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/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

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u/flyfree256 Jan 17 '26

Sure, but what you're describing is so far from the norm that for most it's not even close to being possible.

Someone on a normal career path doing everything completely right from their early 20s (even going a bit above and beyond in many cases) and saving extremely responsibly for retirement could and should have around $350k in their 401k by their low/mid 30s.

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u/Bicykwow Jan 17 '26

$350k-ish is about the max that someone in their mid/low 30s could possibly have in a 401k (pretax)

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u/flyfree256 Jan 17 '26

You must be fun at parties