Most people track their savings throughout their working years with some vague finish line in mind. Retire comfortably, stop worrying, leave something behind. What gets talked about far less is what the numbers actually look like deep into retirement, well past the early years of Social Security checks and first-round required distributions. Age 78 sits right in that quieter zone, a point where the financial picture has already been largely shaped by decades of choices.
The data we have on wealth at this stage of life is revealing, occasionally surprising, and always a bit uneven. Understanding where Americans actually land financially in their late 70s requires looking at both the headline figures and the more nuanced story underneath them.
The Headline Number: What the Research Actually Shows
The Headline Number: What the Research Actually Shows (Image Credits: Unsplash)
According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances, the average net worth for Americans aged 75 and older is $1,624,100. Age 78 falls squarely within that bracket, which is the closest age band the Federal Reserve data provides for this stage of life. That figure sounds substantial, but context matters enormously here.
Average net worth isn’t the best measure of financial health, however, as a small number of super-rich outliers can skew the numbers. Median net worth is a more accurate accounting: the median net worth for those 75 and older was $335,600, according to the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. That gap between average and median tells its own story about wealth inequality in later life.
Why Average and Median Tell Very Different Stories
Why Average and Median Tell Very Different Stories (By Guest2625, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20044799" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>)
While average net worth is good to know, median net worth by age may be more representative of the state of wealth across the country. That’s because median net worth considers the 50th percentile of earners, those right in the middle, while average net worth factors in outliers of people with very high and very low net worths. Think of it this way: if one person in your neighborhood is worth $50 million, that one household dramatically inflates the “average” for the whole block.
The top 10% of American households account for roughly two-thirds of total household wealth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. So when you see an average net worth figure in the millions, it’s largely being carried by a relatively small group at the top. Median figures are far lower than averages, highlighting how a few high-wealth households skew results. For instance, in the 50s the average net worth is $1,364,050, but the median is only $180,227, meaning half of households in that age range have less than that in net worth.
The Downward Slope: Why Wealth Declines After the Mid-60s
The Downward Slope: Why Wealth Declines After the Mid-60s (Image Credits: Unsplash)
The 75-and-older group shows a decline from the 65 to 74 demographic, which had an average of $1.79 million and a median of about $410,000. That drift downward is expected, though the pace and reasons behind it vary from household to household. It’s not too surprising, given how people 75 and older are often retired and tapping their savings for living expenses, health care and other costs.
Net worth often peaks around retirement age, then declines as people begin withdrawing savings, spending down assets, and experiencing reduced income. Required minimum distributions, healthcare costs, and lifestyle spending all contribute. The drawdown isn’t necessarily a failure of planning. It’s largely what retirement savings are designed to do.
The Role of Home Equity at Age 78
The Role of Home Equity at Age 78 (Image Credits: Pexels)
People in this demographic often have accumulated wealth from decades of employment, inheritances and investments that benefit from compound interest. They’ve paid off their mortgage and are enjoying the full value of their home equity. For many Americans in their late 70s, the family home is the single largest asset on the balance sheet.
The typical median household is far more concentrated in home equity and retirement savings, with limited exposure to stocks or private business ownership. That concentration in housing means a lot of the wealth tied up at this age is illiquid. It’s valuable on paper but not always easy to access for day-to-day expenses without selling or taking on a reverse mortgage.
How the 75-Plus Group Compares to Earlier Decades
How the 75-Plus Group Compares to Earlier Decades (Image Credits: Pexels)
Empower’s anonymized dashboard data shows average net worth rises with age. As of January 2026, average net worth is $139,243 in the 20s, $325,952 in the 30s, $750,578 in the 40s, $1,364,050 in the 50s, and $1,577,907 in the 60s. Net worth then begins to decline gradually in the 70s to $1,456,151 and beyond. The 70s bracket represents a gradual easing off the peak, not a sudden collapse.
According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, Americans’ median net worth peaks in their mid-60s and 70s, then starts to decline in their non-working years. The arc makes sense: decades of earning, saving, and compounding eventually give way to decades of drawing down. When reaching retirement age, the average person’s net worth generally starts to decrease due to individuals withdrawing from their retirement savings.
The Wealth Surge That Shaped Today's 78-Year-Olds
The Wealth Surge That Shaped Today's 78-Year-Olds (stevendepolo, Flickr, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY 2.0</a>)
The median household net worth has increased 37% since 2019, after inflation, the sharpest increase recorded in the history of the survey and the highest household net worth ever recorded adjusted for inflation. Americans who were in their early-to-mid 70s during that surge benefited significantly, particularly through rising home values. Much of the increase in net worth is being driven by home prices increasing in the United States. From the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2022, the median price of houses sold in the US went from $313,000 to $433,100, an increase of 38%.
Data from the Fed’s Financial Accounts of the United States show that total household net worth exceeded $170 trillion by 2025, reflecting continued gains in equity markets and housing values. That broad wealth growth lifted many boats, including those households now sitting in the 75-plus age bracket. Still, not everyone benefited equally from those gains.
The Gap Between Owners and Non-Owners
The Gap Between Owners and Non-Owners (Image Credits: Pexels)
The average net worth for those with a college degree was $1,992,900 versus $413,300 for Americans with a high school diploma, according to Fed data. Similarly, the average net worth for homeowners was $1,525,200 compared with $153,500 for renters. Those gaps don’t close in retirement. If anything, they tend to compound over time.
Net worth is often the clearest indicator of your financial position. Unlike income, which shows what you earn, net worth reflects what you’ve built, accounting for debt, savings, investments, and assets like your home or business. By the late 70s, that accumulated difference between lifelong homeowners and renters is enormous, and it shows up clearly in the data.
Required Minimum Distributions and the Spending-Down Phase
Required Minimum Distributions and the Spending-Down Phase (Image Credits: Pexels)
In retirement, net worth often levels off or declines as withdrawals begin. Starting at age 73, retirees must withdraw a portion of tax-deferred accounts annually through Required Minimum Distributions. By age 78, those mandatory withdrawals have been flowing for several years, gradually reducing the balances in traditional IRAs and 401(k)s.
Experts say retirees should withdraw no more than 4% of their investments annually. Someone with $1 million in a brokerage account could withdraw $40,000 annually. A 75-year-old with $300,000 in retirement savings could only withdraw $12,000 per year, according to this rule, or $1,000 per month. That narrow income floor explains why healthcare costs and inflation can feel particularly destabilizing at this age.
What the Total Retirement Asset Picture Looks Like
What the Total Retirement Asset Picture Looks Like (Image Credits: Pexels)
Retirement assets accounted for roughly a third of all household financial assets in the U.S. at the end of December 2025, according to the Investment Company Institute. Total U.S. retirement assets totaled $49.1 trillion at the end of 2025. That’s a massive pool of wealth, though it’s spread unevenly across age groups and income levels.
The average 401(k) retirement balance across all age groups is $144,400, according to Fidelity Investments’ Building Financial Futures Q3 2025 report. Keep in mind that 401(k) account balances are just one chunk of someone’s net worth, and might even be just one part of their retirement savings. An investor could have long-term money saved in other types of retirement accounts or a brokerage account. The full picture at age 78 typically includes Social Security income, possible pension payments, home equity, and whatever remains in investment accounts.
The Data Gap: Why Age 78 Specifically Is Hard to Pin Down
The Data Gap: Why Age 78 Specifically Is Hard to Pin Down (Image Credits: Unsplash)
The Federal Reserve net worth data is only collected every three years, and data from the 2025 survey won’t be available until later in 2026. We can still look at how household net worth has changed over the years using the most recent data available from 2022. That three-year cycle means there’s always a lag in understanding exactly where Americans stand right now.
The Survey of Consumer Finances provides data for age ranges instead of specific ages; to determine median net worth at each age, figures must be extrapolated linearly to fill in the gaps. Age 78 sits within the 75-plus bracket, making the precise figure an informed estimate rather than a hard-measured data point. More recent real-time estimates indicate that household wealth has continued to rise since the 2022 survey, with total household net worth exceeding $170 trillion by 2025, reflecting continued gains in equity markets and housing values.
What These Numbers Mean in Practical Terms
What These Numbers Mean in Practical Terms (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Net worth usually grows as a person ages and savings, investments and assets add up over time. It often dips when people retire, likely due to living on Social Security and fixed incomes while inflation increases costs, including more medical expenses and transitions to assisted living. At 78, those pressures are very real and often accelerating.
According to Schwab’s 2025 Modern Wealth Survey, Americans reported that a household net worth of approximately $839,000 feels “financially comfortable.” The median American at 78 falls well short of that benchmark, which underscores the financial pressure many seniors face in their later years. Net worth isn’t a static number; it fluctuates as asset prices rise and fall. For those in their late 70s living primarily on fixed income, that volatility carries real consequences.