Retirement Retirement Planning

Here's The Average Retirement Savings of 48-Year-Old Americans (How Do You Compare?)

See how your savings compare and how to catch up.

By Chris Lewis, CEPF , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated May 26, 2026

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At 48, retirement is close enough to think about seriously but far enough away that most people still have time to adjust. Whether you've been saving for decades or are just getting started, knowing where you stand against your peer group can help you figure out what to do next. After all, having a solid retirement plan in place will make things far less stressful as you get older.

Find out what the average retirement savings of 48-year-olds are, and what you can do if your savings aren't where you want them to be.

Editor's note: Retirement savings data is sourced from the Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances.

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What is the average that a 48-year-old has saved for retirement

The Federal Reserve doesn't track retirement savings by single year of age. The closest available data comes from the 45-to-54 age bracket. According to the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, households in this group have:

Average (mean) retirement savings: $313,220
Median retirement savings: $115,000

That gap is large, and it's not a rounding error. The two numbers measure different things, and both are worth understanding.

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Why are the average and median so different?

When people say average, they typically mean the mean: add up every household's balance and divide by the number of households. The problem is that a relatively small group of very high earners significantly raises that number. A single household with $2 million in retirement accounts and substantial future income to contribute raises the mean for thousands of households with far less.

The median is the midpoint. Half of households have more than $115,000 saved, and half have less. It's a much more grounded benchmark for most people.

In reality, only about 62% of households headed by someone in the 45-to-54 range even had retirement accounts in 2022. The other 38% have nothing saved in these account types, so the $313,220 average reflects only people who are already saving.

For most readers, the median is the more useful benchmark. It tells you where the typical household actually is. If you're anywhere near that number, you're in a good financial spot.

Are you on track for retirement?

Knowing what people have saved is different from knowing what they should have saved. Financial planners use income-based benchmarks, not raw dollar amounts, because someone earning $150,000 a year needs a very different retirement balance than someone earning $60,000.

The rule of thumb is that you are saving roughly three times your salary by age 40 and six times your salary by age 50. At 48, you're two years away from that six-times milestone, which makes four to five times your annual income a reasonable target right now.

The median U.S. household income is around $80,000. Five times that is $400,000. The median retirement savings for 45- to 54-year-olds is $115,000, which falls well below that target. Most Americans are not on pace with financial planners' recommendations.

Just remember that these are benchmarks, not hard deadlines. Your actual needs depend on when you plan to retire, what you expect to spend, and what income you'll have from Social Security or other sources.

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How to catch up if you're behind

Being below the benchmark at 48 is fixable. You likely have 17 to 20 working years ahead, and several of those will probably be your highest-earning years. These moves can help you close the gap.

Increase your savings rate, even a little at a time

Bumping your contribution rate from 6% to 8% of your salary may not feel like much today, but the compounding effect over 15 to 20 years adds up. It's suggested that you aim to save 15% of your income annually, including any employer match.

If you're not close to 15%, try raising your rate by 1% per year, especially after a raise. Your take-home pay barely changes, but your retirement balance grows meaningfully faster over time.

Open or maximize a Roth IRA

A Roth IRA grows tax-free, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are also tax-free. For a 48-year-old, that means roughly 15 to 20 years of compounding without owing taxes on the growth.

For 2026, the IRA contribution limit is $7,500 per year, or $8,600 for people 50 and older, according to the IRS. There are income limits for direct Roth contributions. If your income is above the threshold, a backdoor Roth conversion is worth discussing with a tax advisor.

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Check your investment allocation

At 48, you still have enough time before retirement to hold a portfolio weighted toward stocks. Most financial planners would advise keeping a significant portion in equities at this age, with bonds playing a smaller role.

If you haven't looked at your allocation in a few years, it's worth revisiting. Some 401(k) balances drift toward conservative settings over time, either through automatic defaults or through investor behavior during market downturns. A portfolio that's too conservative at 48 may not grow enough to reach your retirement goals.

Bottom line

The average 48-year-old's retirement savings sit at $313,220, but the median is $115,000. Most people are much closer to the median, because a small number of high earners pull the average up. If you're at or above $115,000 at 48, you're in line with the middle of the pack. Whether that's enough depends on your income, your expected retirement date, and how much you plan to spend. It's up to you to change your investment habits to achieve the stress-free retirement you've always wanted.

One number worth keeping in mind is that Social Security is projected to cover about 42.6% of pre-retirement income for a medium earner claiming at full retirement age. That means your savings need to cover roughly the other half. At 48, you still have time to close that gap, but the window for compounding is shorter than it was at 38.

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