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Investment giant Vanguard’s annual “How America Saves” report paints a bleak picture of how Americans are saving and preparing for retirement.
Based on the analysis of nearly 5 million defined contribution (DC) plan participants in 2024, most Americans are not saving enough. There’s a wide gap between different age groups and even seniors who are approaching retirement are struggling to meet conventional targets.
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In other words, if you think you’re falling behind you’re probably not alone. The other piece of bad news is that hardship withdrawal activity increased, as 4.8% of participants initiated one, up from 3.6% in 2023.
Here’s a closer look at this snapshot to help you benchmark your own savings progress.
Unsurprisingly, the youngest Americans have the smallest average account balances, according to Vanguard’s report.
Participants between the ages of 25 and 34 had an average balance of just $42,640 while those aged 35-44 had an average balance of $103,552. Median balances were even lower, at $16,255 and $39,958, respectively for these cohorts.
These numbers barely cover a single year’s worth of living expenses, let alone a full retirement. However, younger Americans haven’t had the luxury of time to build up savings, benefit from compounding growth in assets and boost their earnings with relevant skills and experience.
Nevertheless, if you’re between the ages 35 and 44 and already have more than $40,000 in your 401(k) plan, you’re doing better than at least half the people your age with such retirement accounts.
Finding ways to save extra money in your monthly budget isn’t easy, but there is a way to make even your spare charge go farther. Make the most of every dollar you spend with Acorns, a popular app that automatically invests your spare change.
Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio.
With Acorns, you can invest in low-cost ETFs with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today and set up a recurring deposit, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.
Your 40s and 50s are the best years to boost your retirement savings. By this age, you’ve probably established a successful career, which allows you to generate excess income. You’ve also had plenty of time to invest this excess cash in assets that appreciate or generate income over decades.
Unfortunately, most middle-aged Americans seem to be struggling to take advantage of this window of opportunity. Americans aged 45 to 54 have an average balance of $188,643, but the median savings is just $67,796 — highlighting a sharp gap in retirement readiness.
For those between 55 and 64, the average rises to $271,320, yet the median remains a modest $95,642, underscoring that even those closest to retirement are often underprepared.
If you’re under the age of 64 and have around $300,000, for instance, you’re probably outperforming most of your peers. But that doesn’t mean you’re prepared for retirement.
Based on the 4% rule, you could safely withdraw just $12,000 a year from this nest egg, which is woefully inadequate for any comfortable retirement.
Meanwhile, the “magic number” for a comfortable retirement sits at roughly $1.26 million as of 2025, according to a Northwestern Mutual study.
If you’re simply relying on your 401(k) or IRA to help you save for retirement, you’re missing out on diversifying your investments and also on benefitting from the potential growth from other high-value investment types. You can boost your retirement savings by investing in alternative assets like real estate.
First National Realty Partners (FNRP)](https://moneywise.com/c/1/227/1177?placement=3) is ideally situated to help you take advantage of the opportunities in this sector. FNRP allows accredited individual investors to access institutional-quality commercial real estate investments — without the leg work of finding deals yourself.
Providing a white-glove service for investors, the FNRP team takes on the job of finding and managing property deals, while investors can engage with experts, explore available deals and easily make an allocation, all in one personalized portal.
You can even invest through a Roth IRA — meaning, you’ll receive tax-free payments and distributions that won’t be added to your combined income calculation.
Another way to invest in real estate is with Homeshares. While the $36 trillion home equity market has historically been the exclusive playground of large institutions, Homeshares is changing the game by allowing accredited investors to gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
Homeshares’ U.S. home equity fund focuses on houses with substantial equity, using Home Equity Agreements (HEAs) to help homeowners access liquidity without incurring debt or additional interest payments.
With a minimum investment of $25,000, this approach provides a hands-off way to invest in high-quality residential properties with the added benefit of diversification across regional markets.
Even better, Homeshares can offer risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%. This can make for a good low-maintenance alternative to traditional property ownership.
Finally, you can consider diversifying your investment portfolio with commodities, including gold.
Priority Gold is an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of gold and silver. Plus, they have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a 5-star rating from Trust Link.
You can download their free 2025 gold investor bundle to help you understand more about this high-performing asset, which often remains steady when the stock market sinks.
Plus, if you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping, and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases will also receive up to $10,000 in free silver.
Read more: Nervous about the stock market? Gain potential quarterly income through this $1B private real estate fund — even if you’re not a millionaire. Here’s how to get started with as little as $10
Given that the average age of retirement in the U.S. is 62, according to a 2024 Mass Mutual survey, we can assume most Americans over the age of 65 are already retired or within striking distance of it. Many have probably begun withdrawing money from their retirement nest egg.
The average 401(k) balance for someone over the age of 65 is just $299,442, barely higher than the 55-64 age cohort. Median balance is $95,425, slightly lower than the 55-64 age cohort.
To be fair, many retired Americans may have financial assets beyond their 401(k) plan and real estate which they could rely on to sustain their living expenses. But 40% of baby boomers believe it is likely that they could outlive all their savings, according to Northwestern Mutual.
Put simply, a significant number of seniors could be in an unsustainable retirement.
To ensure this won’t happen to you, consider speaking to a financial advisor so that you can feel confident in your withdrawal strategy, and that your investment mix is risk-balanced and properly diversified.
Advisor.com is an online platform that connects you with vetted financial advisors. Just answer a few quick questions about yourself and your finances, and the platform will match you with experienced financial professionals best suited to help you develop a plan to achieve your retirement goals.
You can view the advisors’ profiles, read past client reviews, and schedule an initial consultation for free with no obligation to hire.
The first step is understanding how much you should have saved by a certain age.
T. Rowe Price published retirement savings benchmarks to aim for depending on age. For example, at age 50, the analysts recommend you should have 4.5x to 8x of your salary saved today.
Keep in mind these are simply guidelines and most Americans will fail to achieve these goals. The best thing you can do for yourself is start investing early and shape your strategy based on your risk tolerance and investing horizon.
Looking into alternative assets like fine art is one way to help you boost your retirement portfolio. Traditionally, fine art has been out of reach for everyday investors, but now with Masterworks you can access the growth potential of this market.
Masterworks helps non-accredited and accredited investors purchase fractional shares of artwork by iconic artists like Banksy and Basquiat.
Fine art has consistently outperformed the stock market in the long-run. In fact, contemporary art outperformed the S&P 500 with a compound annual growth rate of 12.6% between 1995 and 2022, according to a report from Fortune magazine.
As such, art can sometimes be used to diversify and potentially safeguard your investments. What’s more, Masterworks investors have realized representative annualized net returns like +17.6%, +17.8%, and +21.5% among assets held for longer than one year.
When you’re young, invest not just in assets that appreciate over time but also skills that advance your career and boost your earnings.
If you’re middle-aged, focus on reducing expenses and maximizing savings as much as possible.
If you’re older, consider delaying your retirement to add a few more years of employment and savings. You could also consider side hustles and self-employment to boost your earnings in the final stretch of your career. You can also make catch-up contributions to your retirement plan.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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