Average 401(k) Balance by Age in 2026: How Do You Compare?

“How does my 401(k) compare to other people my age?” is one of the most common — and most anxiety-inducing — retirement questions. This page answers it with the actual average and median 401(k) balance by age, taken directly from Vanguard’s How America Saves 2025 report (covering 2024 data across nearly 5 million participants). We show both the average and the median, because the two tell very different stories — and explain which one you should actually measure yourself against.

401(k) Balances at a Glance

Across all Vanguard participants in 2024, the numbers were:

1. Average & Median 401(k) Balance by Age

Here is the full breakdown by age band. The median (the midpoint saver) is the more realistic yardstick for most people; the average is pulled far higher by a small number of very large accounts.

2. Why the Average Beats the Median

Notice the gap: across all participants the average is $148,153 but the median is just $38,176 — nearly a fourfold difference. That’s not a contradiction; it’s math. A relatively small number of savers with very large balances (long tenure, high incomes, decades of compounding) drag the average upward, while the median — the person exactly in the middle — stays far lower.

The same pattern holds at every age. At 55–64, for example, the average balance ($271,320) is nearly triple the median ($95,642). Balances also roughly plateau after 55, as people begin drawing down or rolling funds into IRAs.

3. How Much Should You Have by Age?

What people have isn’t the same as what they need. A widely used rule of thumb comes from Fidelity, which frames targets as multiples of your salary rather than flat dollar amounts:

So someone earning $60,000 would aim for roughly $60,000 saved by 30, $180,000 by 40, and $360,000 by 50. These are guideposts, not guarantees — your real number depends on your spending, other income (Social Security, pensions, IRAs), and when you plan to retire. Model your own trajectory with the 401(k) Calculator, or project a full financial-independence timeline with the FIRE Calculator.

4. How to Catch Up if You're Behind

If your balance trails the median for your age, the levers that matter most are boringly effective:

• Capture the full employer match first. It’s an immediate, guaranteed return — leaving it on the table is the costliest mistake in retirement saving.
• Raise your savings rate by 1% a year. Vanguard found participants pushed total savings rates to record levels partly through automatic annual increases — small, painless steps compound.
• Use catch-up contributions after 50. The IRS allows additional 401(k) contributions once you turn 50 (verify the current year’s limit at IRS.gov before acting).
• Keep costs and allocation sensible — low-fee index options and an age-appropriate stock/bond mix. See Roth 401(k) vs. Roth IRA and where to start with a brokerage or IRA.

5. Sources & Methodology

Balance figures are taken directly from the primary report, not a secondary summary. Figures reflect the most recent releases as of July 2026.

• Vanguard — How America Saves 2025: average and median account balances by age (Figure 54), based on Vanguard defined-contribution recordkeeping data for 2024 (nearly 5 million participants).
• Fidelity: the salary-multiple savings guideposts (1×–10×).
• IRS: current 401(k) contribution and catch-up limits.

Note: these are 401(k)/defined-contribution balances only. They exclude IRAs, pensions, taxable savings, and home equity, so they understate total retirement wealth — for the fuller picture, see average net worth by age.

Cite This Page

Journalists, educators, and bloggers are welcome to cite these statistics. Please link back so readers can reach the primary Vanguard data and methodology.

“Average 401(k) Balance by Age in 2026: How Do You Compare?” Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/average-401k-balance-by-age/

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