Finance and Economics Discussion Series: Accessible versions of figures for 2025-097

Do the Rich Really Save More? Answering an Old Question Using the Survey of Consumer Finances with Direct Measures of Lifetime Earnings and an Expanded Wealth Concept

Accessible version of figures

Figure 1: Total Lifetime Earnings by Current Earnings Decile, Box and Whisker Plot, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Lower Adjacent p25 Median p75 Upper Adjacent
1 0 1.043 1.83 2.748 5.306
2 0.359 1.659 2.225 3.042 5.116
3 0.831 1.986 2.59 3.235 5.109
4 0.599 2.217 2.59 3.534 5.509
5 0.651 2.497 3.137 4.014 6.289
6 1.631 2.657 3.466 4.227 6.44
7 1.375 2.914 3.655 4.262 6.284
8 1.602 3.241 4.039 4.723 6.947
9 2.287 4.085 4.809 5.284 7.082
Next 8 2.744 5.118 6.058 6.793 9.305
Top 2 4.766 6.594 7.238 8.988 12.578

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Figure 2: Ratios of Median Wealth to Income, by Type of Wealth, Sorted by SCF Income Deciles, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Net Worth/SCF Income DB/SCF Income SSW/SCF Income
1 0.978 0.35 9.707
2 1.913 0.128 6.376
3 1.903 0.721 4.469
4 2.218 1.488 3.133
5 2.761 0.87 3.649
6 2.579 1.826 3.643
7 3.379 3.278 2.369
8 4.39 2.336 2.155
9 5.158 2.214 1.422
Next 8 6.762 1.445 0.881
Top 2 5.625 0.516 0.28

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Figure 3: Ratios of Median Wealth to Predicted Income, by Type of Wealth, Sorted by Predicted Income Deciles, Ages 48–62, 2019–2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Net Worth/Pred Income DB/Pred Income SSW/Pred Income
1 1.037 0.519 2.55
2 1.909 1.305 2.819
3 2.069 1.163 2.85
4 2.109 1.462 2.209
5 2.437 1.53 2.268
6 2.77 1.205 1.438
7 2.425 1.706 1.143
8 2.231 1.401 1.031
9 2.476 1.452 1.037
Next 8 2.463 1.236 1.429
Top 2 2.482 2.267 1.294

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Figure 4: Ratios of Total Wealth to Total Lifetime Earnings, by Average LE Decile, Box and Whisker Plot, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Lower Adjacent p25 Median p75 Upper Adjacent
1 0 0.125 0.256 0.457 0.956
2 0 0.162 0.207 0.425 0.82
3 0 0.126 0.197 0.455 0.949
4 0 0.152 0.251 0.452 0.903
5 0 0.119 0.233 0.443 0.929
6 0.015 0.185 0.28 0.564 1.132
7 0.032 0.2 0.36 0.576 1.139
8 0.043 0.221 0.381 0.601 1.172
9 0.077 0.271 0.445 0.641 1.195
Next 8 0.079 0.471 0.748 1.134 2.129
Top 2 0.14 0.706 1.095 1.805 3.454

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Figure 5: Ratios of Median Wealth to Total Household Lifetime Earnings, by Type of Wealth, Sorted by Average Lifetime Earnings Deciles, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Net Worth/Total Earnings DB/Total Earnings SSW/Total Earnings
1 0.069 0 0.187
2 0.062 0.019 0.117
3 0.052 0.028 0.117
4 0.078 0.061 0.112
5 0.098 0.02 0.118
6 0.111 0.062 0.1
7 0.16 0.099 0.102
8 0.195 0.082 0.112
9 0.231 0.147 0.069
Next 8 0.563 0.114 0.071
Top 2 0.929 0.035 0.042

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Figure 6: Unrealized Capital Gains by Deciles of Average Household Lifetime Earnings, Ages 48–62, 2022
(a) Prevalence by Type of Asset
(b) Conditional Mean Value by Asset Type
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

(a) Prevalence by Type of Asset

  Total House Oth Real Estate Business STMF Reteq
1 0.43 0.391 0.035 0.024 0.018 0.064
2 0.737 0.628 0.073 0.049 0.055 0.273
3 0.772 0.61 0.075 0.081 0.105 0.337
4 0.756 0.609 0.094 0.059 0.15 0.485
5 0.835 0.726 0.117 0.112 0.241 0.436
6 0.916 0.789 0.236 0.155 0.196 0.581
7 0.92 0.821 0.205 0.129 0.298 0.643
8 0.989 0.954 0.184 0.228 0.414 0.737
9 1 0.967 0.288 0.26 0.4 0.873
Next 8 1 0.926 0.422 0.316 0.685 0.94
Top 2 1 0.946 0.551 0.549 0.874 0.919


(b) Conditional Mean Value by Asset Type

  House Oth Real Estate Business STMF Reteq Reteq
1 75833.289 2601.486 209.994 314.16 443.895 443.895
2 74298.383 6555.923 2625.466 -6.405 3914.083 3914.083
3 100535.289 15156.894 8470.532 1789.47 3935.989 3935.989
4 90387.352 15934.408 4307.15 -3447.152 10888.146 10888.146
5 127019.273 25898.785 42951.97 25048.303 12976.388 12976.388
6 135948.594 28914.625 33791.024 8807.761 21291.219 21291.219
7 182101.594 24772.258 134917.237 -1542.76 26207.014 26207.014
8 177076.984 58185.396 328133.698 22468.461 40139.035 40139.035
9 216639.766 143761.596 203248.886 37184.855 74179.195 74179.195
Next 8 351082.375 131736.824 624086.347 143805.016 207748.031 207748.031
Top 2 473326.031 482743.436 4421643.015 998891.125 309472.375 309472.375

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Figure 7: Expanded Wealth, by Inclusion of Accrued Capital Gains, as Share of Total Household Lifetime Earnings by Deciles of Average Household Lifetime Earnings, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Total Wealth/Total Earnings Total Wealth - KG/Total Earnings
1 0.256 0.23
2 0.198 0.167
3 0.197 0.176
4 0.251 0.213
5 0.236 0.171
6 0.273 0.216
7 0.361 0.311
8 0.389 0.326
9 0.447 0.394
Next 8 0.748 0.589
Top 2 1.007 0.774

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Figure 8: Combined Wealth Components, as Share of Total Household Lifetime Earnings, by Deciles of Private Wealth, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  Net Worth/Total Earnings DB/Total Earnings SSW/Total Earnings
1 0 0 0.09
2 0.014 0.001 0.122
3 0.051 0.002 0.105
4 0.094 0.008 0.105
5 0.151 0.012 0.12
6 0.146 0.057 0.078
7 0.229 0.09 0.094
8 0.331 0.118 0.111
9 0.419 0.165 0.081
Next 8 0.791 0.223 0.076
Top 2 2.276 0.08 0.043

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Figure 9: Ratios of Net Worth to Lifetime Earnings by Inclusion of Capital Gains and Ranking Variable, Ages 48–62, 2022
(a) Ranked by Average Lifetime Earnings
(b) Ranked by Net Worth
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

(a) Ranked by Average Lifetime Earnings

  Net Worth/Total Earnings NW-KGsurv/Tot Earn NW-ALL KG/Tot Earn
1 0.069 0.043 0.043
2 0.062 0.031 0.031
3 0.052 0.03 0.029
4 0.078 0.04 0.04
5 0.098 0.034 0.032
6 0.111 0.054 0.053
7 0.16 0.11 0.105
8 0.195 0.132 0.127
9 0.231 0.178 0.161
Next 8 0.563 0.404 0.367
Top 2 0.929 0.696 0.644


(b) Ranked by Net Worth

  Net Worth/Total Earnings NW-KGsurv/Tot Earn NW-ALL KG/Tot Earn
1 0 0 0
2 0.014 0.014 0.014
3 0.051 0.03 0.03
4 0.094 0.042 0.042
5 0.151 0.089 0.086
6 0.146 0.085 0.083
7 0.229 0.167 0.158
8 0.331 0.248 0.226
9 0.419 0.295 0.273
Next 8 0.791 0.584 0.525
Top 2 2.276 1.279 1.121

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Figure 10: Expanded Wealth Components Less Capital Gains, as Share of Total Household Lifetime Earnings by Deciles of Average Lifetime Earnings, Ages 48–62, 2022
Source: Authors’ analysis of SCF data.

  NW-ALL KG/Tot Earn DB/Total Earnings Other Wealth/Total Earnings
1 0.043 0 0.187
2 0.031 0.019 0.117
3 0.029 0.028 0.117
4 0.04 0.061 0.112
5 0.032 0.02 0.118
6 0.053 0.062 0.1
7 0.105 0.099 0.102
8 0.127 0.082 0.112
9 0.161 0.147 0.069
Next 8 0.367 0.114 0.071
Top 2 0.644 0.035 0.042

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Figure A1:
(a) CPS Earnings Path and SCF Model Estimates for 1961–1963 Birth Cohort
(b) CPS Earnings Path and SCF Model Estimates for 1967–1969 Birth Cohort
Source: Authors’ analysis of IPUMS CPS, University of Minnesota, https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipums.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7CJeffrey.Thompson%40bos.frb.org%7C79f4293f29474a2cc69908de12511179%7Cb397c6535b19463fb9fcaf658ded9128%7C1%7C0%7C638968336547090889%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sx7gLLnTLpdDCpF0ujovXJ2dOMyyaFYccX%2FxYukYJ4U%3D&reserved=0www.ipums.org, U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and SCF data.

(a) CPS Earnings Path and SCF Model Estimates for 1961–1963 Birth Cohort

  20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
SCF Male Cohort 1961-1963 19220.269 21599.592 24116.974 26664.317 29180.861 31740.572 34112.432 36520.039 38897.573 41208.528 43394.3 45464.544 47404.279 49152.076 50880.543 52420.865 53918.11 55508.333 57064.729 58655.387 59536.509 61455.235 62668.71 62657.715 63089.174 63114.042 63776.992 64012.851 63723.904 62764.755 62671.501 61626.583 60539.907 60109.857 58490.235 58356.868 56489.699 55531.447 54714.131 53334.631
SCF Female Cohort 1961-1963 18738.355 20582.906 22668.184 24279.959 25885.398 27392.34 29101.14 31094.37 32978.477 34119.097 36664.088 37312.354 38371.88 38412.073 39798.361 40984.44 41493.722 42416.973 42611.693 43471.002 45425.217 45209.38 46128.545 45206.623 45907.431 46659.727 47057.743 48164.41 49018.438 49989.074 49927.613 50408.837 51385.439 51156.381 51418.455 51825.927 51587.709 50929.268 49998.667 45344.114
CPS Male Cohort 1961-1963 0 0 0 0 0 41808.285 42735.484 47283.18 46296.773 49554.707 50934.258 50934.258 51649.121 52537.922 54089.238 57796.32 58696.574 61408.59 61848.738 62337.664 64000 64000 62339.863 62339.863 63907.379 65714.289 65327.543 62448.484 67491.977 64111.5 64111.5 64111.5 65703.008 63786.668 62459.406 63473.148 64861.688 62565.688 63324.207 65180.812
CPS Female Cohort 1961-1963 0 0 0 0 0 27374.473 31723.975 32661.057 34584.434 32422.908 33573.77 33573.77 36672.664 33373.281 31898.023 36122.699 36122.699 35761.473 38876.352 38233.766 39896.105 40520.91 40000 39193.035 42393.016 41021.828 41184.758 41021.828 40495.188 41823.387 40579.812 41392.613 43476.793 41706.668 42933.332 41712.07 46053.969 45502.32 46053.969 42932.43


(b) CPS Earnings Path and SCF Model Estimates for 1967–1969 Birth Cohort

  20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
SCF Male Cohort 1967-1969 18215.456 22102.128 26335.693 30614.229 34066.306 37503.499 40804.928 44217.978 47423.104 50303.458 52985.762 55786.054 57933.071 60229.546 61619.687 63118.566 64549.704 65361.41 66614.088 67726.845 68161.227 70238.238 69796.281 70984.622 70095.519 71234.743 69958.177 70600.737 70582.291 71358.731 69706.064 68639.936 68375.049 63703.938 61414.216 60623.655 59018.225 57782.395 57324.622 56722.797
SCF Female Cohort 1967-1969 14871.388 18592.962 21420.066 23527.929 25595.089 27595.934 29600.586 32114.235 34403.091 36120.999 37713.044 39219.624 40986.858 41289.981 42584.361 43718.824 44698.143 45814.797 45503.011 47923.319 48957.047 47651.374 48744.379 50200.478 51110.505 50971.373 50877.476 51810.786 51140.033 50369.03 51227.253 52150.957 52645.287 52225.348 51431.204 51229.131 49820.36 48481.595 50646.317 51438.336
CPS Male Cohort 1967-1969 22554.838 24009.254 24777.354 29377.049 32597.924 35757.086 38710.035 41716.598 45032.504 46908.859 52276.637 54708.477 56519.48 57276.266 58181.816 62339.863 62339.863 61333.332 61333.332 65714.289 65117.984 67491.977 60742.777 60215.207 61262.43 64114.062 63175.965 62188.426 64861.688 64861.688 66935.32 69080.953 69080.953 68000 66267.156 60000 0 0 0 0
CPS Female Cohort 1967-1969 11198.647 15432.258 15907.097 18885.246 24727.871 27147.574 30560.553 33774.379 31476.037 33016.824 35342.137 34966.773 35560.512 36002.223 37169.871 40000 38183.164 40700.461 37968.254 39428.57 40829.715 41021.828 39270.785 40495.188 41888.84 38556.824 43476.793 42234.598 44718.988 47893.375 46053.969 48356.668 47777.434 50000 48885.609 44785 0 0 0 0

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Figure A2: Mean Ratios of Expanded Wealth Components Less Capital Gains, as Share of Total Household Lifetime Earnings by Deciles of Average Lifetime Earnings, Ages 48–62, 2022

  Net Worth/Total Earnings DB/Total Earnings SSW/Total Earnings
1 0.505 0.015 0.006
2 0.149 0.038 0.119
3 0.19 0.047 0.111
4 0.175 0.063 0.11
5 0.222 0.056 0.102
6 0.225 0.111 0.099
7 0.295 0.081 0.096
8 0.386 0.107 0.091
9 0.414 0.137 0.079
Next 8 0.748 0.126 0.07
Top 2 1.452 0.057 0.042

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Figure A3: Expanded Wealth Components Less Capital Gains, as Share of Total Household Lifetime Earnings by Deciles of Average Lifetime Earnings, Ages 55–62, 2022

  Net Worth/Total Earnings DB/Total Earnings SSW/Total Earnings
1 0.092 0.009 0.159
2 0.051 0.029 0.118
3 0.065 0.057 0.135
4 0.067 0.084 0.102
5 0.13 0.051 0.162
6 0.119 0.084 0.096
7 0.198 0.12 0.104
8 0.147 0.06 0.127
9 0.29 0.108 0.089
Next 8 0.586 0.123 0.079
Top 2 1.009 0.011 0.055

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