Personal Finance

If your household brings in $200k per year, this is how much you need saved for retirement by age 50

Ian Cooper

Published: November 24, 2024 1:51 pm

Last Updated: January 1, 2025 7:30 am

At some point, you’ll want to retire and just take it easy.

Unfortunately, many of us may not be saving enough if at all.

In fact, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, the average retirement savings for all families is just $87,000. Worse, only 54.4% of all families have a retirement account, meaning 54.4% of Americans have nothing saved for retirement at all.

While there’s no magic number, Americans say they’ll need about $1.46 million to retire, according to a Northwestern Mutual study. That’s up 15% from $1.27 year over year. That’s also up about 53% from 2020 when the money needed was $951,000.

Key Points About This Article:

• If you’re thinking about retiring, make sure you have a comfortable cushion.
• According to Edward Jones, if your household earns $200,000 and you plan on retiring by 65, you should have $1.43 million to $2.5 million saved.
• Also: Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire ^(Sponsored)

Here’s Where You Should Be if You Want to Retire

If you’re already retired, or even able to think about retiring comfortably, congratulations.

For those that aren’t there just yet, here’s where you compare with your age group.  According to Edward Jones, if your household earns $200,000 and you plan on retiring by 65, here’s where you should be between your 20s and your 60s.

If you don’t fall in those ranges, don’t panic. There are ways to catch up.

If you’re not within the range for your age group, don’t panic. There are several things you can do now to catch up. For one, you can maximize your 401(k), and if you don’t have one set up, or you work for yourself, talk to your company’s financial administrator or your advisor. In fact, if you do work for yourself, you can always set up a Solo 401(k).

First, if you have an employer that will match your 401(k), maximize your contributions up to the amount your employer will match. If your employer will match up to 6% of your salary, maximize that. If you earn $75,000 a year, and you contribute 1%, that’s $750 for retirement. If your employer matches that, you have $1,500 for retirement per year. If you contribute 6% and your employer matches that, that’s about $6,750 in retirement per year.

Second, you can invest in a traditional IRA, for example. While it’s best to check with your financial advisor, many times you can deduct contributions on your tax return.

Three, consider a Roth IRA, where you make contributions with money you’ve already paid taxes on. With a Roth IRA, your money can grow tax-free with tax-free withdrawals. But again, check in with your financial advisor before doing anything.

Also, if you are self-employed, you can set up a Solo 401(k), a variation of the 401(k) plan but set up for those who work for themselves. For 2024, the IRS says you can contribute up to $69,000 with an additional catch-up contribution of $7,500 if you’re 50 or older.