How Much Should You Have Saved for Retirement at Every Age?

"Am I on track?" It's the most common question in retirement planning, and the most anxiety-inducing one.

The honest answer is: it depends on your expenses, your income, and when you want to stop working. But there are useful benchmarks that tell you whether you're in the ballpark — and what to do if you're not.

The salary multiplier framework

Fidelity's widely-cited guideline suggests these milestones based on your salary:

These assume you start saving at 25, invest 15% of your income, and retire at 67. They also assume a balanced portfolio returning roughly 7% after inflation.

What most people actually have

Here's the gap between the guidelines and reality, based on Federal Reserve data:

The median American is significantly behind the benchmarks at every age. If you're reading this article, you're already more engaged than most. Take the comparison with that context.

Age-by-age reality check

In your 20s: Just start

The benchmark says 0.5-1x salary by 30. The real priority is simpler: get money moving into a tax-advantaged account.

If you have a 401(k) with an employer match, contribute enough to get the full match. If you don't have an employer plan, open a Roth IRA and set up a $100/month auto-transfer.

At this age, the amount matters less than the habit. $200/month from 22 to 65 at 7% is $570,000. The same $200/month from 32 to 65 is only $274,000. Those first 10 years of small contributions are worth almost as much as the next 33 years combined.

In your 30s: Close the gap

The benchmark says 2x salary by 35. If you're at 1x, you're not far off. If you're at 0x, it's time to get serious.

This is the decade where income typically rises fastest. The move: funnel every raise into savings. If you get a 5% raise, increase your 401(k) contribution by 3%. You still get a lifestyle bump, but your savings rate climbs significantly.

Target 15% of gross income going to retirement (including employer match). If you can't do 15% today, start at 10% and increase 1% per year.

In your 40s: Maximize

The benchmark says 3-4x salary. If you're on track, keep going. If you're behind, this is catch-up decade.

At 50, the IRS lets you make catch-up contributions: an extra $7,500/year in your 401(k) and $1,000/year in your IRA (2024 limits). Plan to use these.

This is also when you should start thinking about asset allocation. A mix of stocks and bonds makes sense now — not because the market is scarier, but because you have fewer years to recover from a bad sequence.

In your 50s: Protect and push

The benchmark says 6-7x salary. You're either in good shape or you're not — but either way, the strategy is the same: save aggressively and don't take unnecessary risk.

If you're behind, consider:

• Maxing out 401(k) + catch-up ($30,500/year in 2024)
• Maxing out IRA + catch-up ($8,000/year in 2024)
• Paying off your mortgage before retirement (reduces expenses, which reduces how much you need)
• Working 2-3 extra years (the math is powerful — each extra year means one more year of contributions, one more year of growth, and one fewer year of withdrawals)

In your 60s: Plan the transition

The benchmark says 8-10x salary at retirement. If you're there, the question shifts from "am I saving enough" to "how do I draw this down?"

Key decisions:

• When to claim Social Security (every year you delay from 62 to 70 increases your benefit by ~8%)
• Roth conversion strategy (convert in low-income years before RMDs kick in at 73)
• Withdrawal order (taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred, then Roth)

See your own numbers

Abstract benchmarks are useful. Your actual numbers are better. Plug in your age, savings rate, and current balance to see where you'll land.

Behind the benchmarks? Here's the priority order

1. Get the full employer match. This is the highest-return, zero-risk action. Do it today.
2. Increase your contribution by 1%. Set a reminder to do it again in 6 months.
3. Open a Roth IRA if you don't have one. The tax-free growth is especially valuable if you're behind.
4. Cut one recurring expense and redirect it to savings. $100/month is $1,200/year in contributions, and at 7% that's $56,800 over 20 years.
5. Don't panic. Being behind the benchmarks doesn't mean you've failed. It means you have work to do. The math still works — it just requires larger inputs.