Here are just the number for all of you degenerates who just want some milestones for your spreadsheets.

Average total retirement savings by age:

  • <35 - $49,130
  • 35-44 - $141,520
  • 45-54 - $313,220
  • 55-64 - $537,560
  • 65-74 - $609,230
  • =75 - $462,410

Average 401k balance by age:

  • <25 - $5,236
  • 25-34 - $30,017
  • 35-44 - $76,354
  • 45-54 - $142,069
  • 55-64 - $207,874
  • 65 and older - $232,710

And retirement savings targets from various advisors:

Fidelity:

  • 1x by 30
  • 3x by 40
  • 6x by 50
  • 8x by 60
  • 10x by 67

Rowley:

  • 1x by 35
  • 5x by 50
  • 7x by 70

Anyway, do you like metrics like these?

  • viking@infosec.pub
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    6 months ago

    Ah ok, gotcha. I’ve set my own milestones based on a relative savings rate in such a way that x% monthly savings equate to y years of earlier retirement. Never thought of doing it in terms of multiples of annual income since those include my savings rates, and my actual cost of living are significantly below my income.

    • sugar_in_your_teaOPM
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      6 months ago

      Yeah, the multiples thing is not a great way to estimate early retirement because it assumes your retirement spending is directly related to your employment income. That’s true for many people with traditional retirement plans though, and it’s certainly easier than estimating expenses, so I guess there’s merit to it.

      Anyway, I just think it’s an interesting set of milestones to track. Like, “oh, I’m where I should be at X years old, so I’m Y years ahead of ‘normal’ retirement.” But it doesn’t impact my retirement planning one bit though.