U.S. Median Retirement Savings Hit $106,000, Fed Survey Shows

A typical American household with a dedicated nest egg held $106,000 in retirement savings in 2025, marking an 11% increase from three years earlier, according to fresh data from the Federal Reserve.

The central bank’s Survey of Consumer Finances showed broader participation in workplace and personal retirement vehicles, with 54.9% of families holding dedicated accounts—up 0.6 percentage points from 2022. While median balances broke into six figures, the average, or mean, account balance surged 23% to $451,100 over the same period. The substantial gap between median and mean figures underscores how massive stock market advances disproportionately bolstered the balances of top-tier earners and long-tenured account holders.

Across demographic groups, older workers approaching their final years in the labor force captured the largest nominal increases. Households headed by individuals aged 55 to 64 saw average retirement balances climb to $670,200, up from $588,500 in 2022.

Mid-career professionals experienced comparable momentum. Balances for savers aged 45 to 54 expanded from $342,700 to $415,800, while the 35-to-44 demographic saw balances rise from $154,800 to $182,400.

Workers under 35 bucked the broader upward trend. Average balances for this younger bracket fell from $53,800 in 2022 to $48,400 in 2025. That dip follows a period marked by post-pandemic inflation, elevated borrowing costs, and the fading effects of pandemic-era stimulus. Despite the pullback, young adults maintained significantly higher balances than in prior survey cycles, outperforming average balances of $43,800 recorded in 2016 and $38,300 in 2019.

Structural shifts in workplace benefits continued to dictate how Americans accumulate wealth. Defined contribution vehicles such as 401(k), 403(b), and thrift savings accounts, alongside individual retirement accounts, completely overshadowed traditional defined benefit pension programs. Plan participation climbed from roughly 50% among younger families to approximately 65% for the oldest age bracket.

Long-term participation gains proved steepest among entry-level workers. Over the past decade, retirement plan enrollment for workers under 35 expanded from 42% in 2016 to nearly 50% in 2025, buoyed by the widespread adoption of automatic enrollment features by corporate employers.

Direct retail participation in equities eased after reaching historic highs during the pandemic trading frenzy. Direct stock ownership dropped to 19% of households in 2025, down from 21% in 2022. The share remains elevated compared to the 15.2% baseline logged in 2019. Even as individual equity ownership narrowed, the conditional median value of those portfolios rebounded sharply from $16,400 to $30,000, erasing ground lost between 2019 and 2022.

Retirement savings vehicles secured their status as the second-most ubiquitous financial asset in the country. Only basic transaction accounts—including checking, savings, money market, and call accounts—held a broader footprint, claimed by 98.7% of households. Overall, 98.9% of American families held at least one financial asset category, spanning cash instruments, certificates of deposit, pooled investment funds, or life insurance contracts.