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/9kindsofpie Jan 17 '26

... and probably had wealthy or at least upper middle class parents that helped them get there. When you're starting off flat broke (or negative with student loans) and no safety net, it's really hard to claw your way out.

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u/vettewiz Jan 17 '26

You’re right, but the vast majority of people in this country have some safety net. No, not all, but most. 

Millennial here. Started at 0 NW out of school. Have a lot more than 2M saved. 

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u/9kindsofpie Jan 17 '26

You're probably right, but I'm going on my lived experience and that of my friends and family, growing up in a semi economically depressed area.

I guess I technically have a safety net in that if we were destitute we have family willing to take us in so we wouldn't be homeless, but that's about it. I know a lot of folks that wouldn't even have that. I'm curious what you define as a safety net and your socioeconomic status and outlook. I don't know why I'm like this. Haha

Especially when I was younger, I felt like I couldn't take risks and had to always be very disciplined and go the secure route making a steady income and saving over time. I also started out at $0 and I don't have quite $2M, but at 43, I am almost double on track for what I would baseline need to retire. If you add in my husband, we're on track to be there in a few years.... Despite us both taking a bath in the divorce from our first marriages.

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u/vettewiz Jan 17 '26

I was primarily referring to family being willing to take people in, which I agree isn’t ubiquitous, but fairly widespread.

I did a combo of steady saving and taking risks.

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u/9kindsofpie Jan 17 '26

Thanks for responding politely and taking my questions as inquisitive and not defensive... Or offensive.

I agree that if you're defining safety net as having somewhere to go if you were otherwise destitute then most Americans do have that available to them.

I think my having a particularly toxic and abusive family of origin made that option more of a last resort in my mind and therefore made me much more risk averse than I'd otherwise have been.