What the Average American Has Saved by Age 65-74—And How You Stack Up Against the Numbers

Retirement Reality Check: How Your Nest Egg Measures Up Against the 65-74 Crowd

The Golden Years Gold Standard

Forget what financial advisors promised—the real numbers tell a different story. Americans aged 65-74 have saved specific amounts that might surprise you, whether you're trailing behind or actually ahead of the curve.

Benchmarking Your Financial Fitness

Compare your savings against the hard data without the sugar-coating. These figures don't lie—they reveal exactly where you stand in the retirement readiness race.

The Cold Hard Truth About 'Golden Years'

Turns out those retirement dreams of endless golf and tropical vacations require more than hope and a 401(k) that barely outpaces inflation—who knew?

Wake-Up Call: Your Portfolio Versus Reality

If your savings don't match these numbers, maybe it's time to rethink that avocado toast budget—or just accept you'll be working until you're 80. Thanks, traditional finance!

Key Takeaways

• Americans ages 65-74 have more saved than their younger peers, but are now entering a drawdown phase.
• Annual check-ins on income, expenses, and benefits help ensure your retirement budget stays aligned with changing costs and opportunities.
• Holding on to a low-interest mortgage may provide more financial flexibility in retirement.
• Keeping some growth-oriented investments in retirement can help your savings outpace inflation and cover rising health care costs.
• To maximize your cash savings, consider one of the best high-yield savings accounts or a top nationwide CD.
  

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How Much Do Americans in Their 60s and 70s Typically Have Saved?

You may find that your financial priorities are shifting if you’re in your late 60s or early 70s. With major expenses such as raising children or paying for college likely behind you, and full-time work potentially winding down or already in the past, this time of life is often about making the most of what you’ve saved.

Whether you’ve fully retired or are still earning a paycheck, your financial picture depends on how you manage the savings, investments, and income you’ve accumulated. It’s common for people in this age group to have larger account balances than in earlier decades; according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances, among this age group, those who had a bank account held a median balance in 2022 (the most recent data available) of $13,400—the largest of the groups surveyed.

Median Bank Account Balances by Age Among Bank Account Holders

	Under 35	35-44	45-54	55-64	65-74	75 or older
2013	$2,800	$4,840	$5,090	$6,360	$8,910	$8,910
2016	$3,150	$4,690	$5,010	$6,620	$9,870	$12,330
2019	$3,760	$5,460	$7,420	$6,520	$9,270	$10,780
2022	$5,400	$7,500	$8,700	$8,000	$13,400	$10,000

Source: The Federal Reserve’s “Survey of Consumer Finances” (2022), median transaction account balances by age group. Transaction accounts include checking, savings, money market, and brokerage cash accounts, as well as prepaid debit cards.

Important

We use median figures here, instead of mean averages, to reduce the impact of those with exceptionally high or low savings amounts. The median value is that of an American in the middle of the range–where half of the survey respondents reported more savings and half reported less.

Many Americans aged 65-74 also hold other savings or investments, and over half reported having retirement accounts, according to the Fed survey.

Where Else People Age 65-74 Are Saving Money

Asset	Percent of Households with This Asset	Median Value for Holders of This Asset
CDs	11.4%	$5,300
Savings Bonds	8.2%	$10,000
Stocks (Directly Held)	20.4%	$65,000
Retirement Accounts	51.0%	$200,000
Bonds (Directly Held)	2.2%	$322,000

Source: The Federal Reserve’s “Survey of Consumer Finances” (2022)

"Directly held" means the asset is not in a retirement account. The value of bonds in this table looks much higher than the other categories, especially given that only a tiny fraction of 65- to 74-year-olds owns directly held corporate or municipal bonds. This small group either holds numerous bonds, bonds with high values, or both. Also, survey respondents self-report values and could have reported face values of bonds that they found on account statements, rather than market values, which may have been lower in 2022.

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Strategies to Maximize Your Retirement Savings in Your 60s and 70s

As with all age groups, there’s no set amount to save if you’re in the 65-74 age bracket. Lifestyle, expenses, and income streams all impact the right dollar amount for you. “We want to look at the income sources that are going to last for the entire lifetime of one or both people in the household, and that really informs how much risk a person can take with the rest of their retirement savings,” said Guli Fager, a certified financial planner with Toler Financial Group.

“For most folks, unless they start retirement with some type of chronic illness that already costs quite a deal of money, the expensive stuff is going to happen later,” she said. “It is really important to have something that has the potential to grow faster than the rate of inflation.”

Fager offers these strategies to help align your resources with your goals to ensure your savings keep working for you:

• Growth assets still matter: Since health care is a big retirement cost that may arise later in life, it’s important to keep some growth-oriented investments, such as stocks, to help your savings keep pace with inflation and extend their lifespan, Fager said. She also noted that households with guaranteed income, such as a pension in addition to Social Security, can often take more investment risk, whereas others may need to invest more conservatively to protect their assets. Many people seem to follow this common piece of asset-allocation advice: “100 minus your age in stocks and then the rest in bonds,” Fager said.
• Evaluate your debt and mortgage strategy: It often makes sense to eliminate high-interest or depreciating debt, like credit cards, personal loans, or auto loans, but there are a few ways to think about a mortgage, Fager said. Reducing monthly expenses by eliminating a mortgage can make sense when transitioning to a lower retirement income, but low-interest mortgages may not need to be paid off immediately—especially if they free up cash flow or are outpaced by investment returns, she said.
• Conduct financial check-ins: Review your income, expenses, and cash flow at least annually—especially after changes like Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), or increases in your property taxes or Medicare premiums, Fager said. She noted that it’s important to remember that if you receive a pension, particularly a public sector one, it likely will not adjust for inflation. Periodically revisiting these details and your finances helps ensure your budget stays aligned with your reality.
• Plan for transitions: As you age, it's helpful to have a trusted person—a spouse, adult child, or financial advisor—who can help monitor accounts, catch missed payments, and assist with day-to-day financial tasks if needed. People sometimes don’t review emails and calendars in retirement the same way they did when they were working, Fager said, and credit card payments not set to auto-pay can end up late. It can be that “they just forgot because they're living their best lives, but that's also one of the signs of early cognitive task management issues—bills suddenly are slipping and you don't want to wind up getting behind,” she said.
  

How to Use High-Yield Accounts and CDs to Boost Your Savings

If you're looking to grow your short-term savings, both high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs) can be smart places to put your cash.

High-yield savings accounts give you flexible access to your funds while typically offering much better returns than traditional savings accounts. However, keep in mind that these interest rates are variable, meaning your bank or credit union can adjust them at any time. Right now, 12 of the highest-paying savings accounts pay between 4.40% and 5.00% annual percentage yield (APY).

If you can afford to set your money aside for a while, a CD might offer an ideal fit. These accounts offer fixed interest rates for a set term—anywhere from a few months to several years—and your return is locked in, no matter how interest rates shift. Today's top-paying CDs are currently offering APYs up to 4.60%. This may be the last time we see CD rates this high for a while, given that the Federal Reserve is expected to cut the federal funds rate this month—so “it’s still a good time to get money into CDs,” Fager said.

As with bonds, be sure to track your CD's maturity date, and have a plan for when it matures, she said. Otherwise, your CD will likely be renewed into one that’s less enticing than your original—especially if your CD had a promotional rate on an unusual term, such as 5 or 7 months.

Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts

We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:

• Best High-Yield Savings Accounts - Up to 5.00%
• Best Money Market Accounts - Up to 4.80%
• Best High-Yield Checking Accounts - Up to 6.00%
• Best Overall CD Rates - Up to 4.60%
• Best 3-Month CD Rates - Up to 4.40%
• Best 6-Month CD Rates - Up to 4.60%
• Best 1-Year CD Rates - Up to 4.50%
• Best 18-Month CD Rates - Up to 4.40%
• Best 2-Year CD Rates - Up to 4.28%
• Best 3-Year CD Rates - Up to 4.28%
• Best 4-year CD Rates - Up to 4.28%
• Best 5-Year CD Rates - Up to 4.28%

Important

Note that the "top rates" quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that's below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.