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As Dave Ramsey’s daughter, Rachel Cruze knows a thing or two about money. So she was “shocked” when she saw the amount of money baby boomers were saving in 401(k) plans (1).
Shocking statistic? According to Fidelity, the average baby boomer’s 401(k) balance will be just $249,300 at the end of 2024(2). By the end of 2025, this number will only rise to $267,900, an increase of just 7% (3).
If that’s all baby boomers save for retirement, they could be in trouble, Cruz noted. “That’s less than I’m comfortable with.”
The youngest baby boomers are now 62 years old, and most are retired or close to retirement. But just because you’ve reached your sixties doesn’t mean you’re financially ready to retire.
“Retirement is not an age,” Cruz emphasizes on her YouTube channel. “It’s a number.”
This number has less to do with how long you live and more to do with the money you save.
Here’s a closer look at baby boomer finances and what you can do to make progress on the road to financial freedom.
According to a 2025 Vanguard report, only the top 30% of baby boomers are ready to retire (4).
Vanguard also found that middle-income people can expect to have a spending shortfall of $5,000 per year in retirement, accounting for 13% of their overall spending needs.
This can lead to significant lifestyle changes.
Meanwhile, a 2025 study from Northwestern Mutual found that the average “magic number” Americans think they need to retire is $1.26 million. With average savings and net worth well below this number, it’s no surprise that the study also found that 51% of Americans believe their savings are somewhat or probably likely to be exhausted (5).
With limited resources, many baby boomers may be forced to take on debt, rely heavily on Social Security, reduce their lifestyles, or even return to work to maintain their quality of life.
Of course, none of these paths are optimal — especially since one of the key rules of thumb for retirement preparation is to be debt-free, Cruz says.
But even if you’re a baby boomer, there’s still time to chart a different course.
Read more: I’m almost 50 and have no retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up?
Read more: Non-millionaires can now invest in this $1 billion private real estate fund, starting at just $10
No matter what your personal retirement dream number is, starting early and being consistent can help you achieve it.
According to SmartAsset (6), the average salary for people aged 55 to 64 is $1,322 per week or $68,744 per year.
Fidelity recommends tripling your base salary at age 35, quadruple it at age 45, and sevenfold it at age 55. To achieve these milestones, they recommend investing 15% of your pre-tax income in a diversified portfolio focused on growth and income.
Cruz echoed that advice, adding that baby boomers should be “aggressive” when it comes to saving.
For example, if you earn $70,000 and consistently save 15% each year in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund (which has returned an average of 10.56% annually since 1957 (7)), you could double your income in about 9 years and earn 7 times your income in about 18 years.
If you’re not sure how to find that extra 15% in your budget for retirement investing, consider starting small with an automated investing platform like Acorns, which can help you stash away any extra change.
By signing up and linking your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds the price of everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into your Smart Portfolio.
Through ongoing contributions to blue-chip ETFs like VOO, which tracks the S&P 500, Acorns ensures your money grows steadily while your spare change can make a real contribution to your retirement fund.
If saving your spare change isn’t enough, Acorns also lets you set up regular monthly contributions to your portfolio. The best part? If you sign up with a $5 monthly deposit, Acorns will give you $20 to get your investing journey off the ground.
With consistent investing, a 15% savings goal, and an annual salary of $70,000 under these terms, you could surpass the average baby boomer 401(k) balance of $267,900 in about 12.5 years(3). Assuming an average investment return and a monthly compound interest rate of 10.56%, this works out to approximately $875 per month.
In short, persistence pays off—and you don’t need to be rich to build a secure retirement. But if you want to reach your goals faster, you can also cut costs.
One of the best ways to find room in your budget to invest more is to keep track of your savings and spending.
Understanding your budget from the inside out is an evolving process. In the early days, you may focus more on simple things like groceries and gas. Over time, you’ll add more line items, such as student debt repayment or the appreciation of an asset like your home. Ultimately, many people use one number to understand how they are doing: their net worth.
You can get a real-time snapshot of your financial health with Rocket Money’s Advanced Net Worth feature.
You can link your accounts, including bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, property, vehicles, and even manually added items like jewelry or collectibles, so you can see what you own and what you’re owed in one place. Balances update automatically, giving you a clear view of your financial progress without having to manage multiple spreadsheets.
Security is built into every step with bank-grade 256-bit encryption and Plaid-powered connections, so your login information is never stored.
Rocket Money’s intuitive app offers a variety of free and premium tools. Free features include subscription tracking, bill reminders, credit scores and budgeting basics, while premium features like automated savings, customizable dashboards and more make it easier to stay on top of your super contributions and overall financial goals.
Then, once you have a thorough understanding of your financial situation, it’s time to start managing your savings.
A financial advisor can also help you crunch the numbers and create a workable plan.
But hiring an advisor can be a lifelong commitment that could affect your retirement. That’s why finding a reliable advisor is crucial.
This is where Advisor.com comes into play. The platform connects you with experts near you for free.
Advisor.com does the heavy lifting for you, vetting advisors based on track record, client ratio and regulatory background. Additionally, their network is made up of trustees, who are required by law to act in your best interests.
Just enter a few details about your finances and goals, and Advisor.com’s AI matching tool will connect you with qualified experts that best fit your needs, based on your unique financial goals and preferences.
Finding the right advisor isn’t always easy – there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why you can set up a free initial consultation without hiring them to see if they’re right for you.
In addition to budgeting and investing in the stock market, diversifying your retirement portfolio can better spread your risk across a variety of assets. As a result, you can avoid stock market declines in the final years before retirement that can significantly reduce the value of your portfolio.
Alternative assets are one area that could offer some protection from a broader downturn in stocks and bonds. This asset class includes real estate, private equity, cryptocurrencies, and more.
But gold is an alternative asset that has proven its resilience, especially in recent years.
In January 2026, gold prices reached an all-time high of $5,602 per ounce(8).
Typically, the precious metal is viewed as a “safe haven” investment to protect against inflation and market volatility. Despite the pullback in late January, gold prices are still up more than 80% over the year.
One way to invest in gold that offers significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with help from Tol Metals.
A gold IRA allows investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets in a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainty.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide with details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metal with qualifying purchases. Keep in mind that gold is generally best used as part of a diversified portfolio.
Real estate can be another high-growth avenue for retirement diversification. While not everyone has the capital to purchase a rental property outright, you can now invest in property shares through Arrived.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived’s easy-to-use platform lets you invest in vacation and rental property stocks for as little as $100.
This real estate platform provides you with SEC-qualified rental homes and vacation rental investment stocks, curated and reviewed based on their appreciation and income potential.
Arrived’s flexible investment amounts and streamlined process allow both accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedged asset class without having to deal with the extra work that comes with being a landlord.
If you are interested in multifamily rentals, you may consider investing in Lightstone DIRECT, a new investment platform from Lightstone Group. Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States, with more than 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Because they eliminate intermediaries (brokers and crowdfunding middlemen), accredited investors investing at least $100,000 have direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This simplified model helps reduce expenses while increasing transparency and control.
Through Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily transactions with a true partner, Lightstone, who invests a minimum of 20% of its own capital in each product. All investment opportunities at Lightstone undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone principals, including founder David Lichtenstein.
How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to evaluate your investment opportunity. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to start investing.
Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles, with a historical net internal rate of return of 27.6% on realized investments since 2004 and a historical net equity multiple of 2.54x. All told, Lightstone manages $12 billion in assets — including industrial and commercial real estate.
So even if multifamily rentals don’t interest you, Lightstone may still serve you well as an investment vehicle in other real estate verticals.
Start investing with Lightstone DIRECT today with experienced professionals.
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Rachel Cruze (1); Fidelity (2), (3); Vanguard (4); Northwestern Mutual (5); Intelligent Assets (6); Investment Encyclopedia (7); Asia Pacific Exhibition Center (8)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.