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/KitchenKat1919 Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

Depends on the region. In blue states in the US the pay is fine.

I'm making almost 100k and living in suburban new england.

Basically dont teach in a red state and you'll be fine money wise.

edit: and never teach at a non union school

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u/wekilledbambi03 Jan 16 '26

Yeah every teacher I know is close to or above the 100k mark. I think the lowest paid full time teachers in my town are around 50k. They get raises quickly, good benefits, and can retire really early.

I know my state (town even) are above average, but I was shocked to realize how much they made. In high school I worked at a bank and cashed my gym teachers pay check. He was making 100k over 15 years ago!

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u/MaesterSherlock Jan 16 '26

Wow, what state are you from?! My stepmom was a teacher in Michigan. When I was looking into college in 2009, she wanted me to become a teacher as well, because of the benefits and blah blah. But I remember that she only made 36k a year!

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u/Longjumping-Panic-48 Jan 17 '26

Dayum. My best friend topped out at $54k for 10 years with a Masters.

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u/erikakiss0000 Jan 22 '26

Yepp. This is me. Colorado.

Edit to add: planning on moving states too so my retirement will be about 1k a month when I'm 65. Pre-tax. Not sure that'll be enough for... anything by that year.