Here’s how much the average working baby boomer has saved for retirement — how do your savings stack up?
How much money do you really need to retire?
Moneywise
8 min read
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With the youngest baby boomers now 61, much of the generation is already retired or nearing retirement. However, data shows many have inadequate savings and may struggle to maintain their standard of living.
In fact, some boomers have saved so little that younger Americans could surpass them with just a few years of disciplined saving and investing.
Here’s a closer look at the boomers’ financial state — and what it takes to get ahead on the path to financial freedom.
Most boomers fall short
At the end of 2024, boomers had an average 401(k) balance of $249,300, according to Fidelity Investments. (1)
Many also hold other assets such as savings accounts, brokerage accounts and real estate. However, Fidelity also reports that the median net worth of households led by someone aged 65 to 74 is just $409,900. (2)
These figures fall short of recommended retirement benchmarks. Fidelity suggests retirees should aim for savings equal to ten times their annual salary by age 67. With the median salary for Americans aged 55 to 64 at $65,936, according to SmartAsset, (3) this implies a target of about $659,360.
Yet, most expectations are even higher.
A Northwestern Mutual survey found that the average “magic number” Americans say they will need for retirement is $1.26 million. (4) With average savings and net worth well below that figure, it’s no surprise that about 40% of boomers say they are at least somewhat likely to outlive their savings. And, keep in mind, this figure is for a typical retirement — no retiring early factored in.
With limited resources, many boomers may be forced to take on debt, rely heavily on Social Security, cut back their lifestyles or even return to work to maintain their quality of life.
But if you’re not part of this cohort, there’s still time to chart a different course. And if you are there are still a few things you can do.
How to get ahead
Whatever your personal “magic number” for retirement may be, starting early and staying consistent can get you there — often well ahead of where the average boomer stands today.
The median salary for someone aged 35 to 54 ranges between $69,472 and $70,512, according to SmartAsset. Fidelity recommends having 2x your salary by age 35, 4x by 45 and 7x by 55. To hit these milestones, Fidelity suggests saving 15% of your pre-tax income, invested in a diversified portfolio focused on growth and income.
For example, if you earn $70,000 and consistently save 15% per year in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund — which has averaged about 10% annual returns since 1957 — you could reach 2x your income in around nine years and 7x in about 18 years.
If you’re not sure how to find an extra 15% in your budget for retirement investments, consider starting small with an automated investing platform like Acorns, which can help you squirrel away your spare change.
By signing up and linking your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds up the price of everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into a smart investment portfolio for you.
With consistent contributions to blue-chip ETFs like VOO, which tracks the S&P 500, Acorns ensures your money can grow steadily, and your spare change can be a real contribution to your retirement fund.
But if saving your spare change isn’t enough, Acorns also lets you set up recurring monthly contributions for your portfolio. The best part? If you sign up with just a $5 monthly deposit Acorns will give you $20 to get your investment journey off on the right foot.
With consistent investment on these terms, you could surpass the average boomer’s 401(k) balance of $249,300 in just over 12 years, provided you’re saving that 15%.
In short, consistency pays off — and you don’t need to be wealthy to build a secure retirement. If you want to reach your target even faster, you can increase your savings rate or grow your income over time.
One of the best ways to find room in your budget for more investing is to ensure you’re consistently tracking your saving and spending. With Monarch Money, this process is easier than ever.
Monarch Money is a financial management platform that offers an all-in-one tool to help you track investments, spending and budgeting. The platform even offers personalized advice so you can feel confident about your money, and learn to create a budget and financial plan that helps you set aside the right percentage of your income for retirement savings.
You can also feel confident about sharing your financial data with Monarch Money — the app is protected by Plaid for secure data integration, and employs multi-factor authentication at login, so you can keep your accounts safe. Plus, they offer a shared account view so you and a spouse can plan for the future together.
Download the app now for a seven-day free trial. After that, you can get 50% off your first year with the code MONARCHVIP.
Diversify your next egg
Even more important than consistent saving is to ensure that your money is invested wisely.
Diversifying your retirement portfolio will spread your risk across multiple growth vehicles and can prevent any dips in the stock market from drastically reducing your portfolio's worth in the last years before you retire. Alternative assets are one area that can provide some protection against a broader downturn in stocks and bonds. This asset class includes real estate, private equity, cryptocurrency and the like.
But one alternative asset that’s proven its resilience, especially this year, is gold.
Gold prices reached historic highs of $4,300 per ounce in mid-October. (5) Often, this precious yellow metal is seen as inflation-resistant and a “safe haven” investment from market turmoil.
You could get in on the market for this commodity and get tax advantages for retirement to boot, by investing in a gold IRA with Goldco.
Opening a gold IRA with the help of Goldco allows you to invest in gold and other precious metals while also providing the significant tax advantages of an IRA.
If you’re curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today. Just keep in mind that gold is often only one part of a well-diversified portfolio.
Real estate is another high-growth avenue for diversifying your retirement. While not everyone has the capital to invest in a rental property, you can now invest in shares of properties through Arrived.
Backed by world class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived’s easy-to-use platform allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties — which can potentially give you a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord.
To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for its potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100, potentially earning quarterly dividends.
Meanwhile, if you’re an accredited investor, Homeshares allows you to gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
The fund focuses on homes with substantial equity, utilizing Home Equity Agreements to help homeowners access liquidity without incurring debt or additional interest payments.
This approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in high-quality residential properties, plus the added benefit of diversification across regional markets — and all with a minimum investment of $25,000.
With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, Homeshares could unlock lucrative real estate opportunities, offering accredited investors a low-maintenance alternative to traditional property ownership.
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The roughly 71.6 million men and women of the postwar baby-boom generation started hitting retirement age about a decade ago. But it’ll be another dozen years before the whole generation has reached its full retirement age.
So how exactly is retirement shaping up for the generation that went from Woodstock and Watergate to iPhones and Instagram?
According to the latest available numbers via the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the average retirement savings balance was $333,940. That might sound like a respectable amount of cash, but that produces just $13,357 a year, or $1,113 a month.
And in the same year, however, the median retirement balance among households was actually only $87,000.
In many cases, that money gets nibbled away by income tax, too. With that in mind, here are three strategies to bolster your retirement savings.
Get expert financial advice
According to the Federal Reserve, only 36% of non-retirees thought their retirement savings were on track as of 2021. If you feel you could use some help getting your finances back on track, consider reaching out to a financial advisor.
Prudence in financial matters comes more easily when you have great advisors in your corner. If you want advice on how much cash you should hold in your portfolio, and how to invest for safety in this market, consider finding a financial advisor through Advisor.com.
This online platform connects you with vetted financial advisors best suited to help you develop a plan for your new wealth.
Just answer a few quick questions about yourself and your finances and the platform will match you with an experienced financial professional. You can view their profile, read past client reviews, and schedule an initial consultation for free with no obligation to hire.
Not only are retirement savings important for you, they affect your loved ones too. When you opt out of life insurance, you are leaving your family on the hook for things like medical and end-of-life expenses.
If you’re concerned that Medicare might not cover your expenses, there are other insurance options you can consider.
Long-term care insurance offers coverage for the costs of in-home assistance, nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
Without proper planning, paying for long-term care could deplete your retirement fund. In many cases, the burden of paying for care often falls on family members – potentially straining their finances.
When considering long-term care insurance, GoldenCare offers different options based on your needs, including hybrid life or annuity with long-term care benefits, short-term care, extended care, home health care, assisted living, and traditional long-term care insurance.
Working longer not only delays taking money out of your retirement investments, which allows them to continue compounding earnings growth, but it also pushes back the age at which you’ll need to start collecting Social Security payments.
Take that $333,940 investment portfolio. Invested in a conservative portfolio returning 5% annually — the historical average return on stocks is 11.9% — that money would grow to $384,031 in three years. Assuming you’re following the 4% rule for withdrawals, that would amount to $15,361 per year — an increase of $2,004 each year.
Add more to your retirement savings
However, it isn’t always easy to find spare change in your budget to invest with — until now.
With Acorns, you can turn spending into savings, thanks to their automated investment platform.
All you have to do is link your bank account and spend as you normally would. Acorns will round up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar, and then invest that spare change in a diversified portfolio built by experts, and are managed by top investing firms.
Plus, Acorns lets you customize how you save. With an Acorns Silver plan, you get access to Acorns Later, a retirement investment account with a 1% IRA match on new contributions.
With Acorns Gold, you get a 3% IRA match on new contributions and the ability to customize your portfolio by selecting your own stocks.
Signing up for Acorns takes less than five minutes, and if you sign up now, you can get a $20 bonus investment.
Finally, consider diversifying your retirement savings outside of the stock market. As a baby boomer, you’ve seen your share of swings in share prices — but you’ve also seen massive growth in commodities like gold. Did you know you can tie your retirement savings to this more stable investment with a gold IRA?
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.
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.
To learn more about how Priority Gold can help you reduce inflation’s impact on your nest egg, download their free 2025 gold investor bundle.
JPMorgan tells Americans to stop chasing $1,000,000 in savings — so how much money should you really save?
Moneywise
9 min read
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For most Americans, the “magic number” for retirement is $1.26 million, according to Northwestern Mutual. (1)
But it’s easy to forget that retirement isn’t really about hitting a specific dollar target — it’s about replacing your income so you can sustain your lifestyle without working.
This crucial difference was highlighted in JPMorgan Asset Management’s 2025 Guide to Retirement. (2) The banking giant’s guide shows that many people can retire comfortably if they shift their attention away from becoming millionaires to simply replacing their current income.
Here’s a closer look at the underlying calculations.
Income replacement
If your primary objective is to replace your current income, then you’ll require a more modest amount for retirement if you’re lower or middle income.
JPMorgan’s report shows that households with relatively low income can rely more on Social Security benefits and employer-backed private retirement schemes, replacing their current earnings, relative to higher earners. A family earning $300,000, for instance, could see only 55% of their income replaced by these sources.
Therefore, according to JPMorgan’s calculations, for households with annual income of $125,000 and above, a seven-figure savings target could be justified.
Their income replacement calculations suggest that for households with income below $90,000, you can maintain an equivalent lifestyle in retirement with a 5% annual gross savings rate, or $4,500 per year. The average personal savings rate for Americans was 4.6% in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. (3)
Meanwhile, for households making $100,000 or more, JP Morgan’s analysis uses a 10% annual gross savings rate instead.
While those may seem like lofty numbers, there are ways to grow your savings in the background to easily build wealth for retirement.
With Acorns, every purchase on your credit or debit card is automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the excess placed into a smart investment portfolio.
Let’s say you purchase a doughnut for $2.30. Before you’re done licking the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round the amount to $3.00 and invest the 70-cent difference for you.
Look at this math: $2.50 worth of daily round-ups adds up to $900 per year — and that’s before your savings earn money in the market. If you’re a little short of your savings rate goal, this could easily take you over the line.
Plus, if you sign up now with a recurring monthly deposit of at least $5, you can get a $20 bonus investment. This can give you an extra boost if the round-ups aren’t quite enough to meet your goals.
However, your retirement savings checkpoint will depend on your household income.
A 40-year-old with a household income of $50,000 should have current savings of $105,000. On the other hand, a 40-year-old with a household income of $90,000 should have current savings of $220,000.
For someone with average earnings who retired in 2024 at age 65, Social Security benefits replaced about 39% of past earnings, according to the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). (4) It’s likely that many of these retirees also had other sources of income, such as private retirement plans that cover a portion of their needs.
Regardless, make sure you have an emergency fund set aside, no matter how much you manage to stow away in retirement investments. After all, you’ll want to have an easily accessible account that you can dip into if need be.
To get started, a high-yield account, such as a Wealthfront Cash Account, can be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash Account can provide a base variable APY of 3.75%, but Moneywise readers can get an exclusive 0.50% boost over their first three months for a boosted APY of 4.25% provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. That’s over ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s September report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can ensure your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $16 million per depositor are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
While an arbitrary savings target might simplify your retirement plan, it isn’t always realistic. According to Investopedia’s analysis of Federal Reserve data, only 3.2% of retirees and only about 2.6% of Americans have $1 million in retirement. (5) That means a seven-figure target is unrealistic for most.
Based on the income-replacement model, JPMorgan estimates that the typical American household needs far less than $1 million to retire comfortably. A household earning $90,000, for example, with an annual gross savings rate of 5% should reach $700,000 in savings by the age of 65 to “maintain an equivalent lifestyle in retirement.”
If the household earns $30,000 or $50,000, the target is $175,000 and $350,000, respectively.
The numbers will vary greatly, which is one of many reasons it might be worth speaking with a qualified professional about your retirement goals.
Advisor.com can help connect you with a financial advisor suited to your needs and based in your area. All of their advisors are pre-vetted fiduciaries, meaning that they have a legal obligation to act in your best interest.
After inputting your ZIP code to get matched with a nearby financial professional, you can set up a free call with no obligation to hire to make sure they’re a good fit for you.
Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, from your banking statements to your investments. You can also add separate or joint accounts to your dashboard, which can be great for tracking your household retirement savings rather than having to manually combine information from all of your accounts.
The app is also well reviewed. Forbes and the Wall Street Journal ranked Monarch Money as their best budgeting app for 2025.
The best part? Monarch Money offers a seven-day free trial so you can see if it’s right for you. If you like what you see, you could then snag 50% off with code MONARCHVIP to get a bird’s eye view on your path to retirement.
Other ways to grow your income
Beyond building your nest egg through cash, savings and investing strategies, it may be worth considering alternative assets such as real estate.
Investing in real estate can add diversification to your portfolio and can provide regular income distributions as well.
But if you aren’t ready to jump into home ownership (financially or otherwise), there are platforms like Arrived that let you buy stakes in rental properties, earn dividends and skip the responsibilities of property management.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived’s easy-to-use platform offers SEC-qualified investments such as rental homes and vacation rentals for as little as $100.
Their flexible investment options allow both accredited and non-accredited investors to benefit from this inflation-hedging asset class with ease. You can start by browsing vetted properties, then it’s as simple as selecting a property and choosing the number of shares to buy.
You could also invest in home equity. While the $34.9 trillion U.S. home equity market has historically been reserved for large institutions, Homeshares is stirring things up.
Homeshares allows accredited investors to gain direct exposure to a portfolio of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the hassles of buying, owning or managing property.
And the best part? For a limited time, Homeshares will provide Moneywise readers with an exclusive 5% bonus on IRA investments to get you even further ahead.
The fund focuses on homes with substantial equity, using Home Equity Agreements (HEAs) to let homeowners access liquidity without taking on debt or interest payments. This can create an attractive, low-maintenance investment vehicle for retirement savers, with a minimum investment of $25,000.
JPMorgan’s calculations hinge on the supplemental income from Social Security; however, the program’s funding is in jeopardy.
Beneficiaries could face a 24% cut by 2032, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), and a 30% or greater cut by 2099. (6)
The bank acknowledges that this can be avoided if Congress acts to bolster the program’s trust funds before they run dry, but if you are relatively young and not optimistic about lawmakers solving this problem, you may need a higher savings target to ensure a comfortable retirement.
Northwestern Mutual (1); JP Morgan (2); Bureau of Economic Analysis (3); Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities (4); Investopedia (5); Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (6)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
How Much Should the Average Middle-Class Boomer Have in Savings?
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Cara Danielle Brown
3 min read
With economic uncertainty around every market dip and Social Security benefits being tenuous at best, padding your retirement accounts while battling the rising cost of living is getting harder and harder. Baby boomers in America are already at or near retirement. So, how much should the average middle-class boomer have in savings to comfortably weather their golden years?
While Andrew Latham, certified financial planner (CFP) and managing editor at SuperMoney, stated there’s no one-size-fits-all answer given factors like debt, present funds, possible bequests, medical expenditures and expected inheritances, there are a couple of popular rules of thumb that can help guide retirement savings goals.
In the United States, the middle class is generally defined as households earning between two-thirds and double the national median income. Here are two rules that everyone, especially those with middle-class household incomes, should consider when smoothing out their retirement income levels.
Rule #1: Save 10-12 Times Your Annual Income
Many analysts, along with the Pew Research Center, define middle-class as someone making a median household income between $56,600 and $169,800 annually. Here are some estimations that financial experts recommend for the baby boomer generation retiring in the United States:
$56,600 annual income x (10 to 12) = $566,000 to $679,200 in savings
$169,800 annual income x (10 to 12) = $1.7 million to just over $2 million in savings
So, baby boomers retiring with less than about $566,000 in their savings account could have a less than sunny outlook in the long term.
Latham explained that this rule creates a much more personalized target. The idea is to save 25 times your estimated annual retirement expenses — which assumes a 4% annual withdrawal. So, whether you retire at age 65, 67 or 70, here are some savings goals to consider.
First, calculate your annual retirement expenses, which are estimated to be about 75% of your pre-retirement living expenses, “as you’ll likely spend less on work-related costs and saving for retirement.” (For this model, an annual income to signify pre-retirement living expenses was used.) Next, subtract any expected annual fixed income, like Social Security or pensions, to determine what your savings need to cover. Finally, multiply that number by 25.
.75 x $56,600 annual income = $42,450 annual retirement expenses
$42,450 – $20,000 expected Social Security = $22,450 needed in annual savings
$22,450 x 25 = $561,250 in overall savings
Or…
.75 x $169,800 annual income = $127,350 annual retirement expenses
$127,350 – $30,000 expected Social Security = $97,350 needed in annual savings
$97,350 x 25 = $2.43 million in overall median retirement savings
The bottom line, says Latham, is that the goal is not to meet some arbitrary number but to have a realistic plan that fits every individual’s needs and goals.
Do you know how many Americans retire with the coveted $1 million nest egg? How to catch up if you’re behind
Moneywise
8 min read
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Planning for retirement is a long-term financial goal for most Americans, but how many actually reach the coveted seven-figure savings goal? More importantly, how much do you really need?
The answer may surprise you.
With inflation, the rising cost of living, and lower employer contributions to pension plans, saving for retirement is anything but easy right now.
In fact, a Congressional Research Service analysis of the 2022 Federal Reserve data shows that only 4.6% of American households had more than $1 million in their retirement accounts.
According to the Northwestern Mutual 2025 Planning & Progress Study, most Americans feel they'll need $1.26 million for true financial security in retirement.
Heere are a few things to consider if you want to ensure you catch up on saving for that comfy retirement.
Are you behind?
It is worth noting that half of U.S. retirees have less than $145,000 saved, according to a Clever Real Estate retirement survey, about four times less than retirement plan provider Fidelity recommends for retirement.
A shocking 37% of retirees report having no retirement savings at all. This number has been growing due to various factors, including 40% of retirees being forced to take early retirement — for reasons ranging from personal health to being made redundant by an employer.
With so many factors to consider, it’s important to understand exactly what your financial goals are and how to prepare accordingly. It may be worth worth your while to connect with a financial advisor through Advisor.com.
This online platform connects you with vetted financial advisors best suited to help you develop a plan for your new wealth.
Just answer a few quick questions about yourself and your finances and the platform will match you with an experienced financial professional. You can view their profile, read past client reviews, and schedule an initial consultation for free with no obligation to hire.
According to experts like Suze Orman, even if you have a cool $2 million in the bank for retirement, that’s still "chump change". She warned you’ll need plenty more to retire comfortably if you expect to live into your 90s.
The figures are wide ranging. But that’s to be expected, given everyone’s golden number is different. No matter the amount you’re aiming for, starting sooner rather than later is always better.
If you want to put boost your nest egg over time without having to think about it, you can use Acorns to start saving and investing for retirement with just your spare change.
When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, Acorns automatically rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and places the excess into a smart investment portfolio. This way, even the most essential spending translates to money saved for the future.
For those looking to enhance their investing strategy as well, Acorns offers different tier memberships, including a Gold tier that allows you to customize your portfolio by adding individual stocks and includes a retirement account with a 3% IRA match.
Whether or not you’re behind, a quick win to accelerate your retirement pot is to maximize your IRA contributions. For 2024, the annual contribution limit is $7,000 if you’re under 50, or $8,000 if you’re over 50.
Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible, so you can lower the taxable income you report in the year you make contributions. The money then grows tax-deferred, which means you’ll pay taxes on it once you withdraw the funds during your retirement.
This can play to your advantage if you expect to be in a lower tax bracket once you retire. Be careful not to end up hit by a tax torpedo, where your Social Security benefits actually put you in a higher tax bracket than you anticipated.
Contributions to a Roth IRA differ because they’re made with your after-tax dollars, and your earnings grow tax-free. Withdrawals during retirement are also tax-free, so long as you meet the right conditions. This account is more beneficial if you anticipate you’ll be in a higher tax bracket once you retire.
If you’re still pre-retirement and feeling the need for advice on how to choose and manage the best IRA accounts for you, RothIRA.org matches you with an an advisor who can provide personalized advice.
It’s a simple, straightforward process: Simply enter your information, and then you will be automatically matched with 2 or 3 advisors that are pre-screened and licensed with SEC/FINRA who suit your needs. From there, you can schedule a free, no-obligation call to make sure your match is the right fit for you.
Plus, RothIRA.org offers peace of mind: All their advisors are pre-screened and licensed with SEC/FINRA.
But the next question after making your contributions is what to put those funds toward. There are plenty of investments you can make within an IRA, and the right mix will depend on the level of risk and return you’re seeking.
A gold IRA is one option for building up your retirement fund with an inflation-hedging asset.
Opening a gold IRA with the help of Goldco allows you to invest in gold and other precious metals in physical forms while also providing the significant tax advantages of an IRA.
On the other hand, platforms like Arrived and First National Realty Partners allow you to diversify your IRA with income-producing real estate investments.
Arrived lets you invest in residential rental properties without taking on the work of being a landlord. Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, the company offers SEC-qualified investments and flexible investment amounts.
The simplified investing process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to tap into this inflation-hedging asset class for a more diversified retirement portfolio.
Here’s how it works: Start by browsing a curated selection of homes, vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, you simply choose the number of shares you want to buy and the Arrived team takes care of all the details.
And residential properties aren’t the only way to invest in real estate through an IRA.
Commercial real estate has long been touted as a wise investment for adding stability to your portfolio, outperforming the S&P 500 over a 25-year period.
The team has developed relationships with the nation’s largest essential-needs brands, including Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods, and provides insights into the best properties both on and off-market.
You can engage with experts, explore available deals and easily make an allocation, all on FNRP’s secure platform.
According to a Vanguard consumer survey, many Americans are unsure about how much they should save or where to start. While the survey focuses on savings habits, such as building up emergency funds and reducing idle cash, it also highlights a deeper issue — widespread uncertainty surrounding financial planning.
This includes older Americans, such as baby boomers, many of whom are navigating short-term needs as they approach retirement age. Here’s how boomers can take the guesswork out of retirement planning to know they have enough saved.
1. Use a Retirement Calculator
Nearly a third (28%) of all respondents listed “not knowing where to start” as a chief reason for not saving more. However, guessing based on past income or general rules of thumb won’t cut it, especially with inflation, rising healthcare costs and longer lifespans.
Boomers can use retirement calculators from trusted financial institutions such as Vanguard or Fidelity to estimate how much they’ll need to save. These tools typically factor in a person’s age, expected expenses, desired retirement age, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and current savings to assess whether they are on track for a successful retirement.
For those seeking a more tailored approach, working with a fee-only financial advisor can provide deeper insight. Advisors often use Monte Carlo simulations, a method that models thousands of potential financial scenarios, to help clients understand their likelihood of meeting retirement goals.
Even using a general benchmark, such as aiming to replace 80% of pre-retirement income, can offer more clarity than relying on guesswork.
Relying on Social Security retirement benefits or lacking a savings plan in general is comparable to driving without a map — forward motion may still occur, but the destination is uncertain. A strong financial plan extends beyond retirement, encompassing near-term objectives, emergency reserves and timelines for various investments.
To reduce uncertainty, many financial experts recommend starting with the 50/30/20 framework, which involves allocating 50% of your income to essential needs, 30% to discretionary spending and 20% to savings and debt repayment.
That final 20% can then be divided further to cover an emergency fund, retirement contributions and short-term financial goals such as travel or medical expenses. Budgeting tools like YNAB (You Need a Budget) or PocketGuard can help automate this process and provide real-time visibility into spending habits.
For retirees or those in semi-retirement, income sources may include Social Security benefits, portfolio withdrawals or annuities. A structured withdrawal strategy, such as the 4% rule, can help ensure savings last throughout retirement by setting a sustainable pace for drawing down assets.
3. Open a High-Yield Savings Account
Many boomers have substantial savings in an employer-matched 401(k) plan, traditional IRA or Roth IRA, but lack readily accessible cash for emergencies or large purchases. Without liquidity, unexpected expenses can force you to sell investments or take on high-interest debt, thus negating any investment returns.
This is why they should consider opening a high-yield savings account (HYSA) with a competitive annual percentage yield (APY). Many currently offer 4% or higher interest rates. The goal should be to keep at least three to six months of living expenses there.
For added yield, consider a certificate of deposit (CD) ladder, which involves splitting money across multiple CDs with staggered maturity dates, ensuring some funds are always available. Vanguard and other brokerages also offer money market funds that combine safety with better interest than a checking account.
4. Set Up Automatic Transfers
Some boomers continue to earn high incomes, but steady earnings do not necessarily translate into long-term wealth. Lifestyle inflation, where spending increases as income rises, can quietly erode savings potential. In many cases, the lack of progress stems from failing to automate savings or establish consistent financial habits.
To remove the guesswork, financial planners often recommend setting up automatic transfers from checking accounts into designated savings and investment accounts, timed to occur shortly after each payday.
Using a percentage-based approach, such as allocating 10% to 15% of one’s monthly income, can help individuals naturally scale their savings as their earnings grow. Reviewing one’s savings rate twice a year and tracking net worth through platforms like Empower can provide valuable insight into overall financial progress.
5. Use Free Tech Tools
Many boomers still rely on paper statements or broad advice, overlooking tech tools that can simplify financial planning.
However, today’s platforms are designed to be user-friendly, even for those less comfortable with technology. Free tools from firms like Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab enable users to set goals, model their income, and track their investments.
Others, like Boldin and SmartAsset, help visualize scenarios such as downsizing or delaying Social Security. Even linking all accounts in a single dashboard can reveal gaps or inefficiencies, bringing greater clarity to a retirement plan.
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When it comes to planning for retirement, evaluating your nest egg is a big part of the process. The state of your retirement savings can heavily influence when you decide to retire.
Take Jim, 61, for example. He worked in corporate America for most of his career, and after he was laid off, he wondered if it might be time to take a step back. Before his layoff, he and his wife, Helen, made a combined $300,000 a year. They carry no debt and have a combined $1.5 million in savings.
While Jim would like to retire now, the decision hinges on several factors: When Helen plans to retire, how much they need to live comfortably, how long their savings will last, and the roles Social Security and Medicare will play in their plan.
To figure this out, let’s get into the numbers.
Retirement has changed — for better and worse
The retirement landscape has changed dramatically since the turn of the century. According to Pew Research, the pandemic increased the rate at which people left the workforce, with just over half of U.S. adults over 55 reporting that they were retired by the end of 2021. (1)
On the other hand, people are also increasingly working longer. In 2023, Pew Research found that 19% of Americans ages 65 and older were still employed, a rate that’s nearly doubled over the past 35 years. (2)
Meanwhile, life expectancy is increasing. That means the number of years between retirement and death is growing. According to the Social Security Administration, the average 65-year-old woman in the U.S. has 20.12 years left to live, while the average 65-year-old man has 17.48 more years. (3)
Of course, these are just averages, but one of the biggest risks to any retirement plan is outliving your savings.
If Jim and Helen live into their nineties, their money has to last nearly three decades — that $1.5 million might not be as much as you think.
What’s more, market downturns, higher-than-expected inflation and rising health care costs could erode their purchasing power over time. Medicare eligibility at 65 will help manage health care expenses, but supplemental insurance and out-of-pocket costs can still be substantial.
So, how do you keep your portfolio above water when the market wavers?
This is where alternative assets can step in. Unlike traditional stocks and bonds, alternative assets can be a powerful hedge against inflation — which can erode the value of your money over the long term.
Gold is a traditional safe-haven asset, meaning it’s an investment many flock to during times of market uncertainty. The precious yellow metal has also been on a historic bull run, breaching $4,000 per ounce in September. (4)
Plus, with a gold IRA, you can take advantage of significant tax benefits for your retirement. Thor Metals offers a gold IRA that allows investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold. This combination can make it an attractive option for those looking to hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases. Just keep in mind that gold is typically just one part of a well-diversified portfolio.
Another inflation-resistant alternative investment you could consider is commercial real estate.
Traditionally, direct access to the $22.5 trillion commercial real estate sector was limited to a select group of elite investors, but that’s changed with First National Realty Partners (FNRP). FNRP helps accredited investors diversify their portfolio through grocery-anchored commercial properties, without needing to take on the responsibilities of being a landlord.
Simply answer a few questions — including how much you would like to invest — to start browsing their full list of available properties.
FNRP also has a self-directed IRA (SDIRA), which allows you to invest for your retirement through tangible, income-producing assets that can offer predictable cash flows and long-term growth. With FNRP, your rental income and investment gains can grow tax-deferred in a SDIRA – maximizing your savings and diminishing your reliance on public markets.
How much should you have saved by age 61?
With $1.5 million saved, Jim and Helen are ahead of many Americans. The median retirement savings for Americans between 55 and 64 was around $185,000, according to the Federal Reserve. (5)
However, financial planners often suggest that by the time you reach your early sixties, you should have between eight and ten times your annual income saved for retirement. For Jim and Helen, that would equate to a nest egg between $2.4 million and $3 million, meaning they’re far below target even if they’re doing well for their cohort.
There is no single “golden number” for retirement savings, because spending habits, health and lifestyle choices vary. That said, $1.5 million can provide a comfortable retirement for some, especially if at least one spouse continues to earn income and delays withdrawals from savings accounts.
The real question is whether Jim and Helen can maintain their current quality of life in retirement.
Estimating retirement income at 61
If both Jim and Helen retire this year, they could begin drawing from their retirement accounts without penalty.
Based on the commonly cited 4% withdrawal rule, a $1.5 million nest egg could give them about $60,000 annually, before taxes. That’s 80% less than the couple’s current level of annual income.
While it seems unlikely they would be able to comfortably live at a substantially lower level of income, there might be ways they can cut costs to live on a somewhat smaller nest egg. They could use Monarch Money’s all-in-one budgeting app to see where they’re over-spending and under-investing, to make the most of their money.
Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, from your banking statements to your investments. You can also add separate or joint accounts to your dashboard, which can be great for tracking anything from grocery runs to gas station fill-ups for couples. The app is also well reviewed. Forbes ranked Monarch Money as their best budgeting app for 2025, as did the Wall Street Journal.
And the best part? Monarch Money offers a seven-day free trial so you can see if it’s right for you. If you like what you see, you could then snag 50% off with code WISE50.
The earlier they retire, the more seriously they’ll need to take their budgeting.
For instance, if they claim Social Security at 62, the first year Americans are eligible for benefits, they would receive about 30% less per month than if they wait until full retirement age, at 67. They would earn less than half of what they could get if they delayed retirement until 70.
If Helen were to put off her retirement until 67, her Social Security benefits could significantly boost their income. If she delays claiming benefits until then, she will receive a higher payout for life. Jim could claim his benefit earlier, wait until full retirement age or even 70 to maximize his payout.
By combining withdrawals from their savings, Social Security and Helen's continued earnings for the next six years, they could maintain their current standard of living until both are retired.
But, again, this would depend primarily on Helen’s plans and whether she’s hoping to retire now, alongside her husband.
Actionable steps before retiring
Before deciding to retire, there are a few things that Jim and Helen should consider:
Creating a detailed retirement budget that includes health care, housing, travel and discretionary spending.
Working part-time or as consultants for extra income, so that Jim and/or Helen can reduce their withdrawals from savings in the early years. If Jim finds part-time work, this could give them not only a small financial bump but also a social connection.
Meeting with a financial planner to run simulations based on different retirement ages and market conditions.
One option would be to work with Advisor.com to find a financial advisor that suits their goals. All of Advisor.com’s financial experts are pre-vetted fiduciaries, meaning they have a legal obligation to act in your best interest.
After inputting your ZIP code to find a nearby advisor, you can set up a free call with no obligation to hire, so you can make sure they’re the right fit for your needs.
From here, Jim and Helen could revisit their investment allocation to balance income needs with long-term growth potential.
The bottom line
Retiring at 61 with $1.5 million and no debt is possible, especially with one spouse continuing to work for several more years.
However, if Helen and Jim retire together, they may need to change their lifestyle to adapt to their new annual income.
They should remember that the key to retirement success is understanding how long your money needs to last, and what lifestyle you want to maintain. In Jim and Helen’s case, Helen’s continued income could provide a cushion if she decides to keep working. But her decision should be grounded in careful planning, realistic spending expectations and an awareness of longevity risk — not to mention a conversation with a financial planner.
With the right strategy, Jim and Helen could transition into retirement with both financial security and peace of mind.
If you're a baby boomer, the question is simple but uncomfortable: are you "rich," or are you just average? The answer depends on how you stack up against your peers—and the numbers show there's a massive gap between the middle class and the elite.
Who Actually Counts as a Baby Boomer
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, which makes them 61 to 79 years old in 2025. That's important, because most Federal Reserve data gets sliced into neat age bands—55–64, 65–74, and over 75—that don't line up perfectly with the boomer range.
So the clearest picture of boomer wealth comes from the 55–64 and 65–74 brackets.
The Wealth Ladder
Federal Reserve data analyzed by Harness puts the 90th percentile, top 10%, for boomers at just under $3 million:
Ages 55–64: $2,960,900
Ages 65–74: $2,997,300
That's the line between "comfortable" and "rich."
Meanwhile, the median net worth, the 50th percentile, for boomers is far lower:
Ages 55–64: $364,260
Ages 65–74: $410,000
And the top 20% cut-off, often considered "upper class," sits around $1.47–$1.52 million, depending on the age bracket.
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Rich vs. Just Middle Class
Many boomers with $300,000–$500,000 in net worth feel secure, but by percentile math, they're average at best. Even hitting seven figures doesn't necessarily make you rich—you need nearly $3 million to sit in the top 10%.
So ask yourself:
Are you a "rich" baby boomer with $3 million or more? Are you upper class lite with $1.5 million in the top 20%? Or are you just middle class, hovering around the median $400,000?
What Wealthy Boomers Actually Hold
The rich don't just have bigger houses—they spread their money across assets. Harness's breakdown looks like this:
The wealthy keep their money working in multiple places, not tied up in a single bucket.
Fidelity puts the average net worth for 55–64 at about $1.57 million, but averages get pulled up by billionaires. The median tells the real story: half of boomers have less than $400,000. That's the difference between sipping cocktails on the Riviera or sweating Medicare premiums.
What If You're Not There?
Being "average" might sound fine, but if you're aiming for comfort, travel, or leaving a legacy, average won't cut it. Retirement on $400,000 looks very different from retirement on $3 million. If you're not in the top tier but want to close the gap, you'll need more than wishful thinking—you'll need strategy.
That's where consulting a financial advisor comes in. They can help shift your mix, stretch what you have, and build toward the life you actually want. Because if you're aiming higher, "just average" is not enough.
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