Published
The 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances shows stronger retirement account balances, but uneven wealth gains make the answer more complicated than a simple yes. Generation X is approaching retirement with larger investment balances but that does not necessarily mean the entire generation is more financially secure.
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, released in October 2026, offers encouraging evidence about retirement savings alongside signs of persistent financial vulnerability. For Gen X, the strongest conclusion is that families with established retirement accounts have generally gained ground, while broader measures of wealth tell a less consistent story.
What the Survey Can and Cannot Tell Us
Using the common definition of Gen X as people born from 1965 through 1980, the generation was approximately 45 to 60 years old in 2025.
The report groups families by the age of a reference person rather than by generation. Its 45–54 category falls within Gen X, while 55–64 includes older Gen X members and younger baby boomers.
There is also no exact five-year comparison. The SCF is conducted every three years, making 2019 to 2025 a six-year comparison and 2022 to 2025 a three-year comparison.
These age groups contain different people in each survey. Their results reveal trends among families approaching retirement, rather than changes in the same Gen X households over time.
Retirement Account Balances Have Improved
Among families holding an IRA or a defined contribution retirement account, such as a 401(k), average balances increased substantially.
| Age of family reference person | 2019 average balance | 2022 average balance | 2025 average balance | Change, 2019–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45–54 | $323,100 | $342,700 | $415,800 | +28.7% |
| 55–64 | $518,200 | $588,500 | $670,200 | +29.3% |
Figures are expressed in 2025 dollars. Balances are averages among account holders, excluding families without these accounts.
Because the figures account for inflation, the increases represent gains in purchasing power.
The more recent comparison is also positive: average balances rose approximately 21 percent for ages 45–54 and 14 percent for ages 55–64 between 2022 and 2025.
The report says median retirement account balances also increased across every age group during that period, although it does not publish the age-specific medians in this table.
That supports a cautiously encouraging interpretation: improvements were not confined solely to the very largest accounts.
Larger Averages Do Not Describe Every Family
An average retirement balance of $415,800 or $670,200 can suggest more widespread security than actually exists.
First, those averages exclude families without retirement accounts. Second, large accounts pull averages upward.
Across families of all ages that held retirement accounts, the 2025 average was $451,100, but the median was $106,000. The median represents the midpoint among account holders. These are national figures, not Gen X estimates, but the difference illustrates why averages require care.
The report also found that approximately 70 percent of families ages 45–64 participated in some form of retirement plan, including IRAs, defined contribution accounts, or traditional employer pensions.
That leaves roughly three in ten families in those age groups outside the retirement plan categories measured. It does not necessarily mean they have no savings or future Social Security benefits, but it underscores the uneven reach of retirement plans.
Net Worth Presents a Mixed Picture
Retirement accounts are only one component of financial preparedness. Net worth includes financial assets, housing, businesses, and other property, minus debts.
The latest three-year comparison shows a considerable difference between averages and medians:
| Age group | Median net worth, 2022 | Median net worth, 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45–54 | $270,600 | $253,700 | −6% |
| 55–64 | $398,900 | $411,900 | +3% |
Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2025 dollars; percentage changes follow the report’s rounded estimates.
Average net worth rose 17 percent for ages 45–54 and 10 percent for ages 55–64 over the same period.
Rising averages alongside falling or slowly growing medians show why the generation’s progress cannot be judged from headline wealth figures alone. Stronger gains among wealthier families can coexist with limited progress around the middle.
Financial Assets and Available Cash Tell Different Stories
Across all families holding financial assets, median holdings increased 4 percent to $44,200 between 2022 and 2025. Average holdings rose 14 percent to $637,600.
But median transaction account balances—including checking, savings, and money market accounts—fell 6 percent to $8,200.
These are national results rather than Gen X-specific findings. They nevertheless highlight an important distinction: rising investment wealth can accompany a smaller cash cushion.
Housing wealth also needs to be interpreted carefully. A home contributes to net worth, but accessing that equity may require selling, downsizing, or borrowing. It is not interchangeable with money available to pay monthly expenses.
Better Funded Does Not Automatically Mean Ready
The SCF measures assets and debts, not whether each family can sustain its preferred retirement lifestyle.
A larger retirement account is encouraging, but retirement readiness also depends on spending, remaining mortgage and other debts, pension income, Social Security benefits, and the expected retirement date. Families approaching retirement have less time to close a shortfall than they did several years earlier.
The evidence supports a qualified yes: retirement account holders in the age groups overlapping Gen X have stronger inflation-adjusted balances than six years earlier. But the report does not establish that Gen X as a whole is adequately prepared or that the typical family’s overall finances have improved equally.
For some, larger investments have strengthened the path to retirement. For others, limited savings, uneven wealth gains, and everyday financial pressures leave substantial work ahead.