<p>Today, I want to discuss traditional retirement and shed some light on the average American retirement savings, ages and more. When you’re in the space, it seems that everyone is light years ahead of you or that you are not saving as much as your peers. Therefore, the purpose of this write up is to show just how well you are doing and to keep the larger picture in mind!</p><p>The average age of retirees in America is 65 for men and 63 for women. This may be shocking considering that 401k’s and IRAs are available by Age 59.5. Personally, being so deeply involved in finance, it’s hard to see how retirees DON’T retire before they’re 60. But there is a reason for that…</p><p class="button-wrapper"><a class="button primary" href="https://beansandbucks.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb122cbe0-05ab-4c2b-9938-8700522e6b67_800x538.png" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><source type="image/webp" /><img alt="Can I Retire at 60 with $5 Million?" class="sizing-normal" height="538" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb122cbe0-05ab-4c2b-9938-8700522e6b67_800x538.png" title="Can I Retire at 60 with $5 Million?" width="800" /><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container restack-image"><svg class="lucide lucide-refresh-cw" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M3 12a9 9 0 0 1 9-9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1 6.74 2.74L21 8"></path><path d="M21 3v5h-5"></path><path d="M21 12a9 9 0 0 1-9 9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1-6.74-2.74L3 16"></path><path d="M8 16H3v5"></path></svg></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"><svg class="lucide lucide-maximize2" fill="none" height="20" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></div></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>According to a 2022 survey, the average retirement savings for American families was $333,940 with the median retirement savings at only $87,000. Bringing you back to middle school math for a second: average is the average of the entire sample size; in this case it would be the total funds in retirement accounts divided by the number of families surveyed. Median is the middle of the sample set; meaning if you organized 50 accounts from least to most, the median is the 25th account. What this all means is that while the average is at $334k, but only $87k in the median is that there are many large-valued accounts that skew the average higher. The median is a better representation of all of the accounts.</p><p>Let that set in for a second. Retirees, who no longer have an income, have a median retirement nest egg of $87,000. Without social security that would last two, maybe three years max? The $30,000 that you have in a workplace 401k at age 35 is not as bad as you think now, is it? Speaking of age, let’s look at balances by age.</p><p>We’ve already stated that median is a better representation, so the following numbers are the median retirement savings per age group from a Vanguard 2023 survey:</p><p>Under Age 25: $1,948</p><p>Age 25 - 34: $11,357</p><p>Age 35 - 44: $28,318</p><p>Age 45 - 54: $48,301</p><p>Age 55 - 64: $71,168</p><p>Age 64+: $70,620</p><p>Pretty shocking, huh? If you don’t have a dime saved at Age 30, let’s see what a little amount of effort can do for you.</p><p>For this experiment we will use a deposit of $100 per month, just $25 per week, from Age 30 to Age 60 into an IRA and use an inflation-adjusted average market return of 7% per year. By Age 60, over the course of a consistent 30 years, that account will grow to over half a million dollars, $525,580 to be exact.</p><p>That’s only $25 per week, imagine $50, $100? It does not take a lot to create a significant nest egg if you are deliberate and intentional about your savings as soon as possible.</p><p>And it is never too late. The sooner you start the better, and once you can get a routine in place and can projected out the future value of your accounts, you can begin to picture retirement dates and how to beat the average age and gain your financial freedom.</p><p>Relax, take a deep breath, stay consistent and don’t forget to enjoy your life in your younger years instead of pining for retirement. You are doing great.</p><p class="button-wrapper"><a class="button primary" href="https://beansandbucks.substack.com/subscribe"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Thank you for reading and subscribing and I hope I got the wheels turning a bit for you!</p><p>Prosperously,</p><p>Jim</p>