Are Today’s 40-Somethings Saving More—or Less—for Retirement Than Previous Generations Did?

Are Today’s 40-Somethings Saving More—or Less—for Retirement Than Previous Generations Did?

Daniel Liberto

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 8:48 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Key Takeaways

• The share of 40-somethings with retirement accounts rose from 1989 to 2022, but it has been flat since the early 2000s.

• Median retirement account balances for 40-somethings also grew over this period, but look much less rosy after adjusting for inflation.

Americans in their 40s are more likely to have retirement savings than their parents were at the same age, and those who do have about three times as much.

That's according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which has tracked household balance sheets every three years since 1989. The 2022 wave is the most recent; results from the 2025 survey are due later this year.

The data shows the gains haven't been steady. Retirement account participation peaked in 2001, and the median balance fell by about a third between 2019 and 2022, the SCF data shows.

More Americans in Their 40s Have Retirement Accounts Than a Generation Ago

Many Americans in their 40s have no retirement accounts at all, though more have them than in the past.

In 1989, just 50% of Americans ages 40 to 49 had any money in a retirement account. By 2022, that figure had climbed to 61%.

That's quite a jump, but the climb hasn't been steady. Participation peaked in 2001, at 64%, then drifted lower for much of the next two decades.

Despite government policies meant to boost retirement savings participation, the share of 40-something Americans with a retirement account in 2022 hadn't markedly improved since 1998.

Why This Matters

Your 40s are the last decade when compounding can do much of the heavy lifting in boosting retirement savings, with a dollar saved at 45 having about 20 years to snowball in size.

Retirement Balances Have Grown—But Not in a Straight Line

Among those who do have retirement savings accounts, balances have grown significantly over three decades. The median balance rose from about $23,000 in 1989 to about $73,000 in 2022. In other words, the typical saver's balance more than tripled in real terms.

It wasn't a steady climb. Balances rose up to the mid-2000s, fell sharply after the 2007–2008 financial crisis, then took years to recover.

Another thing that stands out is the upward swing in median balances in 2019, followed by a steep drop three years later. The sharp rise was driven by a long bull market leading up to market highs when the 2019 survey was underway, while the subsequent fall mainly reflects an aggressive sell-off in stocks and bonds in 2022.

These figures only capture people who already have a retirement account. Include the four in 10 with nothing saved, and the median falls to about $15,000.

So Are Today's 40-Somethings Actually Better Off?

The answer depends on which decade you're comparing them to. Compared with the late 1980s, today's 40-somethings are more likely to have retirement savings, and those who do have about three times as much.

Measured against the early 2000s, progress is less apparent. Participation has essentially stalled for more than 20 years. And the typical saver's balance in 2022, about $83,600, was about the same as in 2007, before the financial crisis.

Read the original article on Investopedia