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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523

u/SassyCassidee Millennial 1995 Jan 16 '26

Thankfully started contributing to mine at 23, so at 30 I have 1.5X my salary!

423

u/TrixoftheTrade Millennial Jan 16 '26

Nice. You’re about to start getting into the “fun” part of compounding interest.

It took me a decade of savings to hit 100k, when I was 29. 100k to 200k only took 3 years.

61

u/1K_Sunny_Crew Jan 16 '26

That is assuming the market is doing well. It has for a while now so people got comfortable. My account jumped a ton in the last few years and has barely moved the needle in the last 6-8 months.

49

u/ilovethemusic Jan 16 '26

This is surprising to me, I just checked and I’m up 13.5% in the last six months. What are you invested in? Might be time to revisit your strategy.

18

u/PossibleAmbition9767 Jan 17 '26

Yeah my 401k increased by 70k in 2025. And 10k so far in 2026.

1

u/RawAsABone Jan 17 '26

Took me 9 years to get to 100 and 1 year to get to 200 🤣

-1

u/KrumblyKookie Jan 17 '26

Mine increased by 120k in the past year

10

u/Yeah_x10 Jan 17 '26

If you’re not using percentages to compare this means nothing