How much should be in 401k at age 40?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hit 1M at around 38. Keep saving!

It’s hard to make the math work on this brag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well my TSP has 20k in it since I just got back into the workforce, but I have 250k in a Roth IRA and another 85k in a Traditional IRA that I rolled over when I left my prior employer. I did not work for 8 years due to kids but put as much in as I could right after college. I also did lot of Roth conversions along the way. My spouse has been maxing their TSP for years so I assume they probably have at least double what I do. We're late 30's/early 40's.

If you’re going to depend on your spouse to be the sole breadwinner for almost a decade you really should know how much money they have in their retirement account not make assumptions.

Meh. I've seen periodic paystubs/taxes with the full amount withheld. There is money there, and it's more than what I have simply by function of contributing those years I didn't. Now if you mean because of a divorce, that information can be subpoenaed if necessary. I'd be more concerned about any accounts I don't know about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We hit 1M at around 38. Keep saving!

It’s hard to make the math work on this brag.

PP didn't understand the assignment and used "we." 500k per spouse at 38 isn't impossible if invested aggressively.

[Anonymous]

I'm over 40 so this might not be helpful. I'm 49 and have 1.2.

This does not include my DH who has maybe 800k.

[Anonymous]

when i was 40 i had about 120k in retirement funds. i have ramped up my contributions from 5% to the max (and have had from 8-10% employer contributions) such that now at 49 i have about 650k in retirement funds. i currently plan to work until 65, when i will hopefully have 2+ million in retirement funds and about a 90k pension.

i could have done better but for the most part i'm satisfied with how i am doing. only ONE of my employers did a retirement match before i hit 40, and many didn't offer a 401k of any sort.

i spent a lot of money on building a house and IVF, and have some money in the market as well, as well as reasonable amount of savings. 40 yo me also had about 70k in credit card balances, which are now at 0. no point in kicking past me, just need to keep grinding out the savings now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:when i was 40 i had about 120k in retirement funds. i have ramped up my contributions from 5% to the max (and have had from 8-10% employer contributions) such that now at 49 i have about 650k in retirement funds. i currently plan to work until 65, when i will hopefully have 2+ million in retirement funds and about a 90k pension.

i could have done better but for the most part i'm satisfied with how i am doing. only ONE of my employers did a retirement match before i hit 40, and many didn't offer a 401k of any sort.

i spent a lot of money on building a house and IVF, and have some money in the market as well, as well as reasonable amount of savings. 40 yo me also had about 70k in credit card balances, which are now at 0. no point in kicking past me, just need to keep grinding out the savings now.

Great job. Most people would love to be in your position

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:when i was 40 i had about 120k in retirement funds. i have ramped up my contributions from 5% to the max (and have had from 8-10% employer contributions) such that now at 49 i have about 650k in retirement funds. i currently plan to work until 65, when i will hopefully have 2+ million in retirement funds and about a 90k pension.

i could have done better but for the most part i'm satisfied with how i am doing. only ONE of my employers did a retirement match before i hit 40, and many didn't offer a 401k of any sort.

i spent a lot of money on building a house and IVF, and have some money in the market as well, as well as reasonable amount of savings. 40 yo me also had about 70k in credit card balances, which are now at 0. no point in kicking past me, just need to keep grinding out the savings now.

This is similar to my situation — I didn't start making over $100k a year until I was 39 and had no match at the places I worked from age 32 through 39. Have been maxing out 401k contributions since about age 42 and now at 48 I've got about $600k in 401k/Roth IRA that I rolled over previous 401ks into. I only get a 3 percent match but also get another 2 percent into a pension account each year, which is worth about $35k now. Spouse, a few years younger than I am, also maxes a 403b and gets a 10 percent contribution from employer, so we're now saving a good amount automatically through work.

It can be tough to hit the stats people in this thread are citing if you're not in an industry where people tend to be paid well at young ages.

[Anonymous]

I’m 41 and have $235K in 401K and $30K in IRAs. I’ve worked part time for the past several years since I have tiny kids. Wish I’d saved more in my 20s but I’m not super worried.

[Anonymous]

Late 40, a little over $2M (just myself not including spouse's).
Before anyone asks, I (and my employer) have been contributing about $50k per year during the last few years. My investment style is also pretty aggressive, with almost 100% equity.

[Anonymous]

At least $10M

[Anonymous]

Late 40s, $1.3m in 401k, another $500k in IRAs and Annuity. Husband has about another $1m total in his.

[Anonymous]

I’m 40 and have $420K. 3x would be $475K. But I’m not worried about it because I’ll have a pension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're asking about the 401k, but by 40 you should try backdoor contributions to a Roth IRA as well.

Can a brokerage firm or advisor help with the mechanics of this?

Yes but it’s pretty straightforward. If you have an IRA, they should have a mechanism to backdoor it into a Roth.

It's easy. Just follow the steps here:

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/backdoor-roth-ira-tutorial/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Average

Here's one way to evaluate it:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-define-wealth-formula-the-millionaire-next-door-2019-1?op=1


This gives you way to simply evaluate where you are currently and where you want to be if you aren't there currently(PAW). I think anyone who it in PAW territory is doing pretty good.

So basically the article says make a lot of $ and save/invest at least 20% of your income. Groundbreaking!

[Anonymous]

Started contributing at age 26, and at 40 it's at around 400k. I started maxing it out when my salary hit around 80k.