Every three years, the Federal Reserve asks thousands of American families what they own and what they owe. The latest results, released in October 2026, show a split among older households that is easy to miss in the headline numbers.
Families headed by someone 75 or older saw their median net worth climb 37% between 2022 and 2025 to about $504,900. Families headed by someone 65 to 74 went the other way, with their median slipping 4% to about $431,300. All figures are adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars.
That makes the oldest Americans the wealthiest age group in the survey by median net worth, a spot the 65-to-74 group held three years earlier.
Retirement accounts drove the jump
The Fed’s full report credits the oldest group’s gain primarily to an increase in the value of retirement accounts. Across all families, 54.9% held a retirement account in 2025, and the median balance among them was $106,000, up from $95,200 in 2022.
The Fed does not break out account balances for older families, but among those headed by someone 55 to 64 who had an IRA or workplace plan, the average balance rose 14% to about $670,200.
The report does not explain the dip for 65-to-74-year-olds. The survey is a snapshot that compares age groups rather than following the same families over time, so the households in each bracket in 2025 are not the ones that were there in 2022.
Many people who were 65 to 74 at the last count have since aged into the 75-and-older group. That shift could account for part of the change, though the Fed does not say so.
The average is a poor yardstick
Mean net worth for the 65-to-74 group was about $1.9 million, more than four times the median. When the average sits that far above the midpoint, a relatively small number of very wealthy households is pulling it up.
The median, where half of families have more and half have less, is the more useful comparison for most people.
Here is how the 2025 medians line up by the age of the head of household:
- 45 to 54: $253,700
- 55 to 64: $411,900
- 65 to 74: $431,300
- 75 and older: $504,900
Net worth counts everything a family owns, including home equity, minus everything it owes. Among homeowners, the median net housing value alone was $230,000, so a paid-down house can make up a large share of the total.
That equity is real wealth, but it does not cover monthly bills unless the house is sold or borrowed against.
The decade with the most deadlines
The years between 65 and 74 hold several money decisions that are difficult or impossible to undo. Social Security benefits stop growing once you reach 70, so the claiming choice is settled by then.
Required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and most workplace plans generally begin at 73, and those withdrawals add to taxable income whether or not the money is needed.
Higher income in those years can also raise Medicare premiums, because the surcharges are based on the tax return from two years earlier.
Some retirees use the gap between leaving work and their first required withdrawal for converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth while their tax bracket is lower. Others need that same stretch to plan for retirement health care costs that most people underestimate.
Because these choices interact, a misstep in one can raise the cost of another. A fiduciary financial advisor can help line up withdrawals, conversions and claiming dates around your full tax picture.
SmartAsset offers a free, no-obligation service that matches people with up to three fiduciary advisors.
The questionnaire takes about 10 minutes, with roughly 37 questions, and asks for a phone number near the end. You decide whether and when to respond to any advisor. The service is aimed at people with $100,000 or more in investments.
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