Benchmarks

Savings rate by age

In the 2022 SCF, 56% of families spent less than their income over the preceding year, down from 59% in 2019. That is a yes-or-no saving measure. It is 43% in the bottom half of usual income, 66% in the upper-middle segment, and 82% in the top decile. It is not a median savings rate, and it is not by age.

Arc · Published September 18, 2026 · Updated September 18, 2026

Share of families whose spending was less than income. Not savings divided by income, and not by age.
Group	Saved in 2022	How the bulletin names it
All families	56%	59% in the 2019 survey.
Bottom half of usual income	43%	The bulletin’s phrase.
Upper-middle segment	66%	The bulletin’s phrase. Not an age band.
Top decile of usual income	82%	Usual-income percentile 90–100.

Why this is not a savings-rate ladder

The survey asks whether spending was less than, more than, or about equal to income. It does not publish savings divided by income at the 25th, 50th, or 75th percentile, and it does not publish this yes-or-no measure by age. The in-app savings-rate ladder is an illustration and is not on this page.

“Upper-middle segment” is the bulletin’s phrase, set next to the bottom half and the top decile. Arc does not translate it into an age band or a percentile range the article did not print.

Sources

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022.” Federal Reserve Bulletin, October 2023. Table 2 and the saving discussion are in 2022 dollars or percentages, not Arc estimates.

Savings rate by age

Why this is not a savings-rate ladder

Sources

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