Overview
- Only about 2.5% of Americans have $1 million or more in retirement accounts, with just 3.2% of retirees reaching that mark, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances.
- Fidelity reports a record cohort of roughly 497,000 401(k) millionaires in 2024, a small group concentrated at the top of the savings distribution.
- Millennials held an average 401(k) balance of about $80,700 as of September 2025 per Fidelity, while their total contribution rate hovered near 13.4%, approaching common 15% guidance.
- Provider snapshots show big mean–median gaps: Empower’s October 2025 data put medians at $81,441 for people in their 30s and $164,580 for 40-somethings, far below the respective averages of $211,257 and $419,948.
- Vanguard’s 2025 figures illustrate the skew across ages (for 35–44, average $103,552 vs median $39,958) as retirees gauge income needs using rules of thumb such as a 4% withdrawal ($32,000 on $800,000) alongside average Social Security benefits of about $2,071 per month.