You're Doing Better Than The Average 40-Year-Old If Your 401(k) Balance Surpasses This Number

As you're saving for retirement, you might have set a goal of having enough money in savings to retire rich. For those with these aspirations, many experts suggest striving to reach general financial milestones as you age. The 401(k) retirement account is a highly important and popular savings option for Americans, and paying close attention to your current balance is a good way to make sure you're on track for reaching your financial retirement goals. To help savers determine whether they're on the right path, Empower published information on the average and median 401(k) account balances for Americans by age in February 2026.

If you're currently 40 years old, you might be doing better than your peers if your 401(k) balance exceeds $409,686, as Empower reports that's the average account balance for people between the ages of 40 and 49. Of course, that average is the sum of all account balances in Empower's data set held by people in this age range, divided by the total number of those accounts. So, while some people with exceptionally high balances could skew that figure upward, that's not the only metric by which you can measure your 401(k)'s standing against the rest of your age group's. For instance, Empower's study also found the median 401(k) balance for Americans in their 40s to be $156,675, which some savers may find considerably more attainable.

If your 401(k) balance in your 40s doesn't match up to the average, there are other 401(k) figures that could still mean you're wealthier than you realize. For instance, the median figure in this case is the 401(k) account balance that's directly in the middle of the sequence of all surveyed account balances held by 40-somethings sorted from smallest to largest. Empower's median value means about half of the study's subjects in their 40s had 401(k) accounts worth more than $156,675, while the other half had less than that amount. So, even if you have less than half of the average 401(k) balance of individuals in their 40s, you could still be outperforming the majority of your peers.

If you'd like to improve your 401(k) account balance to catch up to or surpass the median or average balances of your fellow 40-year-olds, the good news is you still have time to save for retirement. Considering the MassMutual Retirement Happiness Study estimates the average American retires at age 62, 40-year-old savers still have at least 22 years to continue saving and working. You could begin by maxing out your 401(k) contribution in your 40s to boost your account balance faster, ensuring you're receiving a good rate of return on your 401(k) account, or delaying retirement by a few more years to give yourself more time to contribute to your 401(k).