{"id":705218,"date":"2026-07-22T12:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/705218\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:39:11","slug":"the-average-retirement-savings-in-america-by-age-60-are-you-ready-to-retire-or-way-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/705218\/","title":{"rendered":"The average retirement savings in America by age 60: Are you ready to retire or way behind?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Happy<\/a> Photo by Halfpoint \/ Shutterstock <\/p>\n

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. <\/p>\n

If you’re approaching age 60, or passed that milestone a few years ago, the good news is that you’re part of the wealthiest generation in history. With combined assets worth $85 trillion, Baby Boomers are the richest age cohort, according to the Washington Post (1). <\/p>\n

The bad news is that this colossal pile of money is unevenly distributed. <\/p>\n

Must Read <\/p>\n

JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000\/oz by Q4 \u2014 and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide<\/a> from Priority Gold <\/p>\n

Some Baby Boomers are entering retirement with barely any savings, or even worse: enormous debt. Others have just enough to enable a modest retirement, but no room for error or luxuries. And a small cohort at the top has a disproportionate share of this massive fortune. <\/p>\n

So, where do you stand? Here’s a closer look at the average and median retirement savings for Americans in their 60s as of 2026. <\/p>\n

Average wealth for 60-year-olds <\/p>\n

A typical American adult has roughly $547,840 in retirement savings, as of March 2026, according to data from the Empower Personal Dashboard (2). <\/p>\n

However, this is the average for all age groups. For those in their 60s, the average balance is significantly higher: $1,228,196. <\/p>\n

Simply put, you need to be at least a millionaire to be considered average in this age group. <\/p>\n

However, this number doesn’t paint the full picture. Average wealth is significantly skewed by a small group of ultra-wealthy millionaires and billionaires. The 62-year-old Jeff Bezos, alone, probably moves the needle here with his $269 billion fortune, according to Bloomberg (3). <\/p>\n

For a more accurate representation of wealth, median retirement savings could be a better measure. <\/p>\n

According to Empower, the median wealth for someone in their 60s is $568,116. If you have at least that much saved up for retirement, you’re ahead of 50% of people in your age group. <\/p>\n

Whether you’re above or below this threshold should probably shape your financial plans for the next few years. Here’s how you can either catch up or continue building momentum. <\/p>\n

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here’s where their money is actually going<\/a> <\/p>\n

How to catch up <\/p>\n

If retirement is imminent, your appetite for risk has potentially diminished. <\/p>\n

At this stage, you need a reliable way to boost savings. Delaying your retirement and Social Security claim by a few years, for example, could be the “safe” bet you’re seeking. <\/p>\n

Similarly, instruments like a Certificate of Deposit (CD) can help you lock in a fixed rate of return for a short- or medium-term. The key is to find an attractive rate. And platforms like CD Valet<\/a> can help you find higher-yield options that work for you, whether you’re saving for something soon or building a cushion for the long haul. <\/p>\n

CD Valet tracks over 40,000 verified rates from FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions nationwide<\/a>. Unlike other websites, they show every publicly available rate, ensuring you have a comprehensive view of the market. <\/p>\n

Plus, their CD rates are updated continuously, so you can shop, compare and open CDs with ease and confidence<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Rental income from real estate could also be an option worth considering. <\/p>\n

You don’t need six figures to get started when platforms like Arrived<\/a> help you buy fractional shares of robust cash-flowing properties. <\/p>\n

Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties<\/a>, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property. <\/p>\n

To get started, simply browse their selection of vetted properties<\/a>, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Are you ahead? <\/p>\n

If you’re a multimillionaire in your 60s, your top priority is preserving wealth. That means careful tax planning and diligent diversification. <\/p>\n

A gold IRA, for instance, could help you combine the “safe haven” aspects of this precious metal with the tax advantages of a traditional IRA. Platforms like Goldco<\/a> can facilitate these accounts so that you can hold either gold ETFs or physical gold in a tax shield. <\/p>\n

With a minimum purchase of $10,000, Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As for minimizing taxes, you don’t need to familiarize yourself with the lengthy and ever-changing tax code. Hiring a financial advisor, potentially backed by a reputable financial brand, could be one of the savviest moves for wealthy retirees. <\/p>\n

If you prefer a hands-off, tech-forward approach to building wealth, Vanguard’s Digital Advisor<\/a> puts the investing expertise of one of the world’s largest asset managers right at your fingertips. <\/p>\n

It takes the guesswork out of investing by building a personalized portfolio for you using Vanguard’s well-known low-cost ETFs and mutual funds<\/a> \u2014 then keeps things running smoothly with automatic rebalancing. <\/p>\n

The platform also offers guidance on saving for retirement and lets you set additional goals as your life evolves. <\/p>\n

It can even help you think through debt repayment strategies, potentially freeing up more cash to invest toward your long-term plans. <\/p>\n

With a minimum investment of just $100<\/a>, it’s an easy way to get started with professionally guided investing. <\/p>\n

For every $10,000 in an all-index portfolio, you’ll pay approximately $15 to $16 per year.* <\/p>\n

You can even test-drive the Vanguard experience<\/a> with no advisory fees for the first 90 days. <\/p>\n

*All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. <\/p>\n

You May Also Like <\/p>\n

Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Article Sources <\/p>\n

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Washington Post (1<\/a>); Empower (2<\/a>); Bloomberg (3<\/a>) <\/p>\n

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Halfpoint \/ Shutterstock Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5063,84,4176,8897,4174,4175,4204,13593,233884,58730,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-705218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-baby-boomers","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-retirement-savings","tag-tax-advantages","tag-the-washington-post","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}