Retirement Savings by Age: What Federal Reserve Survey Data Show

Many people look at a chart of "average retirement savings by age" and wonder whether they are ahead or behind. The numbers come from real surveys, but they are easy to misread. This guide shows what the Federal Reserve's two main household surveys report, explains the difference between an average and a median, and lists the reasons a national figure should not be your target.

This is general education, not personal advice. A tax preparer or fee-only financial planner can look at your own situation.

What is the Survey of Consumer Finances?

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a survey of U.S. families' assets, debts and income that the Federal Reserve Board publishes every three years. The 2025 results came out on October 9, 2026, in a bulletin called Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2022 to 2025. It draws on 4,367 families interviewed in 2025. The Fed's press release says retirement plan participation was "up slightly between 2022 and 2025 at around 65 percent," and that for families with account-type plans, "mean and median balances rose."

In plain terms, "account-type" plans are accounts with your own balance, such as an IRA (individual retirement account) or a 401(k) at work. A "defined benefit" plan is a traditional pension that pays a set amount. The Fed counts a family as taking part in a retirement plan if it has an IRA, an account-type employer plan or a pension.

How many families have retirement savings?

The bulletin gives a few headline figures. The first group in the table below looks only at families whose reference person is 64 or younger. The second looks at all families.

Source: Federal Reserve SCF bulletin, Box 2 and Table 3. The two rows describe different groups, so do not compare them with each other.

For families aged 35 to 44, the bulletin puts participation in any plan at 66 percent in 2025. For ages 45 to 64 it is "around 70 percent." The bulletin gives no exact figure for families under 35 but says participation in IRA and 401(k)-type plans rose from 42 percent in 2016 to near 50 percent in 2025. Our arithmetic (100 minus 65.1) suggests about 35 percent of families under 65 had no retirement plan of any kind.

What are average balances by age?

The bulletin shows average balances by age group for families that have an IRA or an account-type employer plan. It does not publish median balances by age. It says only that medians "increased for all age groups (not shown)."

Source: Federal Reserve SCF bulletin, Box 2. Amounts are means (averages) in 2025 dollars, among families with an IRA or account-type employer plan. The bulletin shows them in thousands; we wrote them out in full.

Two points stand out. Balances rise with age, which is what you would expect from years of saving. And the youngest group's average fell between 2022 and 2025, from $53,800 to $48,400, while the other groups rose.

The only retirement-account median in the bulletin is for all ages together. Among families holding retirement accounts, the median was $106,000 in 2025, up 11 percent from $95,200 in 2022 (both in 2025 dollars). The mean for the same group was $451,100, up from $365,700.

Why is the average so much higher than the median?

The average (mean) adds up all balances and divides by the number of families. The median is the middle family: half have less, half have more. A small number of very large accounts pull the average up but barely move the median, which is general arithmetic, not a finding of the survey.

You can see this in the numbers above. For all families that hold retirement accounts, the 2025 mean ($451,100) was more than four times the median ($106,000). Our arithmetic: $451,100 divided by $106,000 is about 4.3. That gap means a typical family had far less than the average. This is why the by-age averages in the previous table should not be read as what a typical family at that age has saved.

What does a second Fed survey show?

The Fed also publishes the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), which asks adults about their own finances. In its report on 2025, published in May 2026, Table 28 shows the share of all adults who said they had a tax-preferred retirement account (such as a 401(k) or IRA):

Source: Federal Reserve SHED report on 2025, Table 28. Respondents could select several answers.

Among adults who were not retired, Table 29 reports that 35 percent said their retirement savings were on track, unchanged from 2024. That share rose with age (22 percent at 18 to 29, 35 percent at 30 to 44, 43 percent at 45 to 59 and 53 percent at 60 and older) and with income (7 percent below $25,000 of family income, 59 percent at $100,000 or more). These are opinions, not measurements of whether anyone has enough.

Why a national average should not be your target

Several things limit how much you can take from these tables.

• The groups differ. Some figures cover families, others adults, and some include pensions. Compare only like with like.
• Averages hide the middle. As shown above, a few large accounts lift the average.
• Savings are only part of the picture. The surveys here do not tell you what Social Security, a pension, a home or a paid-off mortgage add for a given family. Our guide How Much Do You Need to Retire? starts from your own spending instead.
• Surveys are samples. The 2025 SCF interviewed 4,367 families, so its figures are estimates for the whole country.
• Dollars change. The SCF amounts are in 2025 dollars. Older figures from other sources are not directly comparable.

What if your savings are below these numbers?

Being below an average is common and does not mean a plan has failed. Two rule-based facts may help. For 2026, the IRS says the limit on 401(k) employee contributions is $24,500, with an extra catch-up amount of $8,000 for people 50 and older, and $11,250 instead of $8,000 for ages 60 to 63. The IRA limit is $7,500, with an extra $1,100 for people 50 and older (IRS announcement IR-2025-111). Whether you can use those limits depends on your plan, income and cash flow. Our retirement checklist by age lists what changes at 50, 55, 60 and 65, and the retirement planning guide puts the steps in order.

Where gold and silver IRAs fit - and where they do not

A gold or silver IRA is a self-directed IRA set up to hold physical metal that meets IRS rules (see the IRS page below). The tables above count IRAs and 401(k)-type plans in general, and they do not say how much of anyone's balance is in precious metals. Our guide What is a Gold IRA? explains how these accounts work.

Why some people consider them. Supporters commonly give three reasons (our summary, not drawn from a cited source): the metals are tangible, they can move differently from stocks and bonds and so may add diversification, and some see them as a hedge when they worry about inflation. These are arguments, not guarantees. We do not predict prices, and past performance says nothing certain about the future.

What the rules say. The IRS collectibles page says an individually directed plan account's acquisition of a collectible "is treated as an immediate distribution from such account in an amount equal to the cost to the plan of such collectible." It carves out "any gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion of a certain fineness" only "if a bank or approved non-bank trustee keeps physical possession of it." Our reading is that qualifying metal must be held by an approved trustee, not at home. That is an interpretation, not legal advice. See our collectibles rule guide.

What it costs and what can go wrong. Dealer markups, custodian and storage fees, price swings and selling costs all reduce what you keep. See Gold IRA fees and Gold IRA risks.

Where they may not fit. If your main gap is that you have saved little so far, the first questions are how much you can contribute and how your whole portfolio is mixed. Please consider talking with a qualified tax or financial professional before moving retirement money.

Related questions

What is the average retirement savings at 55 to 64?

In the Fed's 2025 SCF, the average among families with an IRA or 401(k)-type plan and a head aged 55 to 64 was about $670,200. That is a mean. The bulletin does not publish a median for this group.

Is the average balance a good goal?

No. Averages are pulled up by a few very large accounts, and they say nothing about your spending or other income.

Do most people have a retirement account?

In the SHED, 61 percent of all adults said they had a tax-preferred retirement account in 2025. In the SCF, 54.9 percent of families held retirement accounts.

Why do two Fed surveys give different numbers?

One surveys families and the other surveys adults, with different questions and wording. Treat each as its own measure.