Retirement Savings by Age: Are You on Track?

The Standard Benchmarks: Fidelity's Salary Multiples

Fidelity Investments publishes the most widely-used retirement savings benchmarks — targets expressed as a multiple of your annual salary. These assume you retire at 67 with 45% income replacement from savings (complemented by Social Security).¹

What Americans Actually Have Saved: Vanguard 2025 Data

Fidelity's benchmarks show where you should be. Vanguard's How America Saves 2025 shows where people actually are — data from 5 million participants across Vanguard-managed plans, for year-end 2024.²

The gap is large. Most people are significantly behind the salary-multiple targets. The median is far more meaningful than the average, which is pulled up by a small number of high-savers.

Note: Vanguard figures reflect 401(k) balances only. Total retirement savings including IRAs, Roth accounts, pensions, and brokerage accounts may be higher for individuals who contribute to multiple account types.

The Reality Check: Most People Are Significantly Behind

The median 55-64 year old has $95,642 in their 401(k). The Fidelity target for someone earning $75,000 at that age is $525,000 — a gap of nearly $430,000. At $100,000 salary, the gap is $604,000.

This isn't a niche problem. According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances (2022), the median American household age 55-64 has $134,900 in all retirement accounts combined — still well below benchmark.

There are a few structural reasons:

• Late starters: 401(k) plans only became widespread in the 1980s. Many workers in their 50s-60s had the early career years with no matching employer plan.
• Contribution limits feel large in theory: The 2026 limit is $24,500 ($32,500 or $35,750 for ages 50-63), but most people contribute 6-8% of salary, not 15%+.
• Withdrawals and leakage: Job changes, hardship withdrawals, and loans drain accounts before retirement.
• Income inequality: The median/average gap widens dramatically with age — a small percentage of high earners inflates the average while most people lag.

What Happens If You're Behind at 55

At 55, you have the most powerful catch-up tools available — if you use them.

1. Super Catch-Up Contributions (Ages 60–63)

SECURE 2.0 § 109 created a "super catch-up" for ages 60–63: your 401(k) deferral limit jumps from $32,500 to $35,750 in 2026.³ If both you and a spouse are in this window, that's $71,500 per year into 401(k)s alone — potentially $286,000 over the four-year window before retirement.

2. Roth Conversion in the Low-Income Window

If you retire before Social Security kicks in (often 67–70), your taxable income drops sharply. This is the prime Roth conversion window. Converting at 12% now can prevent distributions at 22-32% when RMDs force withdrawals at 73-75. Even $50,000–$80,000/year in conversions for 5–8 years can cut your lifetime tax bill significantly.

3. Delay Social Security to 70

Waiting from 62 to 70 increases your monthly benefit by 77%. For someone with a $2,500/month benefit at 62, that's a $4,425/month benefit at 70 — a $23,100/year difference, inflation-adjusted, for life. This has more impact on retirement security than almost any portfolio decision.

4. Work an Extra 1–3 Years

Each additional working year does three things simultaneously: (1) adds another year of contributions, (2) delays the start of withdrawals by one year, (3) reduces the number of years the portfolio needs to last. A single year has a surprisingly large impact on portfolio longevity — often equivalent to saving an extra $100,000–$200,000.

5. Reduce Projected Spending in Retirement

The Fidelity benchmarks assume 45% income replacement. But retirement spending is variable. Research by David Blanchett ("The Retirement Smile") shows spending typically declines 1–2% per year in real terms after early retirement as travel and activity slow. A realistic spending plan — not a conservative one, but an honest one — often reveals more flexibility than worst-case assumptions.

How the Fidelity Benchmarks Are Built

The salary multiples assume:¹

• Retirement at age 67 (Social Security full retirement age)
• 15% savings rate (including employer match) throughout career
• 1.5% real annual wage growth
• Planning horizon through age 93
• Target income replacement: 45% of pre-retirement income from savings
• Asset allocation consistent with a typical target-date fund for each age

The 45% income replacement from savings sounds low. But the benchmarks assume Social Security covers another 25-35% of pre-retirement income (less at higher incomes). The combined goal is roughly 70-80% income replacement.

Total Retirement Savings vs. Just 401(k)

One reason the Vanguard numbers look so low: they capture only 401(k) balances from one record-keeper. Your total retirement savings picture may be better than it appears if you have:

• Traditional or Roth IRA balances
• Prior employer 401(k)s that weren't rolled over
• Defined benefit pension (which has significant value not captured in account balances)
• Home equity you plan to draw on or downsize
• Taxable investment accounts

For the calculator above, enter your total across all accounts. That's the number that matters for retirement planning — not any single account.