Retirement Savings in Your 60s: Are You Contributing Enough as Retirement Nears?
Key Takeaways
- The average retirement account balance among those in their 60s is more than $250,000, but the median is closer to $95,500.
- Catch-ups grow to $11,250 at ages 60–63 in 2025, plus there are IRA and HSA catch-ups where eligible.
You hit your 60s and the retirement questions get louder: Did I save enough? Should I remain longer in the workforce? And how do Social Security, Medicare, and catch-ups all fit together?
Take a breath. This decade is about coordination. Hopefully, you’ve been growing your nest egg over your working life, and now you’ve got some powerful levers—such as bigger catch-ups and smart claiming choices—that can materially improve your retirement paycheck.
A Retirement Reality Check
Your 60s compress a lot of decisions: last-mile saving, if and when to stop working, and how and when to claim Social Security. Feeling “behind” can be a natural reaction, but the decisions you make right now—and not just decades ago—can have the most immediate impact on your retirement quality of life.
The upside is that employer matches still add free money, catch-ups get bigger, and thoughtful timing of withdrawals and benefits can meaningfully raise lifetime income.
Related Education
What the Data Shows
The average retirement account balance for Americans in their 60s is around $250,000 (as of year-end 2024), according to data collected by Fidelity. Vanguard pegs the average a bit higher, at more than $270,000.
But median retirement balances often matter more than the average, since averages can be skewed by the very highest balances. Vanguard reports the median 60-something household holds closer to $95,500 in total retirement savings, meaning that half of all Americans in this age group fall below that amount.
Contribution rates also matter. The total saving rate (employee + employer) for those aged 55 to 64 is about 13.8% of gross salary, which is the highest among all age groups.
| Average and Median Retirement Account Balance by Age Group (2024) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age Group | Average | Median |
| <25 | $6,899 | $1,948 |
| 25-34 | $42,640 | $16,255 |
| 35-44 | $103,552 | $39,958 |
| 45-54 | $188,643 | $67,796 |
| 55-64 | $271,320 | $95,642 |
| 65+ | $299,442 | $95,425 |
Who’s ‘On Track’?
Fidelity puts the typical U.S. household at 78% of estimated retirement needs, with about 52% needing at least moderate changes.
How do you know if you’re on track?
- Savings multiple: Fidelity recommends having eight times your annual gross income saved up by 60, building toward about 10 times by 67 (adjusted up or down for your lifestyle and retirement age). In other words, if you’re making $100,000 at age 60, you should already have $800,000 saved up.
- Contribution rate: Target putting aside 15% to 20% of gross income, including your employer match. If you’re at about 12%, you can increase your savings rate by 1% to 2% a year until you’re in the right range.
- Retirement age: For anyone born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age (FRA) is 67 (for those born between 1955 and 1959, the FRA is between 66 and 67). Individuals can claim benefits as early as age 62, but monthly benefits will be permanently reduced. Alternatively, delaying benefits up to age 70 increases your monthly payment.
Catching Up in The Home Stretch
While retirement plan catch-up contributions of up to $7,500 begin from age 50, at ages 60 to 63, the SECURE 2.0 Act adds a higher catch-up of up to $11,250 into 401(k) plans, in addition to the regular $23,500 limit (or up to 34,750 per year).
Combine that with the IRA limit of $7,000 + $1,000 catch-up, and you have the opportunity to max out a retirement contribution of $42,750.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) also allow $1,000 catch-ups at 55-plus, a useful tax-free bucket for future healthcare. Just be sure to stop HSA contributions before Medicare enrollment.
How To Solidify Your Retirement Plan
- Capture the full employer match: Don’t leave match dollars on the table, especially when the average promised match is around 4.6% of pay, free money that compounds.
- Enroll in auto-increases: Set the increases at about 1% to 2% each year, or with every raise, until you hit or exceed the recommended 15% target contribution rate.
- Contribute direct windfalls: Try to put bonuses and tax refunds straight into your retirement accounts.
- Pay down high-interest debt: Every dollar of interest you avoid becomes a dollar that can compound for you.
- Recheck your investment mix: In your 60s, the focus of your portfolio should shift from growth to conserving what you have. Most investors still need some conservative equity exposure to beat inflation, but with volatility controls and a healthy allocation to high-quality bonds.
When To Retire? Why Delaying Might Pay
After your full retirement age, delaying social security boosts your lifetime benefits check by about 8% per year (0.66% per month), which you can delay until age 70. Think of it as a built-in, risk-free increase that also raises a surviving spouse’s potential benefit. For most people, waiting until 70 means a 24% larger monthly payment for the rest of their lives.
Another reason to delay retirement is the ability to capture more years of gainful income, as well as make additional contributions to retirement accounts. Indeed, as long as you have earned income, you can keep contributing to a 401(k) or IRA regardless of age.