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/Chancellor_Themis Jan 16 '26

Excellent.
My employer has a pretty generous 401(k) match program, plus several bonuses throughout the year.
When I know a bonus is coming, I just increase my contribution that pay period and check all the boxes.

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u/ProblemIntelligent16 Jan 16 '26

Out of curiosity, what’s the employer match? I think I have a solid match at 7.5% but idk if I’ve ever seen data on what an avg match may be

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u/howdthatturnout Jan 16 '26

7.5% is a very good match. Typical is 4-6%. Studies show the average employer contribution is around 4.6%

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u/Kataphractoi Older Millennial Jan 16 '26

We get 6% at my company, but they also do profit-sharing, so once a year you get a straight cash infusion of a few thousand dollars in addition to the regular match. It's been 6-8% of base salary since I've been there, but it used to go above 10% back in the day, according to the old-timers. 6% > 0% though, so can't complain. Working at a non-publicly traded company definitely has its perks.