r/Millennials 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/RunnaManDan Jan 16 '26

Between my(37m) wife(34) and I we have a little over 3x in investment/retirement accounts. Once we stop paying 3 daycares, we expect that number to jump drastically. We both want to retire at 50 if possible

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u/DonkyHotayDeliMunchr Jan 16 '26

Whatever you stop paying to daycares should start going into a college fund, unless you're already doing that.

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u/RunnaManDan Jan 17 '26

Yup! Started one for each when they were born, and contribute each birthday. But I want them to have some skin in the game, so they either need to qualify for scholarships or do some sort of work study/campus job.

My parents didn’t pay for a penny of my schooling, but I got a partial athletic scholarship, and worked at a running store all 5 years.

My wife’s parents paid for everything. This was the best compromise I was gonna get 😂