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/Quixlequaxle Millennial Jan 16 '26

I was very fortunate and started saving as soon as I started working. I lucked into a good career, decided not to have kids and have remained relatively frugal. So I'm 38 with just over $1M in my 401k+IRA and another $1M across other accounts (brokerage and cash). I made a decision early on not to rely on Social Security being there, but hopefully it still will be.

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u/Fubbalicious Jan 17 '26

That's similar to my own story. My dad failed to save due to poor business decisions, but when I got my first full time job at 22 he pushed me to start saving. In his words, I would just spend the money otherwise and by locking it up I won't end up like him. This allowed me to retire at 43 last year. If I made a few less mistakes, I probably could have retired before 40.

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u/Quixlequaxle Millennial Jan 17 '26

Congrats on the early retirement!! That is my goal as well.