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

Having enough retirement savings is critical to a secure future. Sometimes, though, it's hard to figure out how your nest egg stacks up. Looking at how much others in your age group have saved can help you see where you stand.

So, if you are 60, how much have your peers saved, and how much do you need to be ahead of the game?

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This is the typical savings of a 60-year-old

According to The Motley Fool's research on average retirement savings by age, the median retirement savings for Americans ages 55 to 64 is $185,000.

Unfortunately, given how close retirement is for people in this age range, that number is relatively low. For someone following the 4% rule, a nest egg of $185,000 would provide only $7,400 in income over the year. Even when combined with Social Security, this simply isn't likely to provide a very comfortable standard of living. That's especially true given that retirement benefits are intended to replace only about 40% of preretirement income.

Hopefully, in looking at these numbers, you are ahead of what the typical retiree has saved, so you can feel more confident that you'll be comfortable in retirement. But if that's not the case, this may be a wake-up call to start investing aggressively to build the more secure future that you deserve.

How can you increase your savings?

The best way to increase your savings is to automate it. Don't make it "optional" for yourself to invest or treat putting money into a retirement account as a last priority -- especially when you are already 60. Instead, sign up to make automatic contributions to your 401(k) if you haven't already.

If you are contributing but aren't confident you're on track with your retirement savings, increase your investment amount. Making sure you end up with 10 times your final salary saved is a reasonable goal, so use the calculators at Investor.gov to figure out how much you must invest to meet that target based on your starting point and chosen retirement date.

If you don't have a 401(k), you can still make automatic contributions to an IRA with a brokerage firm. The key is to figure out what you must save for your future and make that your top priority and a must-pay bill.

At age 60, you'll be eligible for Social Security in just a few years and will probably stop working within the next decade. Start taking major steps to get ready for that now, especially if the balances in your retirement plans are close to the median.

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