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There is no direct figure in the federal sources cited here for the share of Americans who are retired and have at least $1 million in total net worth. The closest published statistic is different: in 2022, 4.6% of all U.S. households had more than $1 million in retirement-account assets. That is not a count of retired people or of millionaire households by total net worth.
Why there isn’t one clear “retired millionaire” number
The answer changes with three definitions: who counts as retired, what counts as wealth, and whether the unit is a person or a household. “Retired” might mean someone who says they are retired, someone past a chosen age, or a household with no labor income. “Millionaire” might mean $1 million in total net worth, investable assets, or retirement accounts alone. Those measures are not interchangeable.
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) measures family finances, including net worth and balance-sheet components. Its 2022 figures describe families or households, not individual Americans. A household-level percentage cannot be restated as the share of people who retired as millionaires. The SCF is designed to represent 131.3 million U.S. households in 2022 and uses population weights, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS, “Distribution of Retirement Account Balances” (February 26, 2025)
What the $1 million retirement-account figures actually show
CRS analyzed the 2022 SCF and found that 4.6% of all U.S. households had more than $1 million in retirement-account assets. The denominator is all households—not just retired households or households with an account—and the asset measure is retirement accounts, not total net worth. The threshold reported is strictly more than $1 million.
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The same analysis reports these shares of all households by retirement-account balance:
| Retirement-account balance in 2022 | Share of all U.S. households |
|---|---|
| More than $0 through $100,000 | 30% |
| More than $100,000 through $500,000 | 15.5% |
| More than $500,000 through $1 million | 4.7% |
| More than $1 million | 4.6% |
These categories describe account balances; they do not establish households’ debts, other assets, pension income, or retirement status. CRS defines retirement-account balances as money in defined-contribution plans and IRAs, including 401(k), 403(b), and thrift savings accounts. Its measure excludes defined-benefit pension plans and Social Security payments. CRS analysis of the 2022 SCF
Age is not the same as retirement
Among households grouped by the age of the household reference person, the highest reported rate with more than $1 million in retirement-account assets was 9.2% for ages 55–64. CRS found that fewer than 10% in every age group exceeded that account-balance threshold. These are age-based household statistics, not rates for retired people: some people in the 55–64 group are still working, and people 65 and older are not all retired.
CRS also reports that 47% of households with a reference person age 65 or older had any retirement-account assets. That does not mean the remaining households lack retirement resources; the account measure omits defined-benefit pensions and Social Security, and older households include people with different work and retirement histories. CRS, February 26, 2025
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Why account balances aren’t a complete picture of retirement wealth
In the 2022 SCF, 54.3% of families had retirement accounts. Among families that held them, the median balance was $86,900 and the mean was $334,000. These are conditional figures: they apply only to families with retirement accounts, not to all families. The mean is much higher than the median, consistent with a distribution in which some account holders have substantially larger balances; the median better represents the midpoint among account-holding families. Federal Reserve, “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2019 to 2022” (October 2023)
Total net worth is broader than a retirement-account balance: it includes a household’s other assets and debts. Retirement income can also come from sources that do not appear in the CRS account-balance measure. A household with a large account balance might have substantial liabilities, while a household with a pension or Social Security income may have fewer retirement-account assets.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What counts as retired? Federal Reserve survey findings
The Federal Reserve’s 2023 household well-being survey uses adults’ self-reported retirement status rather than an age cutoff. In 2023, 27% of adults considered themselves retired, including some who were still working; 15% of retirees had done paid work in the prior month. These findings illustrate why “retired” cannot be inferred simply from age or from having no recent work. They do not provide a retired-millionaire rate.
The same survey reports that 60% of adults held a tax-preferred retirement account, 29% had an employer defined-benefit pension, and 67% had at least one of those types of designated retirement assets. Those are ownership rates across adults, not millionaire rates. Federal Reserve, “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023: Retirement and Investments” (May 2024)
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The Census Bureau’s “Wealth of Households: 2022” examines household wealth in 2022 using the 2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), with national and state tables on wealth, asset ownership, and debt. The report is useful for understanding household wealth, but the report page and materials cited here do not establish a cross-tabulation of self-described retired status with net worth of at least $1 million. It therefore does not supply the missing direct count. U.S. Census Bureau, “Wealth of Households: 2022” (November 2024)
So how many Americans actually retire as millionaires?
The exact share is not established by the federal figures cited here. To answer it precisely, a statistic would need to define retirement status, use a consistent population unit, and measure total net worth against a stated threshold. The available figures answer narrower questions: how many households have large retirement-account balances, how account ownership varies by age, and how adults describe their retirement status. None is a substitute for the share of retired Americans with at least $1 million in total net worth.
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