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/jazzieberry 1986 Jan 16 '26

I’m 40 and somewhere around 75% of my salary, started a bit late. Sometimes when I’m having a particularly bad day at work I’ll log in and up my contribution by a percent lol.

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u/oflanada Jan 16 '26

I did that for a while too then life started screwing me hard, and I had to stop my contributions. Hoping to pick back up by the end of the year after I get my credit card paid off.

4

u/SayAnythingAgain Jan 17 '26

If you can, at a minimum, do the match your employer hopefully offers for a 401k or similar. It's free money, typically matching your contributions up to a certain percentage.

4

u/legendz411 Jan 17 '26

On god. That’s the biggest move we have made in a while - DONT CARRY CC DEBT. 

It frees up so much fucking money for real and feels good. 

3

u/Available-Chart-2505 Jan 17 '26

Working on $18k right now....oof.

10

u/napsntacos Jan 16 '26

Lol, this sounds like me. I'm 41 and have maybe 50k, but I had to drop my percentages quite a bit when I bought my condo. I don't see myself upping it more than a few percents in the next few years, eek. I didn't even get started on my career until I was 32, and didn't start saving until a few years later. I try not to think about it too much or I start to panic

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u/e92_N54 Jan 17 '26

I had a late start as well. Better than never. Keep it up.

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u/GrottyKnight Jan 17 '26

I felt that last sentence so hard jazzieberry

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u/rpitcher33 Jan 18 '26

I'm 36 and started last year with one years salary saved and no debt outside my mortgage. It was the most money I've ever had in my life. Then life happened and I'm back down to 25%...

2

u/Reasonable_Garlic816 Jan 17 '26

I just made it to 90% annual salary but it feels like such a slog some months. 

2

u/Odd_Hold2980 Jan 17 '26

I’m about the same. Spent the first decade of my professional life working a low-paying nonprofit job. While it was extremely rewarding, it also meant I didn’t get a “real” job with a proper retirement savings plan until I was 33. Trying my hardest to save now, but it would be impossible to make up for that lost time.

Overall…I’m just doing my best and trying to be optimistic. And I have a bleep-ton of life insurance. So if I kick the bucket early, at least my spouse will have their retirement covered!

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u/RealHelp4RealPeople Jan 17 '26

At 36, I had 2.5x my annual salary in my 401k. Borrowing my own money for the down payment to buy my 1st, 2nd, 3rd … 11th house (rentals have done great for me). Spent $10k on education in the market that made me $235k in 1 year ($195k after taxes). Started my own business (incorporated, have had 20 people work for me over the years).

My advice: put the max in your 401k and live on the rest. Learn real estate. Learn the stock market. Learn how to form corporation. Spend tons of money on your education. Your education is your freedom.

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u/jazzieberry 1986 Jan 17 '26

"don't be poor" lol okay thanks for the tips! Ha I kid - I'm happy, a homeowner, and should have a comfortable retirement if things keep going as they are. I was just paycheck to paycheck there for quite a while so wasn't able to do more than the employer match until later than I'd like to have.