're still working, you've still got time to do enough about it to matter (you're still near your highest-earning years, after all), plus you've got time to grow what you've saved. Your best next action is just making or updating a savings plan, complete with a specific savings goal. You might not reach that target, but simply having one creates more actionable direction than an arbitrary plan like "saving more" does.

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