How Many Americans Have $1 Million in Retirement Savings?

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Very few Americans have $1 million in retirement savings. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, only about 2.5% of Americans have $1 million or more saved in retirement accounts. Among people who are already retired, the share is only slightly higher, at 3.2%. Fewer than one in 30 reach retirement with a seven-figure account balance. Headlines about record numbers of “401(k) millionaires” describe real growth, but that growth is concentrated among a small group of long-tenured, higher-income savers.

How Rare a $1 Million Retirement Account Is

The most useful way to read the numbers is to separate three groups: everyone, people who have retirement accounts, and people who are already retired.

The gap between the first two rows comes from a basic fact. Only 54.3% of Americans have a retirement account at all. Almost half the population starts at zero in this measure, which pulls the overall percentage down. Even among people who do save in a 401(k), IRA or similar plan, fewer than one in 20 have crossed $1 million.

The retiree figure of 3.2% surprises some readers, since balances usually peak around retirement. It stays low because many current retirees spent much of their careers before 401(k) plans became the main workplace retirement vehicle. Many of them have also already started drawing their accounts down.

Retirement Accounts vs. Total Net Worth

How many Americans have $1 million depends on what you count. If you include all assets, such as home equity, other real estate, bank savings and taxable brokerage accounts, about 18% of U.S. households reach $1 million. That is roughly seven times the share with $1 million in retirement accounts alone.

The difference matters because these assets do different jobs in retirement:

• Retirement accounts (401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs) are built to be drawn down for income, though withdrawals from traditional accounts are taxed.
• Home equity counts toward net worth but produces no spending money unless you sell, downsize or borrow against the house.
• Investable or liquid assets usually means money you can sell or withdraw readily, which leaves out the primary home. A household can be a millionaire on paper and still have modest investable savings.

The Survey of Consumer Finances measures households, not individuals. A married couple with two 401(k)s worth $500,000 each counts as one household with $1 million. Neither spouse is a 401(k) millionaire on their own. Fidelity’s 401(k) millionaire figures, covered below, count individual accounts, so the two sources are not measuring the same thing.

What Most Retirees Actually Have

A typical retiree’s balance looks very different from the headline averages.

For households aged 65 to 74, the average is $609,000, about three times the median. The median is the midpoint: half of households have more and half have less. The average adds up every balance and divides by the number of households, so a few multimillion-dollar accounts lift it well above what most people hold. When you are judging whether your own savings are typical, the median is the better yardstick.

The lower median for households 75 and older reflects withdrawals made over years of retirement. It also reflects a generation that relied more on traditional pensions and less on self-directed accounts.

Why So Few Reach $1 Million

Three factors separate large balances from small ones.

Income. High-income households hold average retirement savings of about $769,000. Middle-income households average about $79,500. Higher earners can contribute more dollars each year, are more likely to max out contribution limits and often get larger employer matches in dollar terms.

Education. The median college graduate has about $141,700 in retirement savings, roughly three times the $44,000 median for someone who finished high school but not college. Education is closely tied to income, and to access to jobs that offer workplace plans.

Homeownership. Homeowners average about $303,000 in retirement accounts, more than 2.5 times what renters hold. Homeownership and retirement saving tend to rise together with income and job stability. That is an association, not evidence that buying a home causes higher retirement savings.

Each of these factors compounds over time. A worker who earns more, has a plan with a match and starts contributing in their twenties gets both larger contributions and more years of growth.

The 401(k) Millionaire Record

The excitement around 401(k) millionaires comes from growth at the top. Fidelity Investments reported that the number of people with $1 million or more in their 401(k) reached a record of about 497,000 in 2024. Nearly 399,000 people had at least $1 million in IRAs. Many people appear in both groups, so the two numbers should not be added together.

These counts come from the accounts Fidelity administers, so they show how many of its participants have crossed the threshold, not a national total. They also move with the stock market, since most long-term 401(k) savers hold large stock allocations through target-date or index funds. A strong year for equities pushes more accounts over $1 million, and a downturn can push some back under. The record reflects rising markets and the growing number of workers who have spent long careers in 401(k) plans. It does not change the national picture, in which roughly 97% of Americans have less than $1 million in retirement accounts.

How Long It Takes to Reach $1 Million

According to Fidelity, it takes an average of about 27 years to reach $1 million. That timeline is why starting age matters so much. Growth in later years is earned on a larger base, so the last few years of a long career often add more dollars than the first decade did.

A hypothetical example shows the effect. Assume a constant 7% annual return, contributions made at the end of each year, and no fees, taxes or withdrawals. All figures are nominal, not adjusted for inflation.

• To reach $1 million in 27 years, a saver would need to contribute about $13,400 per year, counting both employee and employer contributions.
• To reach $1 million in 37 years, the required contribution falls to about $6,200 per year.

Ten extra years cuts the required annual contribution by more than half. Real returns vary from year to year, and actual results depend on fees, fund choices and market timing. The underlying mechanism is compound growth, explained in simple vs. compound interest.

Inflation changes what the milestone means. $1 million reached decades from now will buy less than $1 million does today.

Can You Retire With $1 Million?

Many Americans believe they need about $1.5 million to retire comfortably, a higher bar than the $1 million milestone itself. About three-fifths of Americans say they are afraid of outliving their savings.

One common rule of thumb for turning a balance into income is the 4% guideline. You withdraw 4% of the portfolio in the first year of retirement and adjust that dollar amount for inflation afterward. The guideline comes from historical studies of how long a stock-and-bond portfolio would have lasted over roughly 30 years.

For example, a $1 million portfolio supports about $40,000 in first-year withdrawals under this rule. Whether that is enough depends on:

• Other income. Social Security, pensions or part-time work reduce how much the portfolio must supply.
• Taxes. Withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) or IRA are taxed as ordinary income, so $40,000 withdrawn is less than $40,000 to spend. Qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free.
• Retirement length. Retiring earlier or living longer stretches the same balance over more years.
• Spending and health costs. Housing, healthcare and lifestyle differ widely between households.

For someone with a paid-off home and solid Social Security benefits, $1 million can cover a comfortable retirement. For someone retiring early in a high-cost area, it may fall short.

FAQs

The Bottom Line

The numbers matter most to savers measuring their progress against headlines about record 401(k) millionaires. Very few Americans reach $1 million in retirement accounts, so the median balance is the better benchmark for judging whether savings are on track. Starting early, using an employer match and saving steadily over decades makes the milestone far easier to reach, and taxes, Social Security and spending decide whether $1 million is enough.