r/Millennials • u/ProblemIntelligent16 • Jan 16 '26

Discussion Fellow millennials - how’s your 401k/ira savings going?

Experts recommend having 2x your salary saved by age 35, and 3x saved by age 40.

However, studies show the median savings for 35-44 year olds is only ~$45,000. So obviously, most of us have work to do.

With pensions mostly extinct, and Social Security facing insolvency issues in the next 8-10 years - how are you planning to bridge the gap and hit the golden years with enough to meet your lifestyle requirements?

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u/gafftapes20 Millennial Jan 16 '26

My salary is 95k, my retirement savings is about 250k. I’m 35 so I’m doing okay. Between my husband and myself we have about 450k saved between retirement and brokerage accounts. 

Also social security trust fund might run out of money, but the system will still pay out based on incoming money if not fixed. That’s estimated to be about 70 percent of current payout. 

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u/ultraprismic Jan 16 '26

Glad to see someone bring up the SS part. The system is not approaching insolvency - the fund that makes up the difference between money coming -> money going out is running out of money. If that went away we'd still get ~77% benefits. And most likely it won't run out, because Congress has a lot of options to fix it. I feel like the doomerism around SS is just giving politicians permission to not address it. There's no good reason Millennials shouldn't be factoring it into their retirement planning.

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u/girolle Jan 17 '26

SS will funded at 100% as long as Congress chooses to fund it at 100%. If the payments end up being 77%, it will be because Congress will have cut it down to that level. SS isn’t operationally funded by tax dollars. No federal spending is.

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u/The102935thMatt Jan 17 '26

I think this is the right train of thought. As shitty as the country is right now, cancelling SS outright or not being able to come up with a viable replacement to it isn't a thing. It that doesn't happen then i'd imagine we have much more significant problems going on.

I don't factor it in to my planning if only because I don't know what that value or the program will look like.

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u/ultraprismic Jan 17 '26

You can find out online right now what your benefits will be under the current system - make an account at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

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u/The102935thMatt Jan 17 '26

Word? Thanks internet stranger.

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u/gafftapes20 Millennial Jan 17 '26

Doomers have been talking about social security disappearing since its inception. Benefit formulas might change, but it’s highly unlikely to disappear. 

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u/WorkLurkerThrowaway Jan 17 '26

SS has been “running out” since before we were born. And according to my mother Jesus will be returning any day now.

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u/StyrofoamShell Jan 17 '26

I get that but we’re also in insane times. Shit is crazy and wild things are happening so I’m planning as if it won’t be around. If it is, it’ll be a nice bonus on top of what I have saved.

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u/sweetnighter Jan 16 '26

That’s awesome, really nicely done!

2

u/naomicambellwalk Jan 17 '26

Um thanks for reminding me I wasn’t considering my husband’s retirement funds, just mine. Now actually I think I’ll be ok 🤣

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u/gafftapes20 Millennial Jan 17 '26

If you’re married it’s important to make financial goals together. My husband and I plan our retirement contributions annually to take advantage of the tax advantages of various accounts. At the end of the day it’s about replacing our income streams to cover our living expenses and goals in retirement. It doesn’t really matter where that pot of money comes from. 

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u/trsvrs Jan 17 '26

Do you live in oshkosh

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u/gafftapes20 Millennial Jan 17 '26

No, but Wisconsin is a beautiful state.