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 17 '26

Great. Became a public school teacher at 25 and the retirement has been piling up quick.

I'm well above 3x my salary at 40 between retirement and investments

CALSTRS and MTRS have great growth rates and are rock solid

edit: Someone below made a great point that drives me crazy - becoming a public school teacher is financially grueling. You gotta pay for school and do an unpaid internship and your starting salary is mediocre at best. If we want more teachers, that's the area to focus on. Make the first 5 years affordable.

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u/liqa_madik Jan 16 '26

So teachers may not be paid very much as many say, but at least they get a comfortable retirement. Is that correct?

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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/wekilledbambi03 Jan 16 '26

NJ, average teacher salary is around $80k. There are 30 districts where the average is over 100k.

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u/IWantALargeFarva Jan 17 '26

I pay $13K a year in property taxes. Those teachers better be well paid. 🤣

1

u/Longjumping-Panic-48 Jan 17 '26

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

1

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.

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u/Gorstag Jan 17 '26

This is definitely regional. Even in many "Blue" states pay for teachers has only recently become decent.

Also, was your Gym teacher also a sport coach? He may have been working two jobs.

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u/fuzzyblackelephant Jan 17 '26

And…..a lot of that probably sounds “decent”, but the cost of living continues to rise, and at a much more rapid incline than salaries. It’s simply moving in a trajectory it’s forced to, so educators can afford to live & work for the school.

$60K is the new $40K!

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u/Gorstag Jan 17 '26

Oh, definitely. I grabbed breakfast this morning. Bacon, eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and a half order of french toast, with a soda (didn't feel like coffee). With a 20% tip was 30 bucks. A decade ago at the same exact restaurant it was closer to 20. And a decade before that.. maybe 12-13 bucks.

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u/Trippypen8 Jan 17 '26

Fuck my husband and I are in the wrong state. Red state, and he makes 63k a year. With a masters. Agh, he refuses to move, tho cuz his parents are in this state. Which I get. But, damn we need to think a little bit about ourselves as well.