Gen Z Retirement Savings vs Gen X Benchmarks Explained

Gen Z retirement savings robinhood searches have spiked as more young investors open retirement accounts through trading apps instead of, or alongside, workplace plans. But the more revealing story about American retirement readiness right now isn't about 22 year olds. It's about Generation X, the group closest to retirement age with the least generational safety net behind them.

Federal Reserve data shows nearly four in ten Gen X households have no retirement savings at all, and those who do have saved far less than most standard benchmarks suggest they need. That gap matters for anyone thinking about how new tools, including apps like Robinhood that now market retirement accounts to younger savers, fit into the bigger picture of who actually builds enough wealth by the time they need it.

What the Numbers Actually Show

The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, using 2022 data, found that 62% of Gen X households, people born between 1965 and 1980, have some form of retirement savings. Flip that number around and it means close to 40% have nothing set aside. Among those who do have retirement accounts, the median balance sits at $100,000. That's the middle point, where half of savers have more and half have less, and it tends to be a more honest picture than an average, which gets skewed upward by a small number of very large accounts.

Fidelity recommends having six times your salary saved by age 50 and eight times by age 60. With the national average salary near $70,000 in 2024, that works out to roughly $420,000 by 50 and $560,000 by 60. A $100,000 median balance falls far short of either mark.

Why Gen X Missed the Pension Era but Not the Risk

Gen X entered the workforce right as employers were phasing out traditional pensions and pushing retirement responsibility onto workers through 401(k) plans. Unlike younger employees today, many Gen Xers didn't benefit from later improvements to those plans, such as automatic enrollment and automatic contribution increases, features that have become standard for newer hires but arrived too late to help build habits earlier in this generation's career.

That timing has made Gen X something of an experiment in do it yourself retirement planning, without a full toolkit to do it well. The oldest members of the generation turn 61 this year, meaning the data isn't describing a distant hypothetical. It's describing people who are within a few years of needing this money.

Why Some Industry Reports Paint a Rosier Picture

Not every dataset tells the same story, and the differences come down to who gets counted. Vanguard reported that participants ages 45 to 54 in its plans had a median 401(k) balance of about $67,800 at the end of 2024, while those 55 to 64 had roughly $95,600. Those numbers only reflect one type of account and only people already enrolled in a workplace plan.

Empower's figures look even stronger. As of March 2026, the company reported a median balance across all retirement accounts of about $332,200 for Gen X users of its Personal Dashboard tool, with workplace 401(k) balances for customers in their 50s at a median of roughly $246,600. But Empower's data only includes people who actively use its tracking tool, a group that skews toward people already paying close attention to their finances and often working for larger employers with stronger benefits. It's a flattering slice of the generation, not a representative one.

Where Gen Z Retirement Savings and Robinhood Fit Into the Comparison

This is where the contrast with younger investors becomes useful. Gen Z retirement savings through Robinhood and similar apps are still small in dollar terms, since most Gen Z workers are early in their careers. But the structural advantage is real: they're starting decades earlier, often with automatic contributions and employer matches baked in from the start, and with access to retirement accounts through apps that make opening an IRA as easy as buying a stock.

Time in the market is the one variable Gen X can't get back, which is exactly why younger savers using low cost, easy access platforms are being encouraged to start now rather than wait until their 40s or 50s to take saving seriously.

How Far Off the Common Benchmarks Really Are

Fidelity's broader guidance calls for ten times your salary saved by age 67. Merrill Edge suggests aiming to replace 80% to 90% of pre-retirement income annually throughout retirement. Another widely cited target, drawn from the 4% withdrawal rule, is $1 million saved, which would generate about $40,000 in first-year retirement income before Social Security, adjusted for inflation in later years to help the money last roughly 30 years.

None of these targets account for individual circumstances like debt, housing costs, health, or the size of someone's Social Security check. But even Empower's more optimistic median of $332,200, drawn from an engaged, self-selected group, still falls well short of the $1 million marker many planners cite.

Can Gen X Still Close the Gap Before Retirement

Most Gen Xers still have ten or more working years ahead of them. Boosting contributions, working a bit longer, and delaying Social Security claims are the main levers available now. None of them fully erase decades of a savings shortfall, but combined, they can meaningfully narrow it before the last of this generation reaches retirement age.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Robinhood good for retirement?

Robinhood offers IRA accounts with matching contributions on deposits, which can appeal to younger savers looking for low fees and an easy way to start investing for retirement. Whether it's a good fit depends on an individual's need for financial planning tools, investment options, and customer support compared with more established retirement providers.

How much do baby boomers have saved for retirement?

Savings levels vary widely by source and age group within the boomer generation, but industry data generally shows boomers with higher median retirement balances than Gen X, reflecting their longer time in the workforce and, for many, access to pensions that Gen X largely didn't have.