The most common retirement question: "Am I on track?" Here are simple benchmarks based on your income and age.
Financial planners often use a simple rule of thumb: by age 30, you should have saved 1× your annual salary. By age 40, 3×. By age 50, 6×. By age 60, 8×. By retirement (age 67), 10×.
These numbers come from Fidelity's retirement savings guidelines, which are based on typical spending patterns and the 4% withdrawal rule. They're benchmarks, not strict targets — everyone's situation is different.
| Age | Multiple of Salary | Example (at $75k salary) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1× | $75,000 |
| 35 | 2× | $150,000 |
| 40 | 3× | $225,000 |
| 45 | 4× | $300,000 |
| 50 | 6× | $450,000 |
| 55 | 7× | $525,000 |
| 60 | 8× | $600,000 |
| 67 | 10× | $750,000 |
Don't panic. Most Americans are behind on retirement savings. The Federal Reserve's 2023 Survey of Consumer Finances found that the median retirement account balance for households aged 35–44 is only around $60,000 — far below the 2× benchmark.
If you're behind, you have three levers: save more, work longer, or increase your investment returns. The easiest to control is saving more. Even an extra 1% of your salary (about $750/year on $75k) makes a huge difference over 30 years due to compound interest.
Using the 4% withdrawal rule, you need 25× your annual spending saved. If you want $60,000/year in retirement, you need $1.5 million.
Starting at age 35 with $0 saved, earning 7% average returns, you'd need to save about $1,230 per month to reach $1.5 million by age 65. That's roughly 20% of a $75,000 salary.