Investopedia: “How Your Savings Compare to the Average American at Age 55-64”
Investopedia, Aug. 26, 2025 — Marguerita Cheng, CFP® Pro is featured in today’s article by Sara Clarke, who writes:
If you’re in your 50s or 60s, you may find that you have more financial flexibility than in previous years. With fewer obligations like paying for college tuition or raising children, you might be in a good position to focus on boosting your retirement savings.
Whether you plan to continue working for several more years or are nearing retirement, your ability to save is impacted by several factors, including age. It’s not surprising that the older you are, the larger your savings balances tend to be. According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances, the median balance that households with bank accounts had in 2022 (the most recent data available) ranged from $5,400 for those under 35 to $13,400 for those ages 65-74.
Americans who are 55-64 are in the middle. Among the 98.3% of people in that age group who have a bank account, the median balance was $8,000.
Marguerita shares these Strategies to Maximize Your Retirement Savings in Your 50s and 60s:
There’s no right/perfect/ideal amount to save. It varies based on your personal and financial situation. Your lifestyle and costs can vary region to region, and if you have pensions or additional sources of retirement income beyond Social Security, that can mean you can have less in retirement savings, said Marguerita Cheng, CFP, founder of Blue Ocean Global Wealth.
If you were raising children and helping them with large expenses such as college, you may not have been able to save as much when you were younger. Or if you had car payments or credit card debt that you’ve been able to pay off, you may now be able to direct more money toward savings.
Try this:
- Learn more about Social Security. If you are not already collecting Social Security payments, Cheng recommends creating an account at SSA.gov to see what you can expect to receive at age 62, at your full retirement age (as determined by the Social Security Administration), and at age 70. You will receive the most if you wait until age 70, but you can start collecting the benefit at age 62. You may receive less at that age, “but there’s times and situations where that may be appropriate,” Cheng said.
- Remember that you’re a long-term investor. If you have extra money from paying off debt, allocate some of the cash flow to both short-term savings and long-term investments. “Even if you’re in your 60s and you’re retiring today, you’re still a long-term investor,” Cheng said. “It’s not unusual to spend 30 years in retirement.”
- Use methods beyond 529s to pay for college. If you are balancing college costs and retirement and you have a 529 education account, Cheng recommends not paying for school solely with those funds. While they are very favorable and utilize tax-free money, she suggests paying some college expenses with taxable money so you may be eligible for some education tax credits.