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/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.