What people your age actually have saved
The Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (2022 wave, the latest published) reports the following median liquid savings in transaction accounts by age group:
| Age group | Median liquid savings |
|---|---|
| Under 35 | $5,400 |
| 35-44 | $7,500 |
| 45-54 | $8,700 |
"Liquid savings" here means money in checking, savings, money-market, and call accounts — not retirement accounts or home equity. That's the cushion most Americans have between them and a financial surprise.
The kicker: the Federal Reserve's 2024 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking found that 37% of U.S. adults can't cover an unexpected $400 expense exclusively with cash or its equivalent. Bankrate's 2025 Emergency Savings Survey reports that 24% of Americans have no emergency savings at all, and only 46% have at least three months of expenses saved.
What financial planners recommend by age
The standard guidance is built around two things: an emergency fund (liquid cash to survive disruption) and retirement savings (long-horizon investing). Most planners recommend the following rough targets:
- By age 25: 1 month of expenses in an emergency fund. Start contributing to a 401(k) at least up to the employer match if one is available.
- By age 30: 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund. Roughly 0.5x to 1x your annual salary in retirement accounts.
- By age 35: 3-6 months of emergency fund. Roughly 1x to 2x annual salary in retirement accounts.
- By age 40: 6 months emergency fund. Roughly 3x annual salary in retirement.
These are guideposts, not hard rules. Someone who plans to start a business or has uneven income should aim higher on the emergency fund side. Someone with a guaranteed pension might need less.
How do you compare to people your age?
The 3-minute LifeScore assessment scores you against benchmarks for your specific age bracket across money, career, security, legal, health, safety net, housing, and growth. Free score, $4.99 for the full report.
Take the assessment →If you're behind, the order to fix it
The math research on personal finance is pretty clear about prioritization. If you're below where you want to be, work in this order:
- Capture your full employer 401(k) match first.Per Vanguard's 2024 data, 82% of eligible employees participate in their workplace retirement plan, but a meaningful chunk don't contribute enough to capture the full employer match. Common formulas include a 50% match up to 6% of pay (an effective 3% match). If you earn $75,000 and don't contribute the 6% needed to get the match, you're leaving roughly $2,250 a year on the table.
- Build a 1-month emergency fund. Even before eliminating high-interest debt, having a small buffer prevents one car repair from sending you back to credit cards. Open a high-yield savings account at a different bank than your checking (friction is the feature) and set up a small automatic transfer.
- Eliminate high-interest debt. Anything above ~7% APR mathematically beats the expected return of investing. Pay it down before adding to retirement above the match.
- Grow the emergency fund to 3 months.Once high-interest debt is handled, prioritize this until you're covered.
- Increase retirement contributions.Raise the contribution percentage by 1% every year — most plans let you set this on autopilot. You won't notice it in your paycheck, and compounding over 30+ years is the biggest financial lever you have.
The gap is smaller than it feels
One thing that surprises most people who run the numbers: the difference between "behind" and "on track" is usually only a few hundred dollars a month redirected toward savings. Saving $300/month consistently for one year puts you ahead of the median 25-29 year old. Saving $500/month for three years puts you in the top quartile for your age group.
What kills people is irregularity, not the size of the contribution. Setting up automation — auto-transfer to savings, auto-contribute to 401(k), auto-invest a brokerage account — is what separates people who hit these benchmarks from people who try and fail repeatedly.
The bottom line
Most Americans are behind the savings benchmarks for their age. That's not a moral failing — it's the default. Closing the gap is a matter of automation more than income. If you don't know exactly where you stand right now, the LifeScore assessment is built to tell you in three minutes.
See where you actually stand
The 3-minute assessment scores you on emergency fund readiness, retirement, debt, employer match capture, and 4 other life areas. Real benchmarks. Free score, $4.99 for the full report.
Take the assessment →Sources cited: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022 (median liquid savings by age); Federal Reserve Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking 2024 ($400 emergency expense statistic); Bankrate Annual Emergency Savings Survey 2025 (no emergency savings statistic); Vanguard How America Saves 2025 (401(k) participation, average employer match formulas). This article is for educational purposes and is not financial advice; consult a Certified Financial Planner before making major decisions about your money.