Net Worth Percentile at 60 to 64

Median

$392,860

Half of 60 to 64 year olds have less than this

Average

$1,675,294

4.3x the median. This is the number most articles quote.

Median net worth at 60 to 64 is $392,860, and this is roughly where the median peaks. It barely moves in the following brackets and then declines.

The average is $1,675,294, and the top one percent of this age group holds $17,869,960.

The full spread at 60 to 64

PercentileNet worthWhat it means
25th$80,372Bottom 25 percent are below
50th$392,860Median, half are below
75th$1,131,122Top 25 percent start here
90th$3,042,280Top 10 percent start here
95th$6,366,204Top 5 percent start here
99th$17,869,960Top 1 percent start here

Excluding home equity, the median for 60 to 64 drops to $143,640. That is the number to compare against if you rent, since the headline figures count equity you cannot spend without moving.

The top of the curve, and what happens after

Net worth stops growing here for most people. The median for 65 to 69 is $393,480, essentially identical, and by 75 to 79 it has fallen to $338,180. This is what the accumulation phase ending looks like in aggregate, and it is a useful corrective to the idea that wealth compounds indefinitely. For most households it plateaus at exactly this point and then gets spent.

For anyone in this bracket the practical question has almost entirely shifted from how much to in what order. Which accounts you draw first, when you claim Social Security, and whether you convert to Roth in the low income window between stopping work and claiming, are each worth more to a household at the median than any remaining investment decision.

Find your own number

A percentile is only useful once you know where you actually stand, and the trend matters far more than the snapshot.

Open the net worth calculator

Common questions

Why does net worth fall after this age?

Because people start spending it, which is the entire point of accumulating it. The decline in the medians after 65 is retirement working as designed, not a sign of financial distress. It is worth saying because seeing the number drop can read as alarming when it is simply the plan.

Should I claim Social Security at 62 if I am near the median?

It depends on longevity and on whether you have a spouse. Claiming at 62 permanently caps what a surviving spouse can inherit, since a survivor benefit cannot exceed what the worker was receiving, subject to a floor of 82.5 percent of the primary insurance amount. For a married household at the median, where Social Security is doing most of the work, that decision is usually worth more than the entire portfolio.

Other age brackets

Source: Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances 2022. Values in nominal 2022 US dollars. Net worth means everything owned minus everything owed, including home equity. General information, not financial advice.