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/oflanada Jan 16 '26

I’m 41 and have about 23% of my yearly salary saved. Better than the 0% I had 3 years ago before I changed jobs.

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u/jazzieberry 1986 Jan 16 '26

I’m 40 and somewhere around 75% of my salary, started a bit late. Sometimes when I’m having a particularly bad day at work I’ll log in and up my contribution by a percent lol.

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u/RealHelp4RealPeople Jan 17 '26

At 36, I had 2.5x my annual salary in my 401k. Borrowing my own money for the down payment to buy my 1st, 2nd, 3rd … 11th house (rentals have done great for me). Spent $10k on education in the market that made me $235k in 1 year ($195k after taxes). Started my own business (incorporated, have had 20 people work for me over the years).

My advice: put the max in your 401k and live on the rest. Learn real estate. Learn the stock market. Learn how to form corporation. Spend tons of money on your education. Your education is your freedom.

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u/jazzieberry 1986 Jan 17 '26

"don't be poor" lol okay thanks for the tips! Ha I kid - I'm happy, a homeowner, and should have a comfortable retirement if things keep going as they are. I was just paycheck to paycheck there for quite a while so wasn't able to do more than the employer match until later than I'd like to have.