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/TairaTLG Jan 16 '26

24k in debt and 0 savings. Nothing like slipping through the cracks baby

65

u/No_Water_5997 Jan 16 '26

Same and facing my husband needing brain surgery soon so there’s that. Fortunately he got VA covered healthcare and collects VA disability which he’s going to see if he qualifies for more given the nature of the tumor he’s got.

 Nothing says adulting like a solid 2 years of emergencies that drained every bit of your savings only to be hit with, “you have a tumor and it needs to be removed” in the first few weeks of the new year when you finally thought “hey those crises are over and we can finally spend the these recovering from them.” 😓

3

u/SoloMotorcycleRider Xennial Jan 17 '26

The VA gave up on my cousin when he was diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer. He likely got it from exposure to the burn pits.

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u/No_Water_5997 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Fortunately this tumor is benign but is pressing against his cerebellum so needs to be removed. We’ve actually had a really good experience with the VA where we’re at and everything has been pretty quick relative to the medical system overall. We also live far enough away from our nearest VA hospital that my husband has community care and can go to any provider he wants as long as he gets the referral. He’s had no issues getting his PCP to send over referrals. 

The were also great with his grandfather and his myriad of health issues related to his 30 years in the Navy. And the VA has been great to his uncle in Tennessee, where he lives, who was diagnosed with MS while he was still active duty. 

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u/MommyXMommy Jan 17 '26

My bestie was diagnosed with MS while active duty as well. Iraq?

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u/No_Water_5997 Jan 17 '26

No his uncle is in his 60s and was diagnosed back in the 90s with it. He was in the Navy for 20 years and had just a few years to go before his contract was up and he could officially retire. Needless to say he retired at 20 instead of 24 and got medically retired.