How Much Should You Have Saved for Retirement By 38 — Benchmarks, Reality, and What To Do Right Now

At 38, you are likely well into your career and possibly approaching or in your peak earning years. This is the time when your financial progress can feel tangible and a time when you can set yourself up for growth acceleration into your 40s. However, making sure you set money aside to reach your goals, near or far, is more important now than ever.

38 is the time you can reflect on your progress while setting yourself up for financial freedom into your 40s. A solid plan made now can allow you to approach your 40s financially confident.

Here is how you might stack up against people your age and what you can actually do about it.

What The Data Actually Says

The Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the most comprehensive study of American household finances, groups data by age bracket rather than individual age. For Americans aged 35 to 44, the median retirement savings is $45,000 and the mean is $141,520. Empower's January 2026 data from their financial dashboard shows Americans in their 30s have a median of $92,533.

The gap between those two numbers tells an important story. The Federal Reserve bracket covers everyone from 35 to 44. Someone just turning 35 and someone approaching 45 are lumped together, which affects the median. The Empower figure reflects people engaged enough with their finances to use a financial dashboard. Neither number is your target. They are simply a starting point for understanding where most people stand.

There is another reason these averages can mislead. Both the mean and median get skewed by outliers, where a small number of people with very high balances pull the average upward significantly. The median is the more honest picture of where a typical American your age actually stands. And even then, roughly 54% of American households have zero dedicated retirement savings at all. If you have anything saved, you are already ahead of more than half the country.

The Benchmark That Matters

So what should you have saved at 38? The answer depends on your income, but there is a widely cited benchmark worth knowing.

Fidelity, one of the largest retirement plan providers in the country, recommends having 2x your annual salary saved by age 35 and 3x by age 40. At 38 you are in the window between those two benchmarks — working toward approximately 2.5x your salary. Someone earning $80,000 should be working toward roughly $200,000 saved. Someone earning $120,000 should be working toward roughly $300,000.

Most people at 38 have not hit that number. That is okay. Here is why it is not the crisis it might feel like.

Why 38 Is The Moment For Momentum

At 38 you have approximately 27 years before a standard retirement age of 65. That timeline is your most valuable financial asset. More valuable than your current salary, your current savings balance, or any investment you could make today.

The math of compound growth over 27 years is powerful. Consider someone turning 38 with $75,000 saved, below the Fidelity benchmark for most earners, who begins contributing $500 per month to a diversified index fund portfolio earning 8% average annual return. By age 65 that person accumulates approximately $1.17 million.

Now consider what waiting two years costs. Starting at 40 instead of 38 with identical contributions and returns costs approximately $181,000 in lost retirement wealth. Wait five years and start at 43 instead and you produce $766,000 — a difference of $404,000 from the same starting point.

Starting now is more important than the starting amount. The best financial decision you can make at 38 is consistency and discipline, not a dramatic one-time contribution, not a perfect portfolio, just deliberate monthly action sustained over time.

The Part Most Articles Miss — Your Goals Change Everything

Generic financial advice treats every 38 year old the same. You are not. A 38 year old trying to fund their children's college needs a completely different investment strategy than a 38 year old whose primary focus is retirement in 27 years. Treating all of your money the same way is one of the most common and costly mistakes people make at this stage.

This is the core of goals-based investing, matching every dollar to its specific purpose and timeline. Here is what that looks like in practice:

The Three Moves That Matter Most Right Now

Not all financial moves are created equal at 38. Here are the three that produce the highest return for your effort.

The Bottom Line

38 is not a deadline. It is the point where you can build serious momentum heading into your 40s. The people who look back at 65 and feel genuinely financially secure are almost always the ones who stayed the course in their late 30s, not because they had more money than everyone else, but because they started acting with intention while time was still their most powerful asset.

Putting together a sustainable and actionable financial plan at 38 gives you a runway that nobody a decade older can replicate. The math is in your favor. Use it.

OraFi is being built to show you exactly where you stand against real benchmarks, match your investments to your specific goals and timeline, and give you a clear picture of what it would actually take to get where you want to go. Free. Built by a CFA Charterholder. No conflicts, no commissions, no jargon. Take a first look at what we are building.