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Posted on 02/06/2026 4:00:17 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
By the time you reach your mid-70s, your financial life often looks very different from what it did a decade earlier. Work is usually behind you, priorities have shifted, and your money is no longer just about growing. It's about sustaining the life you want to live, especially if you're trying to maximize your senior benefits and get the most value out of every dollar you've earned.
If you're 74 (or getting close), this is a natural moment to check up on your retirement readiness and see how your own situation compares to other Americans in the same age range.
Net worth is simply the total value of what you own minus what you owe. That includes things like savings and investment accounts, home equity, vehicles, and other assets, minus any remaining debts such as a mortgage, credit cards, or medical bills.
At 74, net worth often looks different from what it did earlier in retirement. Many people have started drawing down savings, some have downsized or paid off their homes, and others may still be carrying a mortgage.
According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, households headed by someone aged 75 or older (the closest public data bucket to 74-year-olds) have an average net worth of roughly $1.6 million. The median net worth, which is a better reflection of the typical household, is much lower, around $335,000.
The gap between these two numbers tells an important story. A relatively small group of very wealthy households pulls the average up, while many retirees have a far more modest balance. If your own number is closer to the median, you're not unusual.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
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The article fails to mention pensions other than SS which while not exactly net worth has an impact of available cash, spending, and keeping/expanding net worth.
The average includes many people with no money at all. If you worked all your life at a professional job, and saved and invested, you can be much higher.
An average of $355k is scary, when these folks are approaching the age when more and more will need tons of healthcare AND long term care.
That is going to wipe out their net worth in a couple of years.
Everyone is going to pay for that.
Net worth includes real estate.
Houses have skyrocketed in the last five years.
I agree, pensions should be included. Not too hard to do a net present value on a pension.
I wonder why they picked 74 instead of 75?
Treating 74 like an expected age to retire is a miserable assumption.
According to the article, that's the median net worth, not the average. The average is over a million.
-PJ
I was shocked when we consolidated all our assets. I immediately gave a years notice at work. Also, my income in retirement is more than when I was working. I splurged on streaming services. I am subscribed to almost all of them.
I was (not) surprised to find there are therapists who focus on helping seniors let go of their money.
DITTO !!!! Retired at 62
” ...these folks are approaching the age when more and more will need tons of healthcare AND long term care.
A 76 year old man I know was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 18 months ago. He is blowing through about $9k/month on assisted living, nursing, etc. Has a good pension, owns three modest homes and is now selling the homes to keep up with the bills. His physical and financial condition is deteriorating rapidly.
Tricare is great. Im on Medicare now, but annual premiums were like $350 per year. I also take advantage off free prescriptions and commissary privileges - saves a bundle.
I’m 67 and am asked “you aren’t retired yet”? People have been conditioned to think that you’re incapable after 65. Nonsense
Average has little meaning when the individual members of the sum have a wide disparity. Take the case of 11 families. One has a billion dollars net worth; the other 10 have $10,000 net worth each. The average of the 11 would be close to $91 million dollars. Sounds impressive, but the majority have only 10k. Average means little.
“Average”? I detest the “average” as it makes it sound like “most people” have that. In terms of straight numbers of people, the “average” person has nowhere near that. They also say the “average” person has less than $2k in their emergency fund.
So most people have a small house that they paid off and some SS income and Medicare. That’s it.
Widowed Men and women in that situation quickly find a partner to double the assets and increase the standard of living.
“Multiple suspicious connections blocked”
Beware.
In 2020 when my daughter was 6 they discovered an intestinal birth defect requiring emergency surgery and 7 days in the hospital, the bills came to over $80K. Thank God for Tricare and my out of pocket was about $1500.
However, she was born in a Thailand hospital by cesarian, I upgraded to 3 days in the hospital’s VIP private room, my total cost for delivery, doctor, and stay was 12,000 Baht, about $400. But I am thankful we were in the USA in 2020 as I’m not sure the Thai Hospital would have reacted correctly for her issue.
I understand. The average is pushed up by a few with LOTS of assets.
I would argue that MOST people have under $500k in net worth. They are still carrying mortgages and car payments. They still rack up credit card debt. They live on nothing but meager SS.
They are gonna break hips and get cancer, like the rich folks.
They are going to cost the younger generations lots of money.
If most people have the greatest percentage of their net worth in their homes, they will erode that as millions of homes come onto the market.
It’s not going to be pretty. These people better make nice with their kids…because that’s where you are going to live for a while.
No people are being trained to work until your dead. Instead of trying to save and retire to a better life, active with the things you would prefer to do over working for a heartless employer.
I have over 40 years in industrial corporate power generation, why would I want to work to 75 vs 62 when I can retire to a new active phase in my life and not jump like a trained monkey for a paycheck?!
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