Once you reach the big 5-0, blowing out birthday candles can feel less like a celebration and more like fanning the flames on a pyre of financial obligations. This is the decade when the costs of health concerns, kids, aging parents, cars and homes converge, and questions about retirement begin looming large.
How much should you have saved by age 50?
By age 50, an individual should have 3.5 to 5.5 times their salary saved. That’s $245,000 to $385,000 for someone earning $70,000 a year.
Retirement saving benchmarks can put your portfolio’s value in perspective. But an even better idea is to use a good retirement calculator. The exercise will provide more accurate results than when you were younger and your projected retirement expenses were fuzzier.
If you do the math and find you’re short of your goals, there’s still time to make headway. Here’s how.
1. Max out retirement contributions
The older, wiser and hopefully wealthier you can overcome past savings shortcomings by maxing out tax-favored retirement accounts and taking advantage of catch-up contributions. A catch-up contribution is money you can contribute to a 401(k) or IRA beyond the regular annual limit the IRS sets. Catch-up contributions are only available to people ages 50 and up.
401(k)s
The 401(k) contribution limit is $24,500 in 2026. People aged 50 and older can contribute an extra $8,000 as a catch-up contribution. Due to the Secure 2.0 Act, those aged 60, 61, 62 and 63 get a higher catch-up contribution of $11,250.
» MORE: Learn what a solo 401(k) is
IRAs
Savers can also contribute extra annually to an IRA: The current limits are $7,500 for 2026 ($8,600 if aged 50 and older).
Making catch-up contributions can significantly improve your retirement prospects.
- For example, saving $8,000 instead of $7,000 in an IRA from age 50 to 65 and earning a 6% average annual return can add nearly $26,000 to your savings by retirement.
- Max out your 401(k) at work with an extra $7,500 a year, and you could end up with about $193,000 more by retirement than you would have if you hadn't made the catch-up contributions.
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NWWP is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply skill or training. The calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only.
2. Understand stocks
Investors of all ages experience blood-pressure spikes when the market gyrates. But that’s not the time to ratchet back your exposure to stocks. You’ve got years — decades, even, if you’re in good health and have a family history of longevity — to ride out the stock market’s ups and downs.
» Learn more: How to choose a financial advisor
3. Drill down on diversification
Your money should be further diversified across asset classes.
- For equities, that may mean having exposure to large, small and mid-size companies, international markets and real estate.
- With bonds, it’s allocating money in short-, mid- and long-term U.S. and international bonds.
DIY investors can diversify with individual stocks, index funds or exchange-traded funds. Many financial advisors and brokerage firms have fund screeners to help sort through the options based on fund type, performance, expense ratio and other factors.
» Learn more: How to invest $100,000
4. Consider an asset allocation shortcut
Purchasing a target-date mutual fund or hiring a financial advisor makes it easier to create and manage a portfolio.
- Target-date funds automatically adjust the mix of stocks and bonds based on the year in which you plan to retire.
- Robo-advisors are algorithms that create and manage a portfolio based on your goals and risk tolerance.
- Financial advisors can help you optimize your entire financial situation, as well as understand which assets are best for your personal financial situation, goals and risk tolerance. They can also help you decide whether and how to invest in certain assets.
With all of these options, watch out for fees, which can hurt portfolio returns. A typical management fee at a robo-advisor starts at 0.25% of your assets per year. Financial advisors may cost more but may provide more types of advice.
AD
Are you on track for
the future you want?
NerdWallet Wealth Partners created a free calculator to estimate your financial independence number, see where you stand, and find out how much you might need to close the gap.
NWWP is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply skill or training. The calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only.
5. Use a Roth IRA
Younger investors who are in low tax brackets sometimes favor Roth IRAs (which require after-tax contributions but offer tax-free withdrawals in retirement) over traditional IRAs (which allow tax deductions for contributions, but the withdrawals are taxable).
However, the Roth may be a valuable retirement investment tool for midlife savers, too. A Roth IRA:
- Provides the flexibility to withdraw from pools of money with different tax treatments down the road.
- Can be gentler, taxwise, when it comes to passing money to heirs.
» MORE: What to do with an inheritance
🤓Nerdy Tip
Don’t qualify to contribute to a Roth IRA? If your employer offers a Roth 401(k) option, there are no income limits on eligibility. Consider splitting your contributions between Roth and traditional accounts to retain somen of thetax break for contributions to traditional IRAs.6. Make a retirement income plan
Boosting retirement savings isn’t only about your investment contributions. Developing a solid understanding of how much retirement income you’ll need — and how you expect to spend it — will help you know whether you’re doing enough now.
Putting together a retirement income plan involves:
- Estimating your retirement expenses.
- Identifying your various income sources, including your estimated Social Security benefits.
- Looking for ways to boost retirement income and cut expenses.
- Developing a withdrawal strategy.
- Anticipating how your asset allocation will change.
» Learn more: Read our step-by-step guide to financial planning
7. Consider long-term care insurance
Long-term care insurance helps pay for services you may need if you have chronic health problems or a disability that isn’t covered by Medicare or regular health insurance. That could include help for routine daily activities.
How does this help you boost retirement savings? Long-term care is a significant expense you could encounter in your retirement years. (Nearly 70% of 65-year-olds will need long-term care services eventually, according to the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.) If you plan ahead with insurance, you could reduce your costs significantly.
But, your age is a factor in setting rates for insurance. The older you are, the more you’ll pay for a policy. Most people with long-term care insurance buy it while they’re in their mid-50s to mid-60s.
» MORE: 9 steps to retire early
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- 1.T. Rowe Price. You’re age 35, 50, or 60: How much should you have saved for retirement by now?. Accessed Apr 7, 2026.
- 2. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. How Much Care Will You Need?. Accessed Apr 7, 2026.
