I'm 48 years old and just finally got serious about retirement savings for the first time. Here's my honest assessment of whether it's too late.

Income: $88,000. Current retirement savings: $42,000. Years until target retirement at 65: 17.

If I contribute $23,000/year to my 401k (the max, including catch-up contributions at 50+) for 17 years at 7% return, I'll accumulate approximately $720,000 in that account alone, plus the $42,000 currently there compounding.

Total projected retirement assets at 65 with maximum contributions: approximately $870,000. At the 4% rule, that supports about $34,800/year from investments. Combined with Social Security (which I haven't optimized but will receive), that likely reaches a livable retirement income.

The honest verdict: it's not too late at 48, but there's less margin for error. The math still works with maximum contributions. The cost of waiting another 5 years would be significant.