If You've Saved This Much for Retirement by Age 40, You're Ahead of the Game

One rule of thumb says you should have 3 times your salary saved for retirement by age 40.

See if you can increase your contributions or consider adjusting your retirement plan if you're behind where you want to be.

By the time you've reached your 40s, you're often pretty well established in your career. You're probably earning more than you did in decades past, and you may have access to better retirement benefits through your job. But that doesn't mean you feel on track for the retirement you want or that you even know what "on track" looks like.

That's OK. A lot of people are in the same boat. The truth is, there's no magic number to aim for. But there are some rules of thumb you can use to gauge how you're doing compared to other 40-year-old savers.

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One common piece of advice says you should have saved 3 times your salary by age 40 to be on track to retire with 10 times your salary by age 67. If we apply this to the median weekly earnings of $1,251 for full-time workers during the second quarter of 2026, that gives the average worker a savings target of just over $195,000.

But there are a lot of variables here. Your salary has probably changed over the years, so pinning down the exact amount you should aim for isn't always easy. And if you plan to retire earlier than 67, you might need even more than 3 times your salary saved by age 40. So it's fine to use the method as a baseline, but you'll want to adjust it up or down to suit your own retirement goals.

If you find you're behind where you should be, it may comfort you to know you're not alone. The median 401(k) account balance for adults aged 35 to 44 is just $46,919, according to Vanguard. Even the average balance of $120,742 is lower than what our example above suggests. But there's still time to turn things around.