By James Brumley

You know how much you have saved up in your 401(k) account. But how much does everyone else have? Mutual fund giant and retirement plan administrator Fidelity offers up this very information. Here are the average 401(k) balances for every age group participating in its plans as of the end of last year.

Data source: Fidelity Q4 2025 "Building Financial Futures" report.

Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

These average balances, however, don't tell the most important part of the story. Far more important is the amount of retirement income this amount of savings is capable of producing. Using a common rule of thumb known as the 4% rule, the table below tells you how much monthly income you could reliably withdraw from an account with the assets in the table above.

Calculations by author.

Obviously Gen Z, millennials, and most of Generation X are still working, and therefore still adding to their 401(k) balances rather than subtracting from them.

Baby boomers, on the other hand, are largely retired, and likely not contributing to a retirement plan; what they've got is what they're stuck with. And for most of them, it's clearly not enough to provide the sort of retirement they'd prefer. Even adding this year's average monthly Social Security payment of $2,071 doesn't dramatically upgrade anyone's lifestyle (although it certainly doesn't hurt).

Helpful options for anyone with retirement on the horizon

There's good news for anyone who's not yet retired. That is, you've got time and ways to save significantly more than these averages. At the very least, securing the maximum 401(k) matching contribution offered by your employer is the easiest way to start tucking away more money. But simply investing your retirement savings in more productive assets -- like stocks, rather than bonds -- is an important move to make as well, particularly if you've got several more years before you're thinking about retiring.

Even if you don't have a ton of time before you leave the world of work, however, you've got options.

Image source: Getty Images.

The IRS currently allows for what are called catch-up contributions, raising the limit on how much money older workers can contribute to a 401(k) or ordinary IRA. For this year, in addition to the $24,500 contribution cap that applies to everyone, anyone between the ages of 50 and 59 as well as anyone over the age of 64 can contribute an extra $8,000 to a 401(k) plan. And for anyone between the ages of 60 and 63, this catch-up contribution cap is raised to $11,250, bringing their total ceiling to $35,750.

As for ordinary (contributory) and Roth IRAs, this year's overall contribution limit is $7,500, although anyone 50 or older can add an additional $1,100, pushing their total cap up to $8,600.

Even if you can't afford to take full advantage of these higher contribution limits, though, just putting a little more money into these accounts than younger investors can help quite a bit.

The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.

Many Americans leave money on the table in retirement. Learn more about these retirement strategies and more, available when you join Stock Advisor.

View the "Social Security secrets" »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This article was originally published by The Motley Fool