Here's how much money you should have saved at every age (2024)

Editor's Note: APYs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. CNBC Select will update as changes are made public.

How much you should be saving for retirement is an age-old question that just about everybody wants to know.

While the answer has a lot to do with when you plan to retire and the type of lifestyle you want to have in retirement, there are some general guidelines that you can follow at every age to help get you there.

How much money to have saved at every age

According to retirement-plan providerFidelity Investments, the rule of thumb is to save 10 times your income if you want to retire by age 67. Adjust this amount if you want to retire any earlier or later. Those retiring at 62 (the earliest you can claim Social Security) will need to save more to compensate for an additional five years without income. Those retiring at 70 probably won't need the full amount of 10 times their income, as they will have worked an additional three years and presumably have fewer years left to spend their savings.

While Fidelity's guideline is a big goal, it's more manageable when you start early and have many years to reach it. Fidelity suggests the followingage-based savings milestonesthat would provide enough income for you to continue your current lifestyle in retirement (rather than planning to downsize or spend more).

Here's how much cash they say you should have stashed away at every age:

  • Savings by age 30: the equivalent of your annual salary saved; if you earn $55,000 per year, by your 30th birthday you should have $55,000 saved
  • Savings by age 40:three times your income
  • Savings by age 50:six times your income
  • Savings by age 60: eight times your income
  • Savings by age 67:ten times your income

The above savings guidelines include anything you have in a retirement account, like a 401(k) or Roth IRA, company matches, as well as your investments in things like index funds or through robo-advisers. While personal savings goals can differ between individuals, these milestones can help you stay on track or kick it into gear if you're nowhere close.

Learn more: Here's where experts recommend you should put your money during an inflation surge

Compare offers to find the best savings account

How to start saving

To reach the above suggestions, Fidelity recommendsthat you save 15% of your income each year (since age 25) and that, over your lifetime, you invest more than 50% of your savings in stocks to get a higher return on your money.

If this seems like a lofty goal for your finances, you're not alone.

An Oct. 2022 Goldman Sachs Asset Management retirement survey found that over a third of millennials said they need to catch up on their retirement savings.

But anyone, no matter their age or amount in savings, can get started with the same principles. Thanks to compound interest, which means you earn interest on interest, it's beneficial to start saving early — even if it's a small, regular contribution — and let it build over years and decades.

It's also important to balance short-term savings goals. Experts typically recommend having at least three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund in case of job loss or an unexpected cost. Savings accounts provide a place to save your cash so that it's easily accessible. An online high-yield savings accountcan help grow your money faster than a normal savings account would.

Learn more: This 3-question checklist will help you determine when you're ready to invest your money

CNBC Select found that putting just $20 in a high-yield savings each week can help you save over $1,000 in a year. This whittles down to saving less than $3 per day, which just goes to show you don't need to have a lot of money to start preparing for your future.

You can make it even easier on yourself by setting up direct deposit from your checking account and having the money automatically transfer into your savings. Sallie Krawcheck, former Wall Street titan and CEO of digital investment platformEllevest, saysautomatingyour savings is hernumber-one piece of advice.

To get started, consider a high-yield savings account that offers a yield greater than the national average savings rate and comes with zero monthly fees and no minimum deposits or balance requirements.

The LendingClub High-Yield Savings account offers 4.50% APY regardless of your account balance. Unlike many savings accounts, account holders can also receive a free ATM card for easy withdrawals.

LendingClub High-Yield Savings

LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC

  • Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

    5.00%

  • Minimum balance

    No minimum balance requirement after $100.00 to open the account

  • Monthly fee

    None

  • Maximum transactions

    None

  • Excessive transactions fee

    None

  • Overdraft fees

    N/A

  • Offer checking account?

    Yes

  • Offer ATM card?

    Yes

Terms apply.

A second option would be theSynchrony Bank High Yield Savings. It also offers a high APY and all savings account holders can receive an ATM card (with no checking account requirement). A savings account is meant to grow your money over the short-term, but if an emergency comes up it's good to know you have easy access to your cash.

Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings

Synchrony Bank is a Member FDIC.

  • Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

    4.75% APY

  • Minimum balance

    None

  • Monthly fee

    None

  • Maximum transactions

    Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

  • Excessive transactions fee

    None

  • Overdraft fee

    None

  • Offer checking account?

    No

  • Offer ATM card?

    Yes

Terms apply.

Learn more:Looking for a safe place to stash your cash? The pros and cons of keeping your money in a high-yield savings account

In addition, you should be saving money in a retirement account, such as an IRA, which is offered by brokerages like Charles Schwab. These accounts offer tax benefits and encourage you to leave your funds untouched by imposing early withdrawal penalty fees should you tap into your earnings before age 59 and a half.

Charles Schwab

  • Minimum deposit and balance

    Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. No account minimum for active investing through Schwab One®Brokerage Account. Automated investing through Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® requires a $5,000 minimum deposit

  • Fees

    Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Schwab One®Brokerage Account has no account fees, $0 commission fees for stock and ETF trades, $0 transaction fees for over 4,000 mutual funds and a $0.65 fee per options contract

  • Bonus

    None

  • Investment vehicles

    Robo-advisor: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium™ IRA: Charles Schwab Traditional, Roth, Rollover, Inherited and Custodial IRAs; plus, a Personal Choice Retirement Account® (PCRA) Brokerage and trading: Schwab One®Brokerage Account, Brokerage Account + Specialized Platforms and Support for Trading, Schwab Global Account™ and Schwab Organization Account

  • Investment options

    Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs and ETFs

  • Educational resources

    Extensive retirement planning tools

Terms apply.

Find the best savings account for you:Help your money grow by finding the savings account that offers the best rates and features for you.

Bottom line

Having savings milestones for eachdecade of your life can help motivate you to save, knowing that the end goal means retirement at the age of 67.

But the main takeaway is that you can start saving now, no matter what age you are. The first step is to have a plan and start putting aside the cash you can today.

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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

Here's how much money you should have saved at every age (2024)

FAQs

Here's how much money you should have saved at every age? ›

By age 35, aim to save one to one-and-a-half times your current salary for retirement. By age 50, that goal is three-and-a-half to six times your salary. By age 60, your retirement savings goal may be six to 11-times your salary. Ranges increase with age to account for a wide variety of incomes and situations.

How much money should I have saved at every age? ›

But you have many years to get there. To help you stay on track, we suggest these age-based milestones: Aim to save at least 1x your income by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, and 8x by 60. Your personal savings goal may be different based on various factors including 2 key ones described below.

Is 20k in savings good at 30? ›

If you're looking for a ballpark figure, Taylor Kovar, certified financial planner and CEO of Kovar Wealth Management says, “By age 30, a good rule of thumb is to aim to have saved the equivalent of your annual salary. Let's say you're earning $50,000 a year. By 30, it would be beneficial to have $50,000 saved.

Is 30k in savings good at 25? ›

By the time you're 25, you probably have accrued at least a few years in the workforce, so you may be starting to think seriously about saving money. But saving might still be a challenge if you're earning an entry-level salary or you have significant student loan debt. By age 25, you should have saved about $20,000.

Can I retire at 60 with 300k? ›

£300k in a pension isn't a huge amount to retire on at the fairly young age of 60, but it's possible for certain lifestyles depending on how your pension fund performs while you're retired and how much you need to live on.

Can I retire at 60 with 500k? ›

The short answer is yes, $500,000 is enough for many retirees. The question is how that will work out for you. With an income source like Social Security, modes spending, and a bit of good luck, this is feasible. And when two people in your household get Social Security or pension income, it's even easier.

At what age should you have $100000 saved? ›

“By the time you hit 33 years old, you should have $100,000 saved somewhere,” he said, urging viewers that they can accomplish this goal. “Save 20 percent of your paycheck and let the market grow at 5% to 7% per year,” O'Leary said in the video.

Is 100K in savings good at 30? ›

“By the time you're 40, you should have three times your annual salary saved. Based on the median income for Americans in this age bracket, $100K between 25-30 years old is pretty good; but you would need to increase your savings to reach your age 40 benchmark.”

Where should I be financially at 35? ›

One common benchmark is to have two times your annual salary in net worth by age 35. So, for example, say that you earn the U.S. median income of $74,500. This means that you will want to have $740,500 saved up by age 67. To reach this goal, at age 35 you may want to have about $149,000 in savings.

What is the 50 30 20 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

Is saving $1000 a month good? ›

Saving $1,000 per month can be a good sign, as it means you're setting aside money for emergencies and long-term goals. However, if you're ignoring high-interest debt to meet your savings goals, you might want to switch gears and focus on paying off debt first.

Is 40k a lot of money saved? ›

While $40,000 is a good start on the road to building a nest egg, you probably want to retire with a lot more money than that. But it may be more than possible if you commit to saving and investing in a brokerage account consistently for the remainder of your career.

How much should a 25 year old have in a 401k? ›

Average and median 401(k) balance by age
AgeAverage Account BalanceMedian Account Balance
Under 25$5,236$1,948
25-34$30,017$11,357
35-44$76,354$28,318
45-54$142,069$48,301
3 more rows
Feb 6, 2024

Can I retire at 60 with $400,000? ›

While retiring on $400,000 is possible, you may need to adjust your lifestyle expectations if this is your final retirement amount. If you want to retire early, $400,000 might be a difficult number to make stretch.

Is $1000000 enough to retire at 60? ›

It's definitely possible, but there are several factors to consider—including cost of living, the taxes you'll owe on your withdrawals, and how you want to live in retirement—when thinking about how much money you'll need to retire in the future.

How long will $300,000 last in retirement? ›

How long will $300,000 last in retirement? If you have $300,000 and withdraw 4% per year, that number could last you roughly 25 years. Thats $12,000, which is not enough to live on its own unless you have additional income like Social Security and own your own place. Luckily, that $300,000 can go up if you invest it.

Can I retire at 50 with 300k? ›

With $300,000 planned for your use as a retiree, a retirement age of 50, and an anticipated life expectancy of 85 years, you need that money to last you 35 years. This should mean that your yearly income is around $8,571, and your monthly payment is around $714.

Is 40k in savings good? ›

While $40,000 is a good start on the road to building a nest egg, you probably want to retire with a lot more money than that. But it may be more than possible if you commit to saving and investing in a brokerage account consistently for the remainder of your career.

How much money is good for each age? ›

Fast answer: Rule of thumb: Have 1x your annual income saved by age 30, 3x by 40, and so on. See chart below. The sooner you start saving for retirement, the longer you have to take advantage of the power of compound interest.

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