How does your saving for retirement compare to nest eggs built by other people your age? Are your IRA and 401(k) balances bigger? Smaller?
If you are an active saver, chances are that your savings for retirement are much bigger than the average American’s.
Active savers — in this case, Americans who own an IRA and-or a 401(k) account in the custody of Fidelity Investments — had savings for retirement of $215,400 as of Sept. 30, according to new data IBD has obtained from Fidelity.
In contrast, the average for all working-age families is shockingly low. Their median nest egg was a paltry $5,000 as of 2013, the latest year for which the Economic Policy Institute has data. That’s because many working-age families had little or zero savings.
As recently as 2019, the saving for retirement of 15% of Americans amounted to a grand total of zip, according to Northwestern Mutual.
Even many Americans who are closest to entering retirement have scant retirement savings. Seventeen percent of baby boomers had less than $5,000 saved for retirement savings. And 20% had less than $25,000.
Saving For Retirement: Savers Vs. Nonsavers
Like the sports cliché says, you can’t win if you don’t play. And that applies to retirement savings too. While many Americans have little if any savings, people of all ages who make the effort to save show the benefits of growing retirement balances.
Fidelity’s overall retirement savings balance — that $215,400 average — reflects savings by young workers who have not had many years to build their savings for retirement. It also includes older savers, such as baby boomers and members of the so-called silent generation who range from age 75 to 92. Many of those older savers have retired and are spending down their retirement nest eggs.
In fact, the Fidelity data let you see how your savings compare not only to the average American’s overall, but to other savers in your own age bracket.
Saving For Retirement By Different Generations
Even though members of the silent generation in general are retired and are spending their savings and gifting portions away, members of that generation still have an average of $403,500 in their 401(k)s and IRAs.
Boomers, many of whom are also retired, still have saved an average of $357,500.
Members of Generation Z have savings for retirement of $5,400 on average. Millennial savers have socked away $43,800. Members of Generation X have $174,800 in savings for retirement on average.
Fidelity’s members of Gen Z were born 1997 through 2012. Millennials were born 1981 through 1996. Their Gen Xers were born 1965 through 1980. And boomers were born 1946 through 1964.
The new data present an even more complete picture of workers’ savings for retirement than data provided by Fidelity about three weeks ago. Fidelity’s earlier data reflected only balances for 401(k) accounts. The new data show savings in IRAs as well.
Also, Fidelity’s earlier 401(k)-only data reflected just balances for accounts owned by the same workers in the same plans over a 10-year span. The new data are snapshots of account balances as of Sept. 30, 2019 and 10 years prior, whether or not the accounts were continuously owned.
IRA Balances By Age Groups
Those average IRA balances range from a modest $3,500 for members of Gen Z up to $218,500 for members of the silent generation.
IRA averages for other generational groups are $14,400 for millennials, $58,400 for Gen Xers and $159,100 for boomers.
Retirement Savings Grew In Past Decade
Combined average balances for those age groups have increased dramatically over the past 10 years.
Millennials saw their IRA-plus-401(k) balances rocket 256% between the end of Q3 2009 and Q3 2019.
Gen Xers’ total average saving for retirement jumped 224%.
Boomers’ combined retirement balances ballooned 146%.
Even combined retirement balances held by members of the silent generation rose 77%. That’s despite the fact that silent generation members in general are tapping their accounts for everything from living expenses to charitable gifts.
Overall, combined IRA and 401(k) balances rose 79% over the decade.
