How Much Has Your Generation Saved for Retirement?

A June 2025 report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies provides a revealing comparison across four generations.

Based on a survey conducted in late 2024, it examines workers age 18 and older employed by for-profit companies. The figures represent estimated total household retirement account savings, rather than individual account balances or total net worth. They include households reporting no retirement savings and exclude nonresponses.

Why the Median Matters

The median is the middle of the distribution, roughly half fall below it and half above it.

An average can be pulled upward by a relatively small number of households with enormous balances. The median provides a useful picture of the middle household.

But a median is not a retirement target. Having more than your generation’s median does not automatically mean you are prepared. Having less does not automatically mean retirement is impossible. Your expenses, income sources, health, and family circumstances matter.

Comparison can provide perspective. It cannot provide your retirement plan.

Generation Z: $31,000

Gen Z workers have an estimated median of $31,000 in household retirement savings, according to the report.

For younger workers, the biggest advantage may not appear on their retirement statement.

It is time.

Many have decades ahead to contribute, invest, and allow compound growth to work. A modest beginning can become meaningful when paired with consistent saving over many years.

The challenge is making retirement a priority while it still feels distant. Future needs rarely feel as urgent as today’s bills. But starting early gives those contributions more time to grow.

Millennials: $65,000

Millennial workers have an estimated median of $65,000 in household retirement savings.

For many, retirement saving competes with housing costs, childcare, debt payments, and other family responsibilities.

Those demands are real. So is the need to prepare.

The temptation is to wait until life becomes less expensive. Yet another expense often replaces the one that disappears. Retirement contributions need a place in the household’s priorities before every other demand consumes the paycheck.

Consistency matters, even when progress feels slow.

Generation X: $107,000

Gen X workers have an estimated median of $107,000 in household retirement savings.

Retirement is moving closer. The remaining working years offer an important opportunity to strengthen savings and develop a clear plan.

This is the season to replace “I think we’ll be okay” with actual numbers.

What income can you reasonably expect? What will your lifestyle cost? What financial obligations will follow you into retirement?

Clarity gives you something useful to act on.

Baby Boomers: $270,000

Baby Boomer workers have an estimated median of $270,000 in household retirement savings. Remember, this describes surveyed Boomers who are still working, rather than all Baby Boomers or retirees.

That is meaningful money. It is also far below the million-dollar benchmark that dominates many retirement conversations.

For someone nearing retirement, that distance can feel discouraging.

Why the Book, Retire With Less Than $1 Million, Matters

These numbers help explain the reason for this book.

People approaching retirement need practical guidance that begins with what they have today. They need help understanding their options and making wise decisions with the years ahead.

The book explores ways to strengthen that future while rediscovering what makes retirement meaningful.

A million dollars is one path to retirement. But it is not the only path.

Your savings deserve attention. Your future deserves hope.