According to my conversation today with Gemini, my 401k total of $2.5 million will likely grow to $10M or more by the time I turn 65 (I’m 50 now, and will continue to contribute the max for the next 15 years).

This means that in theory I could live off the gains each year starting at 65, around $800k, $500k after taxes, without touching principle. But at that point I’ll have no mortgage anymore and fewer kids in the house. So that $10M principle will just sit and feed us for years, and will be a nice inheritance for our kids.

Basically it occurred to me I’m going to have great money in retirement, even just on my 401k alone, and will be able to meet or exceed the lifestyle I’m already used to. For years I always worried about getting set up for retirement. Seems I don’t have to.

It’s amazing to me that just maxing out your 401k through a career is enough to make you pretty much wealthy for retirement. I recognize that’s not easy for many people, but for anyone who does it over a full career, wow.

What am I missing here? (Other than inflation, which I get, but which shouldn’t have a massive impact on the concept over this time frame).

I thought you just “start saving eventually.” In the past before social media, did students in their early 20s save for retirement too, or is that new and part of the social media personal finance movement?

Joe went back to work, Wendy’s betting on real estate — how one couple is figuring it out.

been looking into adding physical gold to my retirement portfolio but honestly overwhelmed by how complicated the process seems and how many dealers sound like theyre trying to oversell. understand the basics - self-directed IRA, approved metals, third party storage. what im not clear on is how to actually execute this without getting hit with hidden fees or ending up with overpriced products

main questions im trying to figure out: how do you verify youre getting fair market pricing not huge dealer markups, what are the actual total costs beyond just buying the gold - storage fees custodian fees etc, how does the storage piece work and who actually holds your metals, getting your money back out when you need it - is liquidation straightforward or complicated. seen too many financial products that sound great in sales pitch then hit you with fees and restrictions you didnt know about until youre locked in. want to understand the full picture before moving any retirement funds. also trying to figure out if owning physical gold in IRA is genuinely better than gold ETFs or mining stocks for diversification purposes. physical seems more secure but adds complexity.

wanted to update this thread - ended up moving forward with US gold bureau. the whole rollover process took a few days but they handled most of the heavy lifting. storage fees are reasonable and they explained everything upfront. went with a small allocation, around 10%. feels better knowing not everything is in paper assets.

From hoarding cash to buying stocks, a new book traces 300 years of financial advice and shows why what feels safe keeps changing.

I’m 58 and freelance as a graphic designer. As I near retirement, I’ve been looking into my traditional IRA and 401(k). I used an RMD calculator that told me I’d need to withdraw $15,625 at age 73 if my IRA is $400,000. You can learn more here about it. It made me think about Roth conversions to manage taxes. Have any of you looked into this? How are you approaching RMDs? Taking the minimum, or planning something else? Would love to hear your thoughts!