How Much Should I Have Saved by Age?
Compare savings to Fidelity's age milestones at your salary, see the next checkpoint, and project where today's savings and contributions land by 67.
Projection is hypothetical: current savings plus monthly contributions grown at the return entered, compounded monthly, in today's dollars, before taxes and fees, to age 67. Returns are not guaranteed. Fidelity's milestones assume saving 15% of income from age 25, a mix of more than 50% stocks on average, retiring at 67 and keeping the same lifestyle.
How much should I have saved by age?
The most widely quoted benchmarks come from Fidelity: 1x salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67. They assume saving 15% of income (employer match included) starting at 25, investing more than half in stocks on average, retiring at 67 and keeping the same lifestyle in retirement.
| Age | Fidelity milestone | On an $85,000 salary |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1x salary | $85,000 |
| 40 | 3x salary | $255,000 |
| 50 | 6x salary | $510,000 |
| 60 | 8x salary | $680,000 |
| 67 | 10x salary | $850,000 |
How I use these numbers
A milestone is a checkpoint, not a grade. Someone who spent their 20s paying off student loans or getting through school can be behind at 30 and well ahead at 45. The thing that actually decides retirement is the number, not the age. If spending in retirement is lower, the target is lower. If it's higher, the target is higher. I wrote about that in Retirement Is a Number, Not an Age.
The calculator's projection uses 7% a year after inflation, this site's standard assumption for stocks. That's why it often lands above 10x. It's useful for seeing the effect of time and contributions, and it's worth checking at 5% too.
What moves the number most
- Time. Money invested at 25 has about 42 years to compound before 67. Money invested at 45 has 22. See the Compound Interest Calculator.
- Contribution rate. The employer match is the first step. Every raise after that is a chance to bump the percentage before the lifestyle catches up.
- Fees. A 1% annual fee can eat a large share of what decades of compounding produce. Low-cost index funds keep more of it.
Sources: Fidelity Viewpoints, "How much do I need to retire?" (savings factors of 1x by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67, and their assumptions). Projection math: monthly compounding at the return entered, today's dollars, hypothetical.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I have saved by 30?
Fidelity's guideline is 1x salary by 30. On an $85,000 salary that's $85,000 in retirement and investment accounts. It's a checkpoint, and plenty of people who start later still get there.
How much should I have saved by 40?
Fidelity's guideline is 3x salary by 40, then 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67.
Does home equity count?
Not in this calculator. It counts retirement and investment accounts only, since home equity is hard to spend in retirement without selling or borrowing against the house.
Why does the projection look higher than 10x?
The default return is 7% after inflation, which reflects a mostly-stock portfolio. Fidelity's milestones assume a more conservative mix and other factors. Lowering the return to 5% shows a more cautious projection.
What if I'm behind the milestone for my age?
The levers are contribution rate, time and fees. Raising contributions by even 1% to 2% of salary a year makes a large difference over decades. The Retirement Number Calculator shows the target based on spending instead of salary.