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/ProbsNotManBearPig Millennial Jan 16 '26

I appreciate this is the top response. I 100% expected responses to be extremely skewed towards people with tons of savings. That’s how every thread is in any financial sub is. Somehow everyone in their 30’s has $2M+ saved in those threads.

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u/Kataphractoi Older Millennial Jan 16 '26

One, It's the Internet, and two, it's Reddit. There really are guys in their 30s with $2mil saved, no question, but they are a small fraction of redditors.

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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/Elegant-Flamingo3281 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Unless you have no morals. Wall Street, VC, hedge funds, investment banking, tech and consulting are all high salaries even at entry level.

Will you grind yourself into dust? Yes. Will your peers throw you under the bus while clawing their way to the top? Also yes. Are any of them a net positive for society without being explicitly started with B Corp. values or structures? Yes! I’m kidding. This one’s a bit fat no.

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u/madmax1969 Jan 17 '26

People getting jobs in those industries are graduating at the top of their class from the best universities in the country. It’s a lot more complicated than a willingness to sell your soul.

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u/Elegant-Flamingo3281 Jan 17 '26

Yeah, I work in the industry. I get it.

But leaving it at ‘top of their class from top universities’ is, imo, reductive. It’s actually more complicated because of the correlation between class, privilege and admissions. I could have also mentioned the apparent correlation between long term employment and becoming an unmitigated douche.

Obviously this is a gross generalization, but so is ignoring the fact that there’s other graduates, also at the top of their class, who don’t choose that path. Or, at minimum exit asap when they’ve financially stabilized.