The upper class is a status that so many aspire to achieve, but there isn’t just one metric that proves you’ve made it there. There are numerous markers that signal this financial status, and they exist in a quirky, overlapping fashion. For one thing, Pew Research Center reports that upper-class workers tend to earn an average household income of $169,800 or more as of 2022. That figure will shift a bit depending on your location, but regardless of where you live, earnings aren’t the only class indicator. One crucial action item that actually gets less attention than you might think among those in the upper class is retirement savings. Unfortunately, underwhelming 401(k) contributions seem to be an area that both upper-class earners and others share. Average 401(k) balances for those earning over $150,000 stand around $377,000, with a median figure of just over $221,000, according to 2025 data from Vanguard. That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually fairly concerning.
Wealth is a give and take, and so even some of the highest earners can find themselves firing off the majority of their income on largely frivolous expenditures, leaving their coffers skint when it comes time to pay for some essentials. Wealthy earners sometimes focus too heavily on luxuries in the present — many see purchasing a fancy home or car as a status symbol — but failing to fully fund your retirement accounts can leave a financial gap later on, no matter how much you make.
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When you arrive at 67 — or the full retirement age currently set for Americans — experts say you’ll want to have set aside ten times your salary. For those in the upper class, these numbers would be pretty high. Even going off the average number, many in the upper class won’t have their annual salary saved in a 401(k) account yet, let alone a multiple of it. Often, the more they make, the more people prioritize retirement savings, which is why the average retirement savings of top net worth individuals might surprise you. Those in the highest earnings range average over twice their income, while earners taking home between $75,000 and $99,999 have average 401(k) balances of between 1.09 and 1.45 times their earnings. Meanwhile, those who make less than $75,000 might have less than even one year’s salary saved.
So, while higher earners tend to have trouble prioritizing their retirement savings, they’re often more successful at it than others. Similarly, while Social Security isn’t designed to make anyone rich, those who earn more in their working years can expect to draw a larger benefit check in retirement. On the other hand, those with lower incomes are more likely to rent. That may not be many people’s ideal housing arrangement, but it does allow more flexibility to create space for retirement savings, something that higher earners may not have at their disposal.