How Much to Save for Retirement by Age: Targets From 30 to 67

How Much Should You Save for Retirement by Age?

A simple way to judge whether you save for retirement fast enough is to compare your savings with your salary at each age. Fidelity’s guideline suggests about 1 times your annual salary by 30, 3 times by 40, 6 times by 50, 8 times by 60 and 10 times by 67.¹ These are rough checkpoints, not hard rules.

The targets are based on several assumptions. Fidelity assumes you save 15% of your income every year from 25, retire at 67 and need savings to cover about 45% of your pre-retirement income, with Social Security covering much of the rest.¹

Your own number may be higher or lower. Retiring earlier, expecting a pension or planning an expensive lifestyle all change it. The checkpoints are most useful as an early warning that you need to adjust.

What Are the Savings Targets at Each Age?

The table turns the multiples into dollar amounts for a few made-up salaries.

Couples can apply the guideline to household income and combined savings. If one partner earns much less or takes time out of work, the higher earner may need to save more to keep the household on track.

Use your current salary, not your starting salary. As your pay rises, the target rises with it, which is why the multiple matters more than any fixed dollar figure.

Fidelity also notes the targets move with your plans. Retiring at 65 raises the goal to about 12 times salary, while working until 70 lowers it to about 8 times.¹

Why Do Savings Need to Grow So Much in Your 40s and 50s?

The targets climb steeply later in life because compound growth does more of the work as balances get bigger.

In your 20s and 30s, most of your balance comes from what you put in. By your 50s, investment growth on a larger pot can add more each year than your own contributions. That is why starting early matters so much. Our explainer on compound interest shows the effect in detail.

Inflation is the other reason. A dollar saved today will buy less in 30 years, so your savings need to grow faster than prices. Our explainer on inflation covers why cash alone rarely keeps up.

Where Should You Save for Retirement?

Tax-advantaged accounts let more of your money grow, so they are usually the first place to save for retirement. The 2026 limits come from IRS Notice 2025-67.²

A common order of priority goes like this:

1. Get the full employer match in your workplace plan. It is extra pay you lose if you skip it. Our explainer on 401(k) plans explains how matches work.
2. Fund an IRA, choosing between Roth and traditional based on your tax rate. Our guide to Roth vs traditional IRA walks through the choice.
3. Go back to the workplace plan and raise contributions toward the yearly limit.
4. Use a regular brokerage account once tax-advantaged room is full.

From 2026, people who earned more than $150,000 in wages the year before must make any workplace catch-up contributions as Roth (after-tax) money, under a change from the SECURE 2.0 law.²

How Does Social Security Fit In?

Social Security replaces part of your income, and when you claim it changes how much you get for life.

For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67.³ You can claim as early as 62, but the monthly benefit is reduced permanently, by up to 30% if your full retirement age is 67.⁴ Each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70, raises the benefit.

Fidelity’s targets assume Social Security covers a large share of your retirement income.¹ If you plan to claim early, or expect a smaller benefit because of gaps in your work history, aim higher than the guideline.

You can see your own estimated benefit by creating a free my Social Security account on the SSA website. It shows estimates at different claiming ages, which makes it easier to compare claiming early with waiting a few years.

How Much of Your Income Should You Save?

Saving 15% of your pre-tax income, including any employer match, is a common target for people who start in their 20s.¹

Starting later means saving a higher share to catch up. Someone who begins at 35 may need 20% or more to reach the same checkpoints. Someone who starts at 22 can often reach them with a little less.

If 15% feels out of reach, start where you can and raise it each year. Many workplace plans offer automatic increases of 1 percentage point a year. Small, steady increases are easier to live with than one big jump.

What If You Are Behind?

Falling short of the checkpoints is common, and there are several practical ways to catch up.

• Raise your savings rate gradually. Put part of every pay rise toward retirement before you get used to spending it.
• Use catch-up contributions. From 50, the limits rise, and ages 60 to 63 get an even larger workplace catch-up in 2026.²
• Cut investment costs. Low-cost index funds keep more of your returns. Our explainer on index funds explains why.
• Clear high-interest debt. Paying 20% or more on a card works against any investment return. Our guide on APR shows the cost.
• Work a little longer. Each extra year adds savings, delays withdrawals and can raise your Social Security benefit.³
• Plan to work part-time in early retirement, which reduces how much you need to withdraw.

What If You Are Ahead?

Being ahead of the targets gives you choices, but it is worth checking your plan rather than coasting.

Make sure your investment mix still fits your age and comfort with risk. Consider whether you want to retire earlier, help family, or give more. And keep enough cash for emergencies outside your retirement accounts, so you never need to raid them. Our explainer on emergency funds covers how much to hold.

A Worked Example

Here is a made-up example of someone catching up from behind.

Priya is 40 and earns $80,000. The 3x checkpoint is $240,000, but she has $120,000. She contributes 6% of her pay and gets a 4% employer match, so 10% in total.

She raises her own contribution to 10%, taking the total to 14%. She also adds 1 percentage point each year until she reaches 15% of her own pay. She opens a Roth IRA and puts in $200 a month.

At an assumed 6% average return, which is not a promise, her extra saving could add well over $300,000 by 67 compared with staying at 10%. She may still land below 10x, so she also plans to work until 68 and delay Social Security. You can try your own numbers in our savings goal calculator.

What Should You Focus On in Each Decade?

The right priorities change as you move through your working life.

In Your 20s

Start the habit, even with small amounts. Join your workplace plan, take the full match and pick a simple low-cost fund. Time is your biggest advantage, because money saved now has 40 years or more to grow. Building an emergency fund alongside retirement saving stops surprises from derailing you.

In Your 30s

Aim to reach 1x salary by 30 and keep climbing toward 3x by 40. Competing goals such as a home, children and childcare make this decade tight. Try to protect your retirement contributions and raise them with every pay rise, even by 1 percentage point.

In Your 40s

This is often the peak earning decade and the best time to close any gap. Review your investment mix, consolidate old workplace accounts and check whether you are on track for 6x by 50. Many people find their savings start to grow noticeably faster here.

In Your 50s

Use the higher catch-up limits from 50, and the larger 60 to 63 catch-up in 2026 if it applies to you.² Start estimating your retirement budget in detail, including health insurance before Medicare at 65. Gradually reduce risk if a large market fall would derail your plans.

In Your 60s

Decide when to stop working and when to claim Social Security, since the two do not have to be the same year. Plan which accounts to draw from first to manage tax. A short session with a fee-only adviser can be worth it at this stage.

How Can You Estimate Your Own Number?

The multiples are a shortcut, but a simple estimate of your own spending gives a more personal target.

1. Estimate yearly spending in retirement. Many people need 70% to 80% of their pre-retirement income, but your own budget is a better guide.
2. Subtract the income you can count on, such as your estimated Social Security benefit and any pension.
3. Divide the gap by 4%, which is the same as multiplying it by 25.

Here is a made-up example. If you expect to spend $60,000 a year and Social Security pays $24,000, the gap is $36,000. Multiplying by 25 gives a savings target of about $900,000. Revisit the estimate every few years as your life changes.

How Much Can You Spend in Retirement?

A rough planning rule is to withdraw about 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, then adjust for inflation.

Fidelity’s own guideline assumes withdrawals of roughly 4% to 5% a year.¹ On $750,000, 4% is $30,000 a year. Add Social Security and any pension to estimate your total income.

This is a starting point, not a guarantee of anything. Markets, health costs and how long you live all affect what is sustainable. Many retirees review their withdrawal rate every year and spend a little less after poor market years.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A few habits quietly set retirement savings back.

• Missing the employer match, which is free money.
• Cashing out a 401(k) when changing jobs, which triggers tax and often a penalty. Roll it over instead.
• Leaving contributions in cash instead of investing them.
• Taking more risk than you can stand, then selling in a market fall.
• Ignoring fees, which compound against you over decades.
• Claiming Social Security early by default, without checking how much it cuts your benefit.⁴

Key Terms Explained

These words come up often when planning for retirement.

• Savings rate: the share of your income you put toward retirement each year.
• Employer match: money your employer adds to your workplace plan when you contribute.
• Catch-up contribution: extra contribution room allowed from age 50.
• Full retirement age: the age at which you can claim your full Social Security benefit, 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
• Withdrawal rate: the share of your savings you take out each year in retirement.
• Income replacement: the share of your pre-retirement income you aim to have in retirement.

The Bottom Line

A practical way to save for retirement is to aim for 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60 and 10x by 67, then adjust for your own plans. Save about 15% of your pay, take the full employer match, use tax-advantaged accounts and raise your rate a little each year. If you are behind, catch-up contributions, lower costs and working a bit longer can close much of the gap. For more, browse our investing explainers.

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