How much should I have saved by 30, 40, and 50 to feel on track?

A widely used rule of thumb from Fidelity's research suggests saving about 1x your salary by 30, 3x by 40, and 6x by 50, building toward roughly 10x by retirement. Treat these as guideposts, not verdicts, because the right number depends on your target retirement age, expected spending, and pension or Social Security income. If you are behind, the fix is your savings rate, not chasing higher-risk returns. Someone starting later can close much of the gap by pushing savings toward 20% or more and using catch-up contributions after 50. Rather than fixate on one benchmark, project your own path. The Lifetime Wealth tool at wealthserene.com/tools/lifetime-wealth shows how your current savings rate translates into a future balance across these milestones.