Here's How Much 65-Year-Olds Have in Their IRAs (How You Compare?)

Turning 65 usually means Medicare paperwork, maybe some retirement planning, and a lot of wondering how your nest egg stacks up against everyone else's. IRAs are a big piece of that puzzle for a lot of people.

So what do IRA balances look like for people around 65? The answer depends a lot on which type of IRA you're looking at, and on how you line up with people a few years younger or older. Comparing could help you check up on your financial health.

Editor's note: Figures come from IRS data for tax year 2023. The IRS reports ages 65 to 69, which stands in for age 65 here. The average IRA balance is calculated from IRS totals.

So what's the average IRA balance for a 65-year-old?

The average IRA balance for taxpayers aged 65 to 69 was $370,237. That figure covers only taxpayers who actually have an IRA, not everyone in the age group. It combines traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA balances, based on IRS data for tax year 2023.

It's also an end-of-year value per taxpayer, not per account, so someone with three IRAs still counts once. The figure is calculated from IRS data rather than published by the IRS as an average.

What's inside that average balance

The math behind it is simple: IRS data shows $2.93 trillion in total end-of-year IRA value for taxpayers aged 65 to 69 in tax year 2023, spread across the people in that group who hold an IRA.

The account types underneath it look quite different. Among taxpayers aged 65 to 69 who have a Traditional IRA, the average balance was $357,902. Among those who have a Roth IRA, the average was $90,028, per IRS data for tax year 2023.

How many 65-year-olds hold an IRA, and which kind

IRS data counts 7,921,025 taxpayers aged 65 to 69 with an IRA of some type in tax year 2023. Those are the people the $370,237 average describes.

Traditional accounts are the more common of the two: 7,158,838 taxpayers in this age band had a Traditional IRA, compared with 2,539,877 who had a Roth IRA, according to the same IRS data. Some taxpayers hold both types, so these counts overlap.

How a 65-year-old's IRA compares to other ages

People a few years younger tend to have less saved. Taxpayers aged 60 to 64 had an average IRA balance of $292,135 across all account types, compared with $370,237 for those 65 to 69, per IRS data for tax year 2023.

The average for taxpayers aged 70 to 74 was higher still, at $392,867. And across taxpayers of every age who hold an IRA, the average balance was $205,238, so the 65 to 69 group sits well above that broader benchmark, all according to the same IRS tax year 2023 data.

Fidelity's savings guideline and 2026 IRA limits

Fidelity's guideline suggests having at least 12 times your pre-retirement income saved if you plan to retire at 65. That target assumes you save 15% of your income each year starting at 25, including any employer match.

If you're still working, you could keep adding to an IRA. For 2026, the IRS limit on IRA contributions is $7,500, and people 50 and older are allowed an extra $1,100 catch-up contribution, for a total of $8,600. The IRS also caps contributions at your taxable compensation for the year, if that's lower. 

The limit covers traditional and Roth IRAs combined. Roth contributions might be limited by your income and filing status, and traditional IRA deductions might be limited if you or your spouse has a retirement plan at work.

What to do with your own IRA number

• Pull up your most recent IRA statement and write down the current balance.
• List every retirement account you hold in one place, so you know your full total, not just one piece of it.
• Check how much of your IRA money sits in traditional accounts versus Roth accounts.
• Ask a tax professional what required withdrawals would look like for you if most of your savings sit in a traditional IRA.

Bottom line

At 65 to 69, the average IRA balance among taxpayers who hold one was $370,237 across all account types, according to IRS data for tax year 2023. That's higher than the $292,135 average for people 60 to 64 and the $205,238 average across all ages.

Traditional IRA holders in this age band averaged $357,902, well above the $90,028 average for Roth IRA holders, and traditional accounts were held by far more taxpayers aged 65 to 69. Wherever your balance lands, a few smart money moves could stretch your retirement dollars further.

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