This Is the Average 401(k) Balance for Retirees Age 72 and Older
- - This Is the Average 401(k) Balance for Retirees Age 72 and Older
Selena Maranjian, The Motley FoolJanuary 11, 2026 at 5:06 AM
0
Key Points -
Average 401(k) balances for Americans are on the low side.
Median balances are even lower, and are more representative of people's savings.
Most of us will need to build bigger nest eggs.
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If you're wondering how you compare to others in regard to your 401(k) account savings, especially if you're in your 70s and about to retire or are already in retirement, look to companies that manage many thousands or millions of retirement accounts. They're able to share some interesting numbers.
For example, Empower noted that as of October 2025, the average 401(k) balance across all age cohorts was $326,459. But that's covering a broad range of people -- those decades from retirement and those facing it shortly.
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Here, then, are numbers for seven age groupings:
Age
Average 401(k)
Median 401(k)
20s
$107,171
$40,050
30s
$211,257
$81,441
40s
$419,948
$164,580
50s
$635,320
$253,454
60s
$577,454
$186,902
70s
$425,589
$92,225
80s
$418,911
$78,534
Data source: Empower.com.
You probably know what an average is -- you add up all the numbers and divide by the number of numbers. A median number, though, is the middle number in a series of numbers arranged in order. So if your series is 20, 45, 48, 52, 145, the average of those numbers is 62 -- but the median is 48. Averages can be skewed by unusually high or low numbers, so it can be best to focus on median numbers, as they're more representative.
If you're in your 70s and have a 401(k) balance of $92,000, that's not going to support you for very long, at least by itself. You'll likely have Social Security benefits, but as of November, they averaged just $2,013 a month, or about $24,000 for the year.
Aim to have multiple income streams in your retirement years, with money coming in regularly from sources such as dividend-paying stocks, interest-bearing accounts, retirement accounts, pensions, and/or annuities.
Do take the time to come up with a solid retirement plan, after estimating how much income you'll need in retirement and how you'll get it. Aim to be among the outliers in the table above, with retirement account balances way above average.
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Source: “AOL Money”
