what is the average retirement savings by income 
the federal reserve board found that in surveys conducted from 2016 2022 the average retirement savings among everyone who responded 35 years old to 64 years old was about 331 000 the number of families who participated in retirement plans increased to the highest level since 2010 for those with incomes in the bottom half the average savings was about 55 000 for those with mid to high incomes the average savings was about 227 000 for those in the top 10 the average savings was about 913 000 3can you use a roth ira as an emergency fund some people may avoid contributing to tax advantaged retirement savings plans because they worry about having no money for emergencies it s important to know however that the contributions you set aside for retirement in a roth ira are in fact accessible if needed though financial planners caution that this should only be done in emergencies because withdrawals take money away from your future the fact is that you can withdraw however much you contributed to the account because you already paid taxes on those funds these withdrawals are tax and penalty free the rules for earnings are different however the earnings in the account the money your contributions made are not accessible unless you have had the account for over five years and if you re younger than age 59 it s considered an early withdrawal and you ll pay a 10 tax penalty to the internal revenue service irs there is an exception to this you can withdraw earnings tax and penalty free if you make what s called a qualified withdrawal for it to be a qualified withdrawal you must have had the account for over five years and the withdrawal must either be due to a disability for a first time home purchase or building rebuilding a first home up to 10 000 or be for a beneficiary after your death and if you re willing to pay taxes on the earnings though you wouldn t if you wait until you re 59 as long as you ve had the account for five years there are several exceptions to the 10 penalty including withdrawals for higher education expenses or for the birth of a child 4