24% of Millennials have $100,000 or more saved

[DLgal]

The article even goes as far as saying up to 41. $100K in a 401K by age 40 doesn't seem that unusual.

BTW, the article also goes on to say that 3/4 of millennials also carry some sort of debt (aside from a mortgage).

We are 41 and have twice that much and by most accounts, are still considered to be "behind."

 

[RamblingMad]

Saw a meme recently that said everybody older than you is a Boomer, and everybody younger than you is a Millenial.

That’s what my coffee shop thinks. They have a tip jar for boomers and millennials. As a gen X, I have no where to tip.

 

[RamblingMad]

We are 41 and have twice that much and by most accounts, are still considered to be "behind."

That’s to convince you to take on more risk. I’m early 40s and have about 10x that number.

 

[mrodgers]

Saw a meme recently that said everybody older than you is a Boomer, and everybody younger than you is a Millenial.

My daughters are 19 and 16. The oldest's boyfriend is 25. To them, he's a boomer and they call him that all the time. I just shake my head and ask where I went wrong.

 

[China Expat]

My son is 27 and is doing extremely well due to working for a major tech firm in Silicon Valley and receiving company stock options. We sacrificed for his university tuition, but it paid off for all of us and will continue to do so in the long run. The reality of the world today virtually mandates and underscores the need to choose a course of study or profession that can pay your bills and help build retirement-plumber, nurse, engineer, you name it!

 

[Searc]

We are 41 and have twice that much and by most accounts, are still considered to be "behind."

That surprises me. We are 45 and DH has 7 figures in his 401k.

 

[Colleen27]

The oldest millennials are pushing 40. They can simultaneously have $100,000 saved AND not be saving enough according to recommended retirement savings targets. Our plan adviser says workers should have between two and three times their annual salary in their retirement account by their 40th birthday.

Another reason could be later in life marrying and having kids. My DS turns 23 tomorrow and at his age we were married and expecting him. By 25 we had 3 kids and a house. So no saving for us until way later in life. (and my DS-23 has like $80 but he lives on his own)

Yeah, that's probably a big factor. I look at my oldest sometimes and just shake my head... not because he's made bad choices or anything, but because he's just so much *younger* than I was at his age. When I was 22, I was married with a house and two kids. He's been out of school almost a year and has a decent chunk saved but that's down-payment money he's saved while living at home and house hunting (because buying is much cheaper than renting in our area), and he's not at all interested in a serious relationship or children for "at least another 10 years, if ever" (in his words).

 

[MrsPete]

Could it be that our generation is like other generations in where some people are savers and know how to deal with their finances, while others are trying to keep up with the Jones's or social media, while others just spend mindlessly and are in major debt.

Yep, in any generation -- regardless of the pros and cons that generation has faced -- some people will save, while others will squander. Why would Ms be any different?

Pensions aren't as big as they once were, but if you are vested in a pension you have a future source of retirement income that is not reflected by savings stashed in a 401k.

True, but pensions have never been something "everyone had".
And pensions are a double-edged sword; you're tied to a certain company -- usually 30 years -- and if you leave, you either lose or vastly reduce your pension amount.

 

[RamblingMad]

That surprises me. We are 45 and DH has 7 figures in his 401k.

I have friends that have zero. Working class jobs didn’t work out for them like it did their parents. And they don’t have pensions either.

 

[DLgal]

That surprises me. We are 45 and DH has 7 figures in his 401k.

What part surprises you? That we only have around $200k saved or that that amount is considered behind?

We only started contributing to the "401k" (TSP) in 2004. But my husband will start collecting a military pension later this year at age 41, which has an estimated value of $4.7M (based on a 40 year payout, and taking into account inflation/COLA adjustments which he can exceed if he lives longer). So, we don't fret about the 401k.

 

[dclpluto]

Doesn’t surprise me one bit that’s a low percentage that has over 100 thousand dollars. We are talking about the age group 26-40 I believe the age is. Just google 401k balances by age and you will see how low the average is. All age groups the averages are low.

 

[tvguy]

Of course they do. Where do you get these ideas?

As of 2017, 60% of the workforce was age 37 or older.

Wow, that is interesting. I can only speak to my place. A year ago we had 140 employees, and according to HR EOC disclosure only 25 over the age of 40.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Gah! Just reading the title of this post filled me with dread. For right now I'm so far behind that I think I'm actually going backwards. Technically I'm a millenial, but I was born in 1981 so some sources say that I'm on the cusp of 2 generations. Anyway, I don't know too many people my own age that have huge savings, but I live in a rural small town, I didn't grow up around people that have money and it's not real surprising that they still don't have money. My ex got the retirement accounts in the divorce, so 4 years ago I had to start with nothing--a scary prospect at my age! And my priority was to get some savings together for my kids, especially my son who just turned 17. I didn't want him to turn 18 and feel like he had nothing. So I have a few thousand set aside for them but nothing for myself yet.

My current retirement plan consists of a small pension that I will draw from the state educators pension plan at retirement (we're talking real small, like maybe $600-700/month), and a LOT of praying that Social Security stays stable. Lol, I guess as a woman there is always the option that I can marry rich, right? I'm pretty sure the retirement age for my age group is 67 1/2 so I've still got to work for about 30 more years! The first couple of years after I separated from my ex-husband were kind of rough but I've been making small amounts of progress financially every year so hopefully that trend continues and I'll be able to start saving for retirement soon.

 

[disneychrista]

They can save when they are still crashing at mom and dad's.

This was going to be my response too.

 

[MillauFr]

My son is 27 and is doing extremely well due to working for a major tech firm in Silicon Valley and receiving company stock options. We sacrificed for his university tuition, but it paid off for all of us and will continue to do so in the long run. The reality of the world today virtually mandates and underscores the need to choose a course of study or profession that can pay your bills and help build retirement-plumber, nurse, engineer, you name it!

Yep the youngsters here in Seattle are doing fine. They are getting $100k+ right out of college working for Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, FaceBook, Expedia, and Amazon. They are doing fine.

 

[MrsDuck]

No surprise. Us Millennials aren't all that bad, y'all.

 

[LSUmiss]

Yes. The article actually is counting age 24-41 so it's easy to see that there would be a good percentage of people that age who have been saving for quite a few years.

It's very difficult for me to consider myself a millennial, but by most charts I do technically fall into that category (1981). When I think of "millennials", I think of the "young kids" I know in their late 20s- early 30s who are newly married, no kids. I've owned my own home for nearly 20 years, my oldest child just turned 21, and I'm fairly certain that I have more saved for retirement than my parents do.

Yes & according to that number, I’m a millennial at age 41. But, I’ve known myself to be at the tail end of gen x as long as I can remember. I would definitely not consider myself a millennial. And if we are counting that age group, then I don’t think it’s crazy to have 100k saved. I think you should have at least 100k saved by 41 if at all possible.

 

[LSUmiss]

Wow, that is interesting. I can only speak to my place. A year ago we had 140 employees, and according to HR EOC disclosure only 25 over the age of 40.

That’s interesting b/c in my dept of about 75, I’m one of the youngest at 41. I’d say the average age of my coworkers is about 50.

 

[sam_gordon]

I can only speak to my place.

Then why do you talk about EVERY workplace?

I don't think ANY work place has a large group of over 45s anymore.

 

[lovin'fl]

Wow, that is interesting. I can only speak to my place. A year ago we had 140 employees, and according to HR EOC disclosure only 25 over the age of 40.

My DH's work is mostly young too. He's kind of getting squeezed out. At 46.