The average person age 65 and older has $272,588 in their 401(k), according to the latest data from retirement giant Vanguard. This is significantly higher than the average balance of $232,710 for this age group at the end of 2022.
However, the average only tells half the story. While the average 401(k) The participant has $272,588, the median balance for this age group is $88,488. Mathematically, this means that half of participants have less than $88,488 in their account, while half have more.
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Overall, 28% of 401(k)s held at Vanguard contain less than $10,000, and small-balance accounts make the median well below average. And that certainly makes sense. After all, many people only stay on the job for a year or two and therefore have relatively little money in their 401(k). Meanwhile, the average person who has worked for a decade or more has a 401(k) balance greater than double the overall average.
First, the $272,588 figure is based on Vanguard's 2024 How America Saves report, and the latest edition uses year-end 2023 data. The stock market has performed quite well since the end of 2023, so we can say that the average has likely increased significantly in 2024.
Second, it is the average amount of money in a Vanguard 401(k). This doesn't necessarily tell us the total amount of retirement savings the average person has. For example, a 70-year-old retiree might have a Vanguard 401(k), money in a Roth IRA, another 401(k) from a former employer, and other sources of retirement savings.
There's no single magic number you should have in your 401(k) when you retire. Many retirement planners suggest that by the time you reach retirement, you should have saved about 10 times your final salary.
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