Are You on Track for an “Average” Retirement?

"How am I doing?"

"Am I falling behind my peers?"

"Do I have enough money?"

"How does my nest egg measure up?"

My team at Keen Wealth spends a lot of time talking folks through these kinds of questions. And, as the years go by and folks enter their 50s, 60s and beyond, that conversation evolves and begins to coalesce around another question: "Can I retire?"

You might try to answer these questions on your own by comparing your account balances to benchmarks or rules of thumb you've seen on social media. But are "averages" really the best way to assess where you are on your financial journey, especially as you get closer to retirement?

On today's show, we dig into some recent data on retirement savings and discuss why achieving your financial goals is about more than dollars and decimal points.

What does "average" really mean?

According to a recent Fidelity study of retirement savings by generational cohort, baby boomers aged 61-79 in 2025 have an average of $249,300 in their 401(k)s and $257,002 in their IRAs.

Is that "enough" for someone so close to retirement, or already retired?

Maybe!

While it can be interesting to see how the "average" person is approaching retirement, these sorts of studies almost always have built-in limitations that you should be aware of.

First of all, Fidelity is only studying accounts that it manages. So, while a $250,000 401(k) probably isn't going to support an "average" retirement, it's also probably not the only asset an "average" senior will be relying on. Maybe that "average" account holder has millions in cash, real estate, brokerage accounts, or retirement accounts from a previous employer managed by another custodian.

Speaking of a hypothetical multimillionaire, remember that averages are always skewed by folks at both extremes. Perhaps a self-employed senior working with Fidelity has nothing in a 401(k) but a sizeable balance in a Roth IRA.

And finally, in a vacuum, no single number tells us very much about how ready a person is for retirement. For example, a senior with above-average retirement account balances might also be carrying above-average credit card debt, or giving too much financial support to an adult child, or dealing with a serious illness that's driving up their annual health care costs.

So, whether seeing those $250,000 "averages" made you panic ("I don't have enough!") or made you feel a little more relaxed ("I have way more than that!"), remember that these studies only show you a small part of the much larger retirement picture.

Breaking the retirement “rules.”

If averages aren't all that helpful when it comes to establishing retirement benchmarks, how about rules of thumb?

Can you "safely" withdraw 4% from your retirement accounts every year?

Should you have 6X your annual salary saved by age 50? 8X by 60? 10X by 67?

Once again ... Maybe!

Let's say you're 67 and you have 10X your $100,000 annual salary saved ($1 million). If you withdraw 4% every year, that's $40,000.

Are you comfortable living off $40,000 plus Social Security? Do you need other assets to get you closer to that $100,000 lifestyle you're used to? Or do you have some big retirement goals, like living abroad for a couple of years, that might require a more sizable withdrawal early in retirement?

Are you accounting for a typical "retirement smile" and the likelihood that you'll need to spend more on health care in a decade or two?

Are you factoring in a typical 2%-3% increase in inflation?

Do you want to open a 529 account for that new grandbaby?

Have you analyzed your lifetime tax liability?

Does your annual spending plan have any built-in flexibility? What happens if your roof starts leaking or you need to buy a new car?

Do you want to leave behind a legacy, or do you want the last check you ever write to bounce?

There's nothing wrong with using guidelines, averages, rules of thumb, or advice from other retirees to do a little back-of-the-napkin math. But ultimately, that rule, that number, doesn't know you. And it doesn't have the experience of a fiduciary advisor who can help you create a personalized, comprehensive financial strategy.

Compare “from.”

When we’re meeting with folks who are preparing to retire, we don’t compare them to others their age.

Instead, we encourage them to compare where they are today with where they started from.

If they’ve been working with Keen Wealth for years or decades, we can look back on how their financial plan supported them through not just the ups and downs of the markets, but through buying a home, coping with an unexpected job loss, getting their kids through college, dream vacations, and now, arriving at a point where work is optional and everything is possible.

So, starting from today, where do you want to be at the end of 2026?

Make an appointment at Keen Wealth and let’s start planning to get you there.

About Bill

Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.

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