You Might Be Ahead Of The Average 50-Year-Old If You Have This Number In Your 401(k)

A 401(k) is one of the most popular retirement plans in the U.S. that allows you to save, invest, and grow your retirement balance. However, with the high cost of living, people might be forced to prioritize paying for everyday bills or paying down debt at the expense of saving for retirement. So, it's not surprising that a Gallup poll shows only 45% of Americans believe they'll be financially comfortable in retirement. 

When trying to close the gap in your retirement savings, it can be helpful to have a benchmark that illustrates how much other people in your or other age groups have set aside. For example, Empower reports the average person in their 50s has $642,696 in their 401(k) as of July 2026. If that seems high, the median balance is $252,501 for the same age group. This median balance amount can offer a more realistic guidepost for those looking to compare their savings, as it isn't as skewed by outliers. Still, both these figures are the highest of any age group between the ages of 20 and 90. Whether your 401(k) balance will be ahead of the average 50-year-old can depend, in part, on whether you utilize all the benefits 401(k)s have to offer.

There are many ways to close the gap in your retirement savings. For instance, taking advantage of employer matching, in which your employer makes additional contributions to your 401(k) to match a certain portion of your own contributions, does a lot more than grow your balance: Employer matches increase the amount of money in your account that can compound, magnifying its growth over time. Fidelity notes that Gen Xers — who are aged 46 to 61 in 2026 — receive the highest average employer match rate of any generation at 5.2%, which could inform why 50-year-olds have a higher average 401(k) balance than other age groups.

Not all workplaces offer employer matching, but there are other ways you can catch up on your retirement savings. For instance, automating your plan to deposit a portion of your paycheck into your 401(k) can help you keep track of your savings goals and minimize the temptation to spend money earmarked for retirement. Actively monitoring your 401(k)'s asset allocation can also help manage risk and impact your savings rates. The average rate of return for 401(k) investments is 5% to 8% annually, according to SoFi, but your individual returns depend on a lot of factors. Experts recommend reducing the percentage of your portfolio that's invested in stocks as you get older, because higher exposure to stocks while you're younger helps you take advantage of market growth and income-driven assets like bond funds can aid wealth preservation as you approach retirement. Adjusting the asset distribution in your retirement plan to reflect your personal priorities and risk tolerance can help you make the most of your 401(k).