Average retirement savings by age: how do you stack up?

Determine whether you're being appropriately frugal or going overboard

Mature, smiling couple sitting on the couch and putting coins into a piggybank
Everyone's eventual retirement situation — and current savings capability — is different
(Image credit: LordHenriVoton / Getty Images)

When retirement is still a hazy plan somewhere far in the future, it can feel tough to pinpoint whether or not you are saving appropriately. Are you tucking enough aside to eventually quit working? Or are you going overboard with saving and missing out on opportunities in the here and now?

One way to assess your savings efforts thus far: see how you stack up to your peers. While this will not give you all the answers on how much to save, being aware of other's progress can provide a helpful benchmark — and perhaps some motivation.

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Becca Stanek, The Week US

Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She previously served as a deputy editor and later a managing editor overseeing investing and savings content at LendingTree and as an editor at the financial startup SmartAsset, where she focused on retirement- and financial-adviser-related content. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads.