How Many Individuals Retire With $1 Million or Extra in Retirement Accounts? The Quantity Would possibly Shock You

Many Individuals dream of retiring with a million-dollar nest egg —Individuals basically suppose you want about $1.5 million to retire—however the actuality is starkly completely different. Utilizing figures from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Survey of Client Funds (up to date to 2022 however launched in 2025), solely about 2.5% of all Individuals even have $1 million or extra saved of their retirement accounts—a determine that may shock anybody used to seeing monetary media and their depictions of common Individuals amassing monumental portfolio features in recent times.

Amongst precise retirees, solely 3.2% have reached the $1 million threshold.

The Million-Greenback Actuality Verify

In keeping with Fed information, simply over half of Individuals (54.3%) have retirement accounts, and of these, lower than one in 20 (4.7%) have reached the $1 million mark. That determine rises to 18% of U.S. households in the event you embody all belongings, equivalent to actual property and different financial savings.

What Most Retirees Truly Have

The hole between expectation and actuality turns into even clearer when inspecting particular teams. The median retirement financial savings for households led by somebody between 65 and 74 years outdated is $200,000, dropping to $130,000 for these 75 and older.

Why So Few Attain $1 Million

A number of components clarify why million-dollar retirement accounts are comparatively uncommon. Revenue performs the obvious function, with high-income households sometimes saving a mean of $769,000 in contrast with simply $79,500 for middle-income households.

Training makes a dramatic distinction, too. School graduates have greater than 3 times the retirement financial savings of these with a highschool diploma. The median worth of retirement financial savings for a U.S. school graduate ($141.7k) is greater than 3 times that of these with solely a highschool diploma ($44k).

Homeownership additionally considerably impacts retirement financial savings, with householders averaging $303,000 in retirement accounts, greater than 2.5 instances as a lot as renters.

Practically 500K Individuals Are 401(okay) Millionaires

Regardless of the general percentages, there’s been exceptional progress on the high finish. Constancy Investments stories that the variety of “401(okay) millionaires” reached a report of about 497,000 Individuals as of 2024, with practically 399,000 additionally having at the least $1 million in particular person retirement accounts—two teams that always overlap.

The important thing to reaching these quantities? Beginning early and contributing persistently over a few years, with the typical time it takes being about 27 years, in keeping with a Constancy evaluation of its accountholders.

“I’ve seen purchasers begin with six figures of debt and little or no belongings and ultimately attain $500,000 (and extra) of internet monetary wealth,” David Tenerelli, an authorized monetary planner at Values Added Monetary Planning, instructed Investopedia. That is simpler to achieve in the event you’re a high-income skilled, he famous. “However excessive earnings isn’t the one option to monetary prosperity; residing frugally, investing correctly, and optimizing for taxes are all essential components for anybody to build up monetary wealth.” 

The Backside Line

Having a tens of millions {dollars} in your account on the day of your retirement stays an elusive objective for the overwhelming majority of Individuals, with fewer than one in 30 attaining it. No surprise Individuals are involved about their retirement. About three-fifths of us are afraid we’ll outlive our financial savings.

For these nonetheless working, the message is evident: begin saving early, contribute persistently, and think about reaching $1 million as being a part of a really unique membership.