Here's The Average Retirement Savings of 74-Year-Old Americans (How Do You Compare?)

Most folks who reach their mid-70s are well into retirement. At that point, you are no longer focused on accumulating money, but simply want to make sure your cash lasts.

If you are 74 years old, how much do you have left in retirement savings? Find out what your peers have remaining in their nest eggs and see if you are doing better financially.

The average and median 401(k) balance for a typical 74-year-old

The average retirement account balance for participants 65 and older is $299,442, according to Vanguard's How America Saves data. This is the closest available benchmark for the average 401(k) balance by age for people in their mid-70s, since most major retirement data providers group participants 65 and older together.

However, it's important to note that very wealthy people skew the average much higher. So, it is not necessarily the best way to visualize how much a typical retiree has in savings.

Instead, it makes more sense to look at the median. This is the figure that represents the middle number in a data set, with half of the other values below the median and half above it.

The median retirement savings for folks who are 65 or older is $95,425.

How much you should have saved by age 74

It is difficult to say how much a 74-year-old should have saved for retirement. The precise amount differs by individual and is influenced by factors such as the lifestyle you desire and the cost of living in your area.

However, Fidelity Investments has long suggested benchmarks for how much people should save by the time they reach various age milestones. Fidelity's estimates end at age 67.

At that point, a typical person should have saved at least 10 times their annual salary when they were working.

The median income for people ages 75 and older is $47,790, according to financial services provider Empower. That means that according to Fidelity's rule of thumb, someone who is 74 should have retirement savings of roughly $478,000.

Reasons people may be behind in savings by age 74

The Vanguard average and median totals may both seem a little low for people in this age group. After all, many of them have spent decades accumulating wealth for their golden years.

But it's important to remember that many 74-year-olds have been retired for some time. That means they likely have been dipping into their retirement accounts for years, with the balance slowly dropping over time.

How long will your money last at 74?

Young people often ask themselves how much they should save for retirement. But by the time you are 74, the question shifts to, "How long will my money last?"

Looking at the Vanguard numbers, the average retiree can expect to have $299,442 in retirement savings. Many financial professionals view a 4% annual withdrawal rate as a safe way to slowly deplete savings without actually running out of money. That means someone with Vanguard's average in savings could safely withdraw $11,977 each year.

The picture is significantly more challenging if you have only saved the median of $95,425. In that case, you can only safely withdraw a paltry $3,817 each year.

Social Security to the rescue?

When you crunch the savings numbers, the picture looks bleak for many of today's retirees. In fact, a 2024 AARP study found that among those who are 50 or older, around 20% have no retirement savings at all.

Some people may believe that the nation's Social Security program will provide the income they need to get by. But Social Security payments are relatively modest for most Americans.

Here is the average monthly Social Security payment for individuals who file for benefits at three ages: 62, full retirement age (67 for most people), and 70:

• 62: $1,424.40
• Full retirement age (67): $2,016.48
• 70: $2,274.68

As you can see, combining this amount with a 4% withdrawal rate from retirement savings will not get you very far.

The outlook for the average 74-year-old

Of course, it is to be expected that savings balances will be lower for retirees who have been withdrawing money from retirement accounts for years. But the Vanguard numbers still suggest that millions of 74-year-olds struggle to make ends meet during their golden years.

If you are in this position, picking up part-time work or developing a side hustle can substantially help boost your bottom line.

Other sources of income, such as a pension, can also provide a lot of help. In addition, if you have fully paid off the mortgage on your home, perhaps the combination of Social Security and modest withdrawals from savings will be enough to get by.

The lesson for everyone else

Many of today's 74-year-olds face a challenging financial future. But millions of others who prioritized savings during their working years are in much better shape.

If you are younger, now is the time to save for your golden years. Even modest sums can grow to vast fortunes if they have decades of compound growth ahead of them.

The sooner you start saving, the brighter your golden years are likely to gleam.

Bottom line

Millions of Americans who are 74 years old will have to tighten their belts if they hope to get by on modest retirement savings. But many others who prioritized savings during their working years should be able to live out their retirement in financial comfort.

If you are still working, now is the time to start investing and saving so you can secure your financial future.

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