Here's How Much the Average 60-Year-Old Has in Their 401(k)

At age 60, you're not too far from retirement. In fact, the average retirement age is 62, according to Gallup. But there are plenty of Americans who continue working into their late 60s and beyond.

It's always important to know whether you're on track with your retirement accounts. That's especially true as you reach your 60s, since you're getting close to the end of your career. If you're trying to figure out where you stand, you'll find data on the average 401(k) balance below, plus some tips on what to do if you need to save more.

The average 60-year-old's 401(k) balance

Vanguard and Empower have both researched how much Americans have in their 401(k) plans. Here's what they found:

• Vanguard reports that Americans ages 55 to 64 have a median 401(k) balance of $87,571.
• Empower reports that Americans in their 60s have a median 401(k) balance of $206,719.

There's a wide range between the two reports. But we can assume that the average 60-year-old has about $85,000 to $210,000 in retirement savings.

A popular guideline is to save eight times your salary by age 60 and 10 times your salary by 67. Many 60-year-olds are likely well behind that guideline, based on the recent data. To be fair, some Americans also have other forms of retirement savings.

Another way to build your retirement savings

A 401(k) is a popular way to save for retirement. Contributions come out of your paycheck automatically. Many employers will also match contributions up to a certain amount. If yours does, you should absolutely take advantage and at least try to max out that employer match.

Not everyone has access to a 401(k) plan, though. Even if you do, you may not want to use that as your only form of retirement savings. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are another option. They help you save on taxes, like 401(k) plans, and they have several advantages:

• Anyone with earned income can open an IRA.
• IRAs tend to have much lower fees than 401(k) plans.
• IRAs give you a much larger range of investment options.

With most IRAs, you don't get any sort of match on your contributions. Robinhood is a notable exception. It's one of the rare brokers that offers an IRA match so you can grow your retirement savings more quickly. WARNING SCL [brokerage slug=robinhood field=apply_url] does not generate a link. Anchor tag will not render in production.Click here to learn more and open an account today.

What to do if you're behind on your retirement savings

Even at 60, there's still time to make significant contributions to your retirement savings. If you feel like you won't have enough money to retire, here's what you can do.

Max out your 401(k) contributions

The 401(k) contribution limit is $23,000 in 2024 and $23,500 in 2025. But one of the advantages of being 50 or older is that you can also make additional catch-up contributions of up to $7,500, for a combined limit of $30,500 in 2024 and $31,000 in 2025. If you can't contribute that much, try to at least put in enough to max out any 401(k) match your employer offers.

Max out your IRA

Just like 401(k) plans, IRAs have contribution limits. The limit is $7,000 in 2024 and 2025. When you're 50 or older, you can make additional catch-up contributions of up to $1,000, for a combined limit of $8,000.

Retire later

There are several financial benefits to delaying your retirement. By working longer, you'll be able to save more. You'll start withdrawing from your retirement savings later, and you can also delay taking Social Security. If you wait until age 70, you'll receive your maximum Social Security benefits.

Consider relocating or downsizing

Another way to make up the gap in your retirement savings is to reduce your cost of living. You could start researching areas with a lower cost of living to move to after you retire -- some people even choose to retire abroad. If you want to stay in your current city, you could move to a smaller, more affordable home.

If you can max out your 401(k) and IRA, that's $39,000 in retirement savings in 2025. After five years, you'll have added $195,000 to your retirement. That money could also grow if you invest in stocks and bonds.

Most people can't afford to max out all their retirement accounts, so don't feel bad if you aren't contributing that much. Just put in as much as you can. If you do that, combined with potentially working longer and cutting costs, you can still retire with financial security.