Everyone knows you need to save. Settling on an appropriate amount to save, where to put the cash and how to get there in the first place are harder nuts to crack.
One option is to consult old saws, such as putting away three-to-six months’ worth of essential expenses in a high-yield savings account.
Another guidepost, which offers perspective on your particular lot, is to look at how much people your age have been able to save in cash, for retirement and in a taxable investment account.
Typically the average American doesn’t have as much saved as he or she ought to. Therefore one trick is to use the average figures as a medium term goal on the path towards fully funding your various savings accounts.
All numbers reported in 2019 dollars.
Average savings for Americans under 35
In your 20s and early 30s, you are laying the financial foundations for the rest of your life. You’re settling into your career, building your credit score and figuring out how to afford monthly debt payments, such as student loans or car payments. Perhaps you’ve got your eyes on a starter home.
Your first savings goal should be to build a cache you can draw on when a rainy day strikes. Aim for three-to-six months’ worth of spending, said Sarah Behr, registered investment advisor (RIA) and founder of Simplify Financial Planning in San Francisco, so that you have a safety net should disaster occur.
“If you lose your job or, heaven forbid, get into an accident and cannot work, it’s going to take you a while to either find a new job, get unemployment insurance, get disability,” said Behr. “All of those things take a while and you don’t want to lose your housing in the meantime.”
Once you establish a healthy savings account, start building toward other goals, such as a down payment on a home. Millennials, after all, currently make up the largest share of homebuyers, according to the 2022 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Overall, young adults tend to have the least amount saved, in large part because they’ve had the least amount of time to earn money.
If you’re just getting started, aim for achievable goals to spur you along. Try saving one weeks’ worth of expenses, then two, then three…Celebrate when you pass the median figure listed above, while you keep an eye for your ultimate goal.
One trick, explained by certified financial planner Michael Kitces, is to put half of every raise towards savings. That way you’re able to build up savings while putting a limit on your spending.
Average savings for Americans age 35 to 44
As Americans get older and wiser, and they progress in their career, their average savings amounts go up too. For people aged 35 to 44, the median liquid savings amount increased by $1,470 and the median investment amount rocketed up to $147,000.
Note that in this age bracket, the rift between average and median values becomes more pronounced. Median data is typically more realistic; it removes the most extreme cases, which skew the average.
While investments can compound and grow on their own, it can be a challenge to save up enough to buy them in the first place, especially if you are supporting a family. A large mortgage payment, car payment(s) and the cost of raising children, in addition to potentially still paying off college debt, can be a drag to your savings.
It may help to prioritize paying off any outstanding high-interest debt and then put your funds towards retirement savings and investments.
As you earn more, save half of every raise (as Kitces mentions above) or consider increasing your savings rate to 15% or 20%, including any employer match.
You could also widen your types of savings accounts to account for your growing household.
“As you reach [your] 30s and 40s, some individuals start having families and consider 529 Educational savings plans to save for college,” said Desiree Kaul, a Satellite Beach, Fla-based CFP. “Others may add taxable accounts or IRAs to their savings plan.”
By this point, make sure you’re saving enough in your workplace retirement savings plan to earn any match, and tending to your emergency savings so it doesn’t dip below where you want it.
Also consider utilizing health savings accounts (HSAs) plans offered by your employer to help cover medical costs, especially in retirement.
Average savings for Americans age 45 to 54
By this point in your life, you’re very likely set in your career, built up your family and settled down into a long-term home.
You’re also entering your peak earning years, which means it is a great time to ramp up your savings.
For instance, Fidelity recommends having six times your annual income saved up by age 50 if you want to retire comfortably by age 67. If you’re behind that marker, consider increasing your 401(k) contributions, especially after any raises.
The IRS will help you in this regard. When you reach age 50, you can make additional tax-free contributions to your retirement plan on top of what is normally allowed. In 2023, for example, annual catch-up contributions to a 401(k) can go up to $7,500 in addition to the “normal” annual limit of $22,500.
Average savings for Americans age 55 to 64
Once you’ve reached your 50s and 60s, the traditional retirement age is just around the corner.
Your savings accounts at this stage can also serve you well in the case of a recession.
“Having a solid savings account can help during a market correction because it allows you to keep your invested funds in the market until it has time to recover,” said Kaul. “You can rely on the savings you have built for your needs without having to sell any assets at a loss.”
To keep your savings on track or to push the pedal to the metal, consider reducing your monthly expenses. The lower your living expenses are, the more you can save now and the less you’ll likely need in retirement. This could mean paying off your debts, including your mortgage, auto loans and credit card.
“Try going one month without buying anything new,” said Behr. “Buy groceries, buy your necessities but don’t buy a new pair of shoes, don’t buy a new shirt. See what that feels like.”
Median savings for Americans by ethnicity
Except for home equity, white Americans have greater savings than any other ethnicity in every category, and have more than double the amount of assets owned by Black Americans in every category.
While the data above shows one view of the economic impact of inequality, there are many more sides to see.
Several national agencies and organizations provide further data so that citizens and leaders can gain insight on how to bridge the racial wealth gap, which affects not only individuals, but the whole U.S. economy.
Are we saving more or less than we used to?
The good news? On the whole, we are saving more today than we used to.
Americans’ retirement assets almost tripled over three decades; with the median retirement assets growing from nearly $22,000 to $65,000. Investment assets grew by 115.90% as well from 1989 to 2019.
It’s important to note that the increase in retirement savings may be partially due to the fact that Americans are extending their careers and retiring later. The Social Security Administration now considers the normal retirement age (NRA) to be age 67.
According to a Gallup poll, 88% of adults aged 70 to 74 were retired in 2002 to 2005. From 2016 to 2022, though, that number dropped by five percentage points to 83%. The fact that more Americans are working into their seventies means they’re pulling less from their savings and may even be contributing to it.
Moreover, the number of Americans participating in pensions declined over this time period, thereby making it more important to save on your own.
Strategies to maximize your savings
If you want to maximize your savings efforts for the future, there are a few things you can start doing today to make a difference.
- Automate your savings. It can be tempting to spend the money when it’s in your checking account. To put it a little further out of temptation’s reach, set up your bank account to automatically pull a percentage of your direct deposit into your savings.
- Avoid unsecured debt. While debt is largely unavoidable, avoid accumulating unsecured debt such as balances on credit cards and personal loans. Without an asset to back it up, this debt typically has some of the highest interest rates. The less debt you carry, the less you’ll have to pay off; the more you’ll get to keep and save or invest.
- Invest early and often. The earlier you start saving and investing, the more your money can compound. If you wait until you’re in your 30s, 40s or even 50s to start saving for retirement, you’ll need to save much more aggressively just to catch up — and you’ll miss out on many years of interest growth.
- Don’t leave free money on the table. Many employers offer contribution matches. For example, your employer may match 50% of your retirement contribution, up to 5%. If you put away less than that, then, you’re leaving free money on the table.
- Stick with a budget. A budget is meant to be a tool to help you ultimately do what you want, rather than be a constriction on your lifestyle. You can design your budget however you’d like and there are many apps and approaches you can use, including an old-school method, the budget binder. Whatever you choose needs to be sustainable.
The earlier you start saving, the more time your money has to grow and the more comfortable your future will be.
