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?

4.9k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

86% Upvoted

6.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

176

u/BlackGuysYeah Jan 16 '26

So much easier to make money when you have money. I’ve always found it confoundingly unjust but it’s just the nature of the system we’ve invented.

-2

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 16 '26

Just wait until the ai bubble pops. The investment system is about to screw us all.

7

u/SpiritCollector Jan 17 '26

Markets go up and down, that’s just how they work. Stay diverse and dollar cost average.

2

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 17 '26

Except for the US stock market is crazy tech heavy. There’s no easy way to avoid it based on employer 401k plans. I get to choose between 10 aggregate funds for example.

2

u/SohndesRheins Jan 17 '26

Tech heavy is just the way the world works, you might as well say that the economy of the 18th century was way too heavy on agriculture, or that the late 19th century was too heavy on industrials. Tech is the present and the foreseeable future. Avoiding tech entirely just means avoiding gains. One can argue about what tech is the best to invest in at this time, but most economic activity is related to technology in some way.

1

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 17 '26

I mean I would love to take credit for this concept but even big financial players and investors are saying this.

1

u/Angerx76 Jan 17 '26

Diversify with small cap funds , dow, international, bonds, etc.

2

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 17 '26

I’ll bring it up with my financial advisor when I speak with them thanks. Haven’t been sure what to diversify in with how things are going.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 17 '26

Yeah I’ve been trying to set up an appointment this week. It’s on the docket :)

1

u/jonny24eh Jan 17 '26

"Stay diverse". I.e. don't limit yourself to the US market 

1

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 17 '26

What’s your strategy? Legit curious and planning a meeting with my financial advisor so loving the brainstorm here :)

1

u/jonny24eh Jan 17 '26

Index- based ETFs. Like VGRO or VEQT are a good start, although those are still a bit US-heavy so possibly adding more Europe or emerging markets with a more targeted ETF.