This is the average 401(k) balance for ages 35 to 44

Are you a 40-year-old trying to figure out where you stand financially compared to your peers? There is great variation in this stage of life. Incomes are just now starting to get healthy for most of this crowd, which means you may not have had much of a chance to save some money. Chances are good that you’ve had to choose between buying a home or stashing away something for retirement.

With that as a backdrop, here’s a look at the average 401(k) balance for people ages 35 to 44.

The number(s) in question

The data comes from mutual fund company and pension plan administrator Vanguard Group. The latest “How America Saves” report indicates that the average 401(k) account for 35- to 44-year-olds participating in its workplace retirement plans is worth $91,281.

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This number comes with an important footnote, however. That is, it is skewed significantly higher by a small handful of very large accounts. Crunching the Vanguard number also indicates the median 401(k) balance — that’s the value of an account in the middle of all the accounts in question. The median for this age group is just $35,537. That means half of that crowd saved even less for retirement. Of course, it also means that half of that crowd saved more.

Spend the next 20 years even wiser

Are you doing better than your peers? Great, but you’re not happy. You may still fall short of your ultimate retirement savings goal. Remember, you still have about 20 years of work to build a retirement nest egg. It seems like a long time, but it can go by quickly. Don’t leave now.

If, on the other hand, you’re behind your peers’ retirement savings, that’s okay, too. Again, you’re still in your 20s. There is plenty of time to catch up. Just don’t waste it. Make a detailed savings plan that is more aggressive than your current one, even if it requires cutting back on personal expenses. It will be worth it two decades from now.