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Written by Andrew Button<\/a> at The Motley Fool Canada<\/p>\n Are you approaching your mid-fifties and wondering whether your TFSA game is up to par?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a natural thing to wonder about because \u2013 let\u2019s be honest \u2013 you\u2019re rapidly approaching retirement age. Decades ago, it was quite common for people to retire at age 61. These days, with inflation taking a bite out of people\u2019s savings, it has become more common to retire in their mid-sixties and continue working part time after that.<\/p>\n Having a well-funded TFSA is a good way to avoid having to work in your late sixties, seventies, and beyond. In your mid-fifties, this close to the finish line, the decisions you make now will be crucial to making it to retirement in good shape. With that in mind, here is the average TFSA balance at age 54 in Canada, along with some tips on how to maximize yours.<\/p>\n According to StatCan data from 2022, Canadians in the 50\u201354 age bracket had $20,000 to $23,300 in savings that year. TFSA balances tend to increase through a person\u2019s working life, so 54-year-old Canadians likely averaged $23,300 \u2013 the top of the range \u2013 in 2022.<\/p>\n Since 2022, both Canadian and U.S. markets have been bullish, and Canadians have continued saving money. So, the true average TFSA balance for 54-year-old Canadians is likely higher than that observed in 2022. Nevertheless, the most recent hard data we have is from that year, so $23,300 is the figure I will go with. If the current average is higher than that, it is unlikely to be so to a great degree, as saving and investing tend to be slow processes.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re 54 years old and your TFSA balance was $23,300 or higher in 2022, you were average to above average for that year. If you have that much in your TFSA right now, it is likely that you are slightly below average. Regardless, the real takeaway here is that the average TFSA balance in Canada \u2013 certainly in 2022 and probably today \u2013 is not nearly enough to retire on. Canadians usually have some RRSP money in addition to TFSAs, but most Canadians\u2019 RRSPs are not adequate to pay for retirement either, averaging between $48,400 and $98,400. Until you have multiple hundreds of thousands, maybe a million, spread across RRSPs and TFSAs, there is work to be done.<\/p>\n Having explored the average TFSA balance at age 54 in Canada, our next logical topic is, \u201cHow to maximize your TFSA balance.\u201d As we\u2019ve seen, most Canadians don\u2019t have nearly enough in their TFSAs to retire on, not even at age 54, with the finish line fast approaching. So, it\u2019s worth exploring how to increase your TFSA balance, so you have more than what you need when age 65 rolls around.<\/p>\n One of the best ways to increase your TFSA balance \u2013 apart from the obvious ones like \u201csave more money\u201d \u2013 is to invest in index funds<\/a>. Index funds are pooled investment vehicles that trade on the stock market. They hold diversified portfolios while charging very low fees. They outperform 90% of active investors over the long term.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re Canadian, a great index fund to get started with is the iShares S&P\/TSX Capped Composite Index Fund (TSX:XIC<\/a>). XIC is a highly diversified broad market index fund with very low fees \u2013 a 0.05% management fee and a 0.06% management expense ratio (MER, or all fund expenses combined). The fund tracks the S&P\/TSX Composite Index, a highly diversified index based on 240 stocks. XIC actually holds 220 of the 240, meaning that it tracks its benchmark faithfully. It has a 2.3% dividend yield<\/a> \u2013 higher than the S&P 500. Finally, the fund is very liquid and widely traded, resulting in low spread costs. Overall, it\u2019s a great fund to hold in your TFSA as you wait for the magic of compounding to pave your way to a wealthy retirement.<\/p>\n The post Here\u2019s the Average TFSA Balance at Age 54 in Canada<\/a> appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before you buy stock in iShares Core S&P\/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF, consider this:<\/p>\n The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team identified what they believe are the 15 best stocks for investors to buy now\u2026 and iShares Core S&P\/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF wasn\u2019t one of them. The 15 stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years.<\/p>\n Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 \u2026 if you invested $1,000 in the \u201ceBay of Latin America\u201d at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $21,105.89!*<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s worth noting Stock Advisor Canada\u2019s total average return is 95%* \u2013 a market-crushing outperformance compared to 72%* for the S&P\/TSX Composite Index. Don\u2019t miss out on our top 15 list, available when you join Stock Advisor Canada.<\/p>\n See the 15 Stocks<\/a><\/p>\n * Returns as of November 17th, 2025<\/p>\n More reading<\/p>\n