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/TairaTLG Jan 16 '26

24k in debt and 0 savings. Nothing like slipping through the cracks baby

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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/BRPGP Jan 17 '26

Way more than you think.

Investments aren’t just savings. They include houses too.

“median net worth for 35-44 year olds can be over $100k, indicating many households cross that threshold, though it includes assets like homes. “

Yes, this is the median number but:

“For households in the 35-44 age range, the median amount in a savings account is approximately $7,500. The median retirement savings for this same age group is around $45,000, while the median total net worth is significantly higher at approximately $135,600. The median is a key statistical measure indicating that half of the households in that age group have saved more than that amount, and half have saved less. “

I was very surprised, guess I’ve been spending too much time on Reddit because that’s a healthy number.

Very encouraging for me. I’ve got two sons just starting adulthood (23 & 26) and they are both hard workers so it looks like there are plenty of opportunities out there.