Retirement Savings in your 40s: How to Catch Up

If you are among the 21% of U.S. adults ¹ who regret not saving for retirement sooner, you are not alone — and you are not out of time. Many hardworking Americans reach their 40s facing competing financial priorities, from mortgages and debt to family responsibilities and rising everyday costs. The important thing is to understand where you stand, make intentional savings decisions, and build a plan that can help support income later in life.

Key Takeaways

Have I saved enough for retirement?

It can be easy to see a benchmark and immediately wonder whether you are behind. But retirement savings numbers are not always as straightforward as they look.

Among people ages 45 to 54 who have retirement accounts, the average balance is $313,220, while the median balance is $115,000². That difference matters. A smaller group of high-balance savers can make the average look higher, while the median may give a more realistic picture of what many households have actually saved.

Another common rule of thumb is to have about three times your annual salary saved by age 40³. If you are not there yet, that does not mean retirement is out of reach. These benchmarks are meant to help you measure progress, not define your future.

Here are a few questions to help start your retirement planning:

Instead of focusing only on what you wish you had done earlier, use your 40s as a reset point. You may still have time for your savings to grow, time to adjust your habits, and time to make decisions that better support your retirement income goals.

How can I catch up on retirement savings?

If you are in your 40s, you may still have two decades or more before retirement. That time matters. While you may feel like you are playing catch-up, the years ahead can still give you room to save more, make adjustments, and build a stronger plan for future income.

New York Life highlights several practical ways to begin making up ground, including¹:

Increase your retirement contributions, especially if your employer offers a match you are not fully taking advantage of
Consider contributing to tax-advantaged accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, to help your savings grow tax-deferred
Use raises, bonuses, and tax refunds as opportunities to boost savings before everyday spending absorbs them
Pay down high-interest debt so more of your money can go toward long-term goals
Look for small spending changes that can turn into consistent monthly savings
Consider whether additional income from consulting, freelancing, tutoring, or other side work could be directed toward retirement

Catching up does not have to mean fixing everything at once. It means taking steady, intentional steps that help improve your retirement readiness and give your savings more time to grow.

What could retirement look like for me?

Retirement may not look the same for everyone. While traditional calculators often assume you will stop working all at once, many people take a more flexible path. Nearly 50% of retirees follow a nontraditional retirement path that includes partial retirement or unretirement⁴.

For someone working to catch up on savings, that flexibility can be important. Your retirement income strategy may not need to rely on savings alone. It could include a combination of retirement accounts, Social Security benefits, part-time income, and other resources that help support the lifestyle you want.

As you think about what retirement could look like, ask yourself:

How do I want to spend my time and money in retirement?
Would I like to keep working, even on a limited basis?
Could part-time work help me close a retirement savings gap?
How long might my savings need to support me?

A more flexible view of retirement can help turn planning from a single deadline into a series of choices. For many people, that means more room to adjust, more ways to create income, and more confidence while catching up.

How can a financial professional help me catch up on retirement savings?

If you are behind on retirement savings, the next steps can feel hard to sort through. You may be asking how much you need, how much to save, when to retire, and which accounts to focus on first. Many Americans are in the same position: more than half have never calculated how much they may need in retirement, and only about one-third of pre-retirees have a plan⁵.

A financial professional can help turn those questions into a clear strategy based on your income, savings, timeline, and goals. They can help you understand where you stand, identify potential gaps, and consider adjustments to your savings rate, investment mix, or retirement timeline.

They can also help you focus on what is still possible. Even if you feel behind, you may have more time, income options, and planning flexibility than you realize.

No matter where you are starting from, a financial professional can help you review options to strengthen retirement readiness, including whether an annuity may help protect a portion of your savings and provide more predictable retirement income.

Learn how United Life fixed indexed annuities may help support your retirement income strategy.