The Average 401(k) Balance by Age and Generation

A powerful stock market rally after a tariff-related swoon in April propelled 401(k) account balances and the number of 401(k) millionaires to record highs in the second quarter of 2025, according to Fidelity Investments. Is your 401(k) balance keeping up with the Joneses? Be honest. You're probably wondering how your nest egg stacks up against the average 401(k) balance for other people your age.

Saving for retirement can be a source of angst for Americans in a world where traditional pensions are fading into obscurity, inflation is eating into monthly budgets, Social Security is in poor financial shape, and financial market volatility is a fact of life.

Fidelity's Q2 2025 Retirement Analysis is out, enabling savers to check and see where they stand vs their peers.

From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance

Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues

CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

Sign up

The good news? At the end of June 2025, savers in Fidelity 401(k) plans sported a record-setting average account balance of $137,800, up from $127,100 in the first quarter ending March 31. And the number of newly minted 401(k) millionaires hit 595,000, also a record.

Benchmarking your 401(k) wealth vs savers in your same age bracket might not offer as many clues as to your odds of attaining a secure retirement as you might think.

Average savings totals don’t consider important variables such as salary, investment return projections, how many years you have before retirement, longevity estimates and how much money you’ll need in retirement.

Balance averages can also be skewed by super savers with high balances or young workers starting out with extremely low balances.

Still, average account balances provide a way to benchmark your account against others of your age.

“These average balances can give people an idea of where they might be, given their age,” said Kelly LaVigne, vice president and head of annuity and advanced markets at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

But looking at average balances doesn’t really explain retirement readiness.

“This information tells us what the average American has saved,” said LaVigne. “But personal finances are, well, personal. Your financial picture may look much different than the average American.”

Average 401(k) balance by age and generation

Average 401(k) balances increased 8.4% in the second quarter of 2025, hitting a record high of $137,800, according to Fidelity Investments’ Q2 (second quarter) 2025 Retirement Analysis.

Here’s the average 401(k) balance by generation and age as of June 30, 2025, according to Fidelity's report, which is based on the 24.6 million 401(k) accounts it manages.

Table Data Source: Fidelity Investments.

The record-setting quarter is good news for retirement savers.

The total savings rate for Fidelity 401(k) participants remained strong at 14.2%, although a tad shy hit of the record high of 14.3% in the first quarter. The high savings rate remains close to Fidelity's recommended annual savings rate of 15% (which includes both employer and worker contributions).

Balances increased for all age groups in the second quarter of 2025 (ending June 30). The rise in account balances was driven by consistent savings by 401(k) plan participants and positive stock market performance, despite tariff-related volatility in early April, according to Fidelity.

Another positive development is that only 5.5% of Fidelity 401(k) plan participants made changes to their asset allocation when markets were swooning in April, according to Fidelity. What's more, 11.6% of 401(k) savers increased their contribution rate.

Still, what jumps out in the latest savings data is how low these 401(k) balances are vs what most savers think they will need to retire comfortably.

"Americans' 'magic number' to retire comfortably remains high, far beyond what many people have actually saved," said John Roberts, executive vice president and chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual.

U.S. adults estimate that the magic number for retirement savings is $1.26 million (down from $1.46 million last year), as an April 2025 study by Northwestern Mutual reported.

Working Americans who currently participate in a Charles Schwab 401(k) plan believe they will need to save $1.6 million, according to Schwab's latest annual nationwide survey of its 401(k) plan participants published in July.

“What the (average 401(k) balances by age) tells us is investors are not saving enough to afford a comfortable retirement,” said Anthony Ogorek, president and founder of Ogorek Wealth Management.

Let’s also look at average 401(k) balances by age band, which shows how much account holders have saved during each decade of their life.

Compare that with Fidelity's recommended retirement savings amount by age, as measured by the multiples of salary a worker should save by a given decade in life.

Here’s the average 401(k) balance by age as of June 30, 2025, according to Fidelity.

If your 401(k) balance is below the averages listed above, don’t despair.

“Your reaction shouldn’t be giving up, or saying, ‘Oh no, I’m so far behind, I’ll never make it up,’ ” said Lisa Featherngill, senior vice president and national director of wealth planning at Comerica Wealth Management. “Use it as a catalyst to make needed changes to boost your savings.”

Consider using general rules or savings guideposts to better help you determine how much you need to save, gauge if you’re on track and whether you need to tweak your savings strategy. Hopefully, eyeballing these guideposts will serve as a wake-up call to prompt action.

Fidelity, for example, recommends using savings milestones that home in on two savings data points that are more specific to you: your age and your salary, says Michael Shamrell, vice president of workplace thought leadership at Fidelity.

Using Fidelity’s guidelines, you should aim to save one times your salary by age 30, three times your pay by age 40, six times by 50, eight times by 60, and 10 times by age 67.

If you’re 50 now and earn $100,000, you should have $600,000 socked away. If your salary rises to $125,000 as you near retirement, you’ll need $1.25 million saved by the time you’re 67, which is when most Americans reach full retirement age and are eligible to receive full Social Security benefits.

“It helps you know where you are on your savings journey, sort of like a map if you’re driving from San Francisco to Dallas,” said Shamrell. “You want to know if you’re headed in the right direction. Are you on the right road? Do I need to make a turn? It helps savers know if they’re on track or if they need to make any changes."

Act, don't panic if you're behind

The good news? 401(k) savings balances are far less crisis-like for long-term savers, Fidelity data show. What might look like a low balance today can grow in value over time with steady saving, portfolio gains, and compounding.

For example, the average balance for savers who’ve been investing in the same 401(k) continuously for 15 years was around $585,600 and about $437,700 for those saving for 10 straight years, Fidelity data show.

It’s vital that retirement savers build a diversified portfolio so they don’t suffer large losses from, say, a 100% stock portfolio, when markets turn volatile.

It's also important for investors to keep their emotions in check and not bail out of the market due to fear when volatility strikes. The good news is that less than 6% of Fidelity 401(k) plan participants made changes to their asset mix during the April 2025 market correction, according to Fidelity.

"Even during periods of turbulence, the majority of savers are wisely making the decision to stay the course and not make sudden changes to their retirement investments," said Sharon Brovelli, president of workplace investing at Fidelity. "This quarter's retirement balance rebound demonstrates the importance of staying calm and not overreacting to market changes."

The nearly 20% early-April stock market drop caused by tariff uncertainty also demonstrates that having a retirement portfolio with a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and liquid assets like cash can reduce risk, keep losses manageable, and help investors stay invested, says Northwestern Mutual’s Roberts.

“People who have an offense-only investments approach are left vulnerable when the unexpected occurs," said Roberts.

Here are ways to play catch-up if you’re currently behind on your savings.

Save more. Fidelity recommends saving 15% of your salary, including your company’s matching contribution. To reach that goal, boost your 401(k) savings when you get a raise or bonus, or commit to saving 1% more each year until you reach your savings target. Signing up for automatic savings increases is a smart move. In fact, one in four (26.3%) Fidelity 401(k) plans now come with employer-set auto-escalation features, according to the Fidelity study.

Don’t miss your employer's match. Nearly eight in 10 (78.5%) of Fidelity 401(k) plan participants received a company match in the second quarter of 2025. The key is to contribute enough to earn the full match, so you don’t leave money on the table.

“This can help accelerate your retirement savings,” said Sarah Darr, head of financial planning at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

The most popular match on Fidelity's platform is based on a 5% employee contribution rate. The employer contribution rate matches 100% of the first 3% of employee contributions, and 50% of the next 2%. If you make $100,000 and contribute 5%, or $5,000, to your 401(k), your employer with chip in another $4,000 with the match.

Take advantage of catch-up provisions. For 2025, 401(k) contribution limits for workers under age 50 have increased by $500 to $23,500. The catch-up contribution limit for workers age 50 and older remains unchanged at $7,500 for a total 2025 401(k) contribution limit of $31,000.

Starting in 2025, thanks to the Secure Act 2.0, savers ages 60-63 can boost their catch-up contribution to $11,250, according to the IRS. This super catch-up provision should help workers near retirement make up for leaner years when they might not have contributed enough.

Invest more aggressively. Assets with growth potential, such as stocks, will give you a better chance of building a larger nest egg. A target-date fund that determines your mix of stocks and bonds based on your age and retirement is a way to get proper exposure to stocks.

In this year’s second quarter, two-thirds of Fidelity 401(k) participants had money invested in a target date fund or a managed account, according to Fidelity.

“It’s never too late to save for retirement,” said LaVigne.

The key, though, is to set realistic savings goals, says Brad Bartick, a wealth planner at investment firm Baird.

“Setting an unachievable goal may douse the (savings) fire before it has a chance to build because discouragement invites the risk of halting savings,” said Bartick.

Get the full story: What you're worth

Want to see how more of your retirement portfolio compares with peers? Read:

The Average Net Worth by Age

Average Retirement Savings by Age

The Average IRA Balance by Age

Average Social Security Check by Age

Average 401(k) Fund Fees and Expenses: Are You Overpaying?

Want more guidance on retirement savings? Sign up for Kiplinger's six-week series, Invest for Retirement.

Read More

• The Retirement Rule of 240 Paychecks in Retirement
• Estate Planning for Millionaires
• You Can Be a 401(k) Millionaire. Here's How