401(k) Balance by Age: How Much Should You Have Saved?

A useful answer to "am I on track?" is a multiple of your salary. Fidelity’s widely used guideline is to have 1 times your salary saved for retirement by 30, 3 times by 40, 6 times by 50, 8 times by 60, and 10 times by 67. It counts all your retirement savings, not just one 401(k).

The Guideline in Dollars

By age	Multiple	$50,000 salary	$75,000 salary	$100,000 salary
30	1×	$50,000	$75,000	$100,000
40	3×	$150,000	$225,000	$300,000
50	6×	$300,000	$450,000	$600,000
60	8×	$400,000	$600,000	$800,000
67	10×	$500,000	$750,000	$1,000,000

The multiples come from Fidelity’s assumptions: you save 15% of pay a year from age 25 (your contributions plus any employer match), retire at 67, and want to keep about the same lifestyle in retirement. Because the target is a multiple of your current salary, it moves as your pay grows.

What Gets You There: A Projection

Worked Example

Age 35, $75,000 salary, $25,000 saved, 2% raises, 6% return, safe harbor match (4% of pay at 5% or more)

Contribute 6% (10% total)$1,017,993 at 67about 7.2× final salary

Contribute 10% (14% total)$1,360,657 at 67about 9.6× final salary

Contribute 15% (19% total)$1,788,986 at 67about 12.7× final salary

Salary grows to about $141,000 by 67. Contributions are added at each year end and kept under the 2026 limit.

Starting at 35 with less than half a year’s salary saved, a 6% contribution plus the match falls short of the 10× guideline. Contributing about 10%, so the total with the match is close to Fidelity’s 15%, gets you to almost 10×. That is the practical use of the guideline: it tells you roughly what savings rate closes the gap.

If You're Behind

Get the full match first. It is the highest return available. See how employer matches work.
Raise your percent with each raise. Putting half of every raise toward your 401(k) increases savings without cutting what you live on now. Many plans can do this automatically.
Use catch-ups at 50. The 2026 limits allow $8,000 more at 50 and $11,250 more at 60 to 63. See the 2026 limits.
Count everything. The guideline covers IRAs, old 401(k)s, and a spouse’s savings, not just your current plan.

What This Doesn't Cover

A salary multiple is a rough check, not a plan. It doesn’t know about a pension, how much Social Security you will get, a paid-off home, plans to retire early, or spending that will be much higher or lower than today. Returns are not steady at 6% a year, and real balances rise and fall with markets. A fee-only financial planner can build a plan around your actual income, spending and goals.

Project Your Own Balance

Enter your balance, salary and contribution to see where you could be at retirement and how you compare with the guideline today.

Open the 401(k) Paycheck Calculator

Sources: Fidelity Viewpoints, "How much do I need to retire?" (savings multiples and assumptions); IRS release IR-2025-111 (2026 limits).

401(k) Balance by Age: How Much Should You Have Saved?

In short