Most retirement benchmarks you encounter — the 2× salary rule, the 10× rule, the 15% savings rate — are forward-looking models built on assumptions about income growth, investment returns, and spending needs. They tell you where you should be. They do not tell you where Americans actually are.
The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances is different. Conducted every three years, it is the most comprehensive study of American household finances in existence — covering wealth, income, debt, and retirement savings across a nationally representative sample. It does not model where people should be. It measures where they are.
Here is what the 2022 data — the most recent available — actually shows.
The Full Data Table — All Age Groups
The SCF organizes retirement account data by age bracket. The table below shows the median and mean retirement account balances for each group, alongside the commonly cited Fidelity salary multiplier benchmarks for reference.
| Age Group | Median Balance | Mean Balance | % With Any Savings | Fidelity Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | $18,880 | $49,130 | ~50% | 1× salary |
| 35–44 | $45,000 | $141,520 | ~60% | 2× salary |
| 45–54 | $115,000 | $254,720 | ~70% | 3–4× salary |
| 55–64 | $185,000 | $408,420 | ~80% | 6× salary |
| 65–74 | $200,000 | $426,070 | ~90% | 8× salary |
| 75 and older | $130,000 | $357,920 | ~90% | — |
Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 2022. federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm. Balances reflect all retirement accounts including 401(k), IRA, 403(b), and similar vehicles. Fidelity salary multiplier benchmarks shown for reference only — they are aspirational targets, not derived from SCF data. "% With Any Savings" figures are approximate. The 2025 SCF results are expected in late 2026.
Two things stand out immediately. First, the jump between the under-35 median ($18,880) and the 35–44 median ($45,000) is significant — more than doubling — reflecting higher incomes and longer savings periods. Second, the 75+ median is lower than the 65–74 median, which reflects active drawdown: people spending their savings in retirement, exactly as intended.
Why Median and Mean Tell Very Different Stories
The single most important thing to understand about this data is the gap between median and mean — and why it matters for how you interpret your own position.
For the 35–44 age bracket, the median is $45,000. The mean is $141,520 — more than three times higher. That gap does not mean most people have $141,520. It means a small number of households with very large balances are pulling the average upward dramatically. The median is unaffected by those outliers. It simply tells you what the person in the exact middle of the distribution has.
This matters practically: if you are 38 and have $60,000 saved, you are above the median for your age group. Comparing yourself to the mean would make you feel behind. The median is the more useful benchmark — it tells you where most people your age actually stand, not where the average is dragged by outliers.
"The median is the most honest number in this dataset. It tells you what a typical American your age actually has — not what a statistical average distorted by high earners suggests."
What the SCF Measures — and What It Doesn't
Understanding what counts in the SCF data matters for interpreting it correctly. The retirement account figures include balances in all dedicated retirement vehicles: traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, government pension account balances (where a cash value exists), Keogh accounts, and similar defined contribution plans.
The pension exclusion is particularly important. A 55-year-old public school teacher with a defined benefit pension guaranteeing $3,500/month in retirement may show $0 in SCF retirement account data, but their actual retirement security far exceeds someone with $200,000 in a 401(k). The SCF measures account balances, not total retirement wealth.
How the Data Has Changed Since 2019
The 2022 SCF showed meaningful improvement over the 2019 survey across most age groups, driven by strong market performance between 2019 and 2021 and increased retirement account participation. The 35–44 median rose from approximately $37,000 in 2019 to $45,000 in 2022 — a 21% increase over three years, outpacing inflation over the same period.
The 55–64 age group saw the largest absolute gains, reflecting the combination of long compounding periods and strong equity markets. However, the share of households with zero retirement savings remained stubbornly high across all age groups, highlighting that aggregate improvement masks a persistent divide between those who are saving systematically and those who are not participating at all.
Where You Stand — A Practical Reference
The numbers below give you a quick sense of position relative to the median for three key age brackets. These are not targets — they are descriptions of where Americans currently stand.
One consistent pattern across every age group: the Fidelity benchmarks sit well above the SCF medians. For the 35–44 group, the median is $45,000 while the 2× target for a $75,000 earner is $150,000 — more than three times the median. This is not a flaw in the Fidelity benchmarks. It reflects that most Americans are saving less than they need to, which is precisely the problem those benchmarks are designed to highlight.
If you are at or above the Fidelity benchmark for your age, you are not just ahead of the typical American — you are substantially ahead. If you are at the median, you are exactly average, which is a starting point for improvement rather than a comfortable destination.
"The Fidelity benchmarks and the Fed data are answering different questions. The SCF tells you where Americans are. The Fidelity multipliers tell you where you need to be. The gap between them is the retirement savings crisis in a single comparison."
Frequently Asked Questions
The Survey of Consumer Finances is a triennial study conducted by the Federal Reserve Board that measures the financial conditions of American households. It collects data on income, wealth, debt, and retirement savings from a nationally representative sample. It is widely considered the most comprehensive source of household financial data in the United States and is used by researchers, policymakers, and financial institutions as the primary benchmark for understanding American household finances.
According to the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the median retirement account balance for Americans under 35 is $18,880. The mean (average) is $49,130 — significantly higher due to a small number of high-balance households pulling the average up. The median is the more representative figure for most people in this age group.
The Federal Reserve's 2022 SCF shows the median retirement account balance for Americans aged 35–44 is $45,000. The mean is $141,520. The large gap between median and mean reflects that a small number of high-balance households significantly distort the average. Someone aged 35–44 with $50,000 saved is slightly above the median for their age group.
The mean is pulled upward by a small number of households with very large retirement balances. For example, a single household with $2 million saved in the same bracket as 99 households with $40,000 would raise the mean dramatically while leaving the median unchanged. Retirement savings are highly unequally distributed in the United States, which makes the median far more representative of where most Americans actually stand than the mean.
No — the SCF retirement account balances reflect defined contribution accounts only (401k, IRA, 403b, etc.) where there is a specific account balance. Traditional defined benefit pensions, which pay a fixed monthly benefit in retirement, are generally not captured as a balance in these figures because most pensions do not have a reportable lump-sum cash value. If you have a defined benefit pension, your actual retirement wealth is higher than the SCF account balance data would suggest.
The Federal Reserve conducts the SCF every three years. The 2022 survey is the most recent publicly available data. The 2025 data collection has been completed and results are expected to be published in late 2026. OraFi will update its benchmarks when the 2025 data becomes available.
See where you actually stand.
OraFi uses the actual Federal Reserve SCF data as your peer benchmark — so you can compare your savings to real Americans your age, not a rule of thumb. Free, always.
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