Retirement Retirement Planning

Here's the Average Retirement Savings of 60-Year-Old Americans (How Do You Compare?)

See how your balance compares, and what to do if you're behind.

By Andy Lindquist , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Sept. 22, 2026

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Once you hit 60, retirement is no longer an afterthought. You're almost at the age where you will begin drawing from your retirement accounts and taking Social Security. Still, it's worth looking at how well you've prepared for retirement compared with your peers, and figuring out what to do if you're behind.

Here are the average retirement savings of Americans aged 60 and the steps to take to catch up.

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What is the average retirement savings around age 60?

According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, households aged 55 to 64 with a retirement account hold an average of $537,560. The Fed groups the average by age group, so the 55 to 64 range is the closest national look at people around 60.

That average is high because of huge accounts at the top. The ultra-rich households with millions in retirement accounts skew the numbers, making it seem like the typical 60-year-old is way farther behind than they actually are.

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What is the median retirement savings at age 60?

The median for households in the 55-to-64 age bracket is $185,000. That means half have more and half have less. Only 57% of households aged 55 to 64 have a retirement account. The other 43% have none.

The Congressional Research Service's analysis of the same SCF data shows that fewer than 10% of households in any age band have retirement assets above $1 million. Ages 55 to 64 have the highest share, at 9.2%. A few of those accounts pull the average way up.

If you're 60 with $200,000 in a 401(k) and IRA, the average might make you feel behind. The median shows you're ahead of a typical household with an account.

Why 60 is a useful checkpoint for retirement planning

By the time you're 60, you are close enough to the lower bound of Social Security, which you can begin taking at 62. You're also past the 59 and a half barrier for drawing down your retirement accounts without any penalties. That means it's time to look at your total balances and what you have saved.

Fidelity's guideline is to save 8 times your salary by 60. On a $75,000 salary, that's $600,000 in all retirement savings, not just the 401(k). Most households miss that mark. At 60, you still have time to close that gap before you start drawing from the accounts and taking Social Security.

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Why a 401(k) is only one piece of retirement money

The Fed figure already includes IRAs and workplace plans. It does not count Social Security, a pension, a paid-off house, or a brokerage account. The same survey puts the median net worth for ages 55 to 64 at $364,500, including home equity.

Fidelity's Q2 2026 plan data puts the average 401(k) for people in their 60s at $281,200. That sample is people still in a workplace plan. Roll an old 401(k) into an IRA, and you drop out of that average. The January 2026 average Social Security retired-worker benefit was $2,071 a month, or about $24,850 a year. For many households, that check is the base, and the accounts are the supplement.

How to boost your retirement savings if you're already 60

If you're behind the median, you still have options. In 2026, the employee 401(k) limit is $24,500. If you're 50 or older, you can contribute an $8,000 catch-up contribution.

If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 this year and your plan allows it, the maximum catch-up contribution you can make is $11,250. The IRA limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 if you're 50 or older. If you've already rolled workplace money into an IRA, you can still fund it as long as you have taxable compensation.

Take the full employer match if one is still on the table. Fidelity found 81% of 401(k) participants saved enough to get it in the second quarter of 2026. Cut a car payment or a subscription and send that cash to the plan. Extra years of work also delay the first withdrawal. If you max out your contributions and delay your retirement age past 63, you'll be able to substantially boost your account balances.

How to plan Social Security claiming and withdrawals

Most people are able to claim Social Security at 62, but doing so will reduce their benefits by up to 30%. Waiting past full retirement age increases the check by 8% per year until age 70. Combine this with contributing more to your retirement accounts, and the difference will be substantial.

Fidelity recommends a 4% to 5% annual withdrawal from your retirement accounts as a starting point. At 4%, $185,000 throws off about $7,400 in year one. Add an average Social Security check, and you're in the low $30,000s before any pension or part-time work. Line that income up against what you actually spend, and you'll be able to figure out the path forward.

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Bottom line

If you're 60 and comparing yourself to these numbers, use the median. Half of households ages 55 to 64 with a retirement account hold less than $185,000, and 43% of that age group has no account at all. Landing in the middle is far more common than the $537,560 average makes it look, and you still have working years, catch-up contributions, and a claiming decision ahead of you.

Under SECURE 2.0, anyone born in 1960 or later doesn't face required minimum distributions until age 75, compared with 73 for people born between 1951 and 1959. If you're 60 now, that's 15 more years of compounding before the IRS requires you to withdraw funds. It also gives you a long runway for Roth conversions during the lower-income years between leaving work and claiming Social Security. Use that runway to make the right moves for retirement with Roth conversions in the lower-income years between leaving work and claiming Social Security.