In 2009 I don’t think I had a retirement account yet. I am 36 and I have $150k in my 401k. I have been maxing out for the past 3-5 years but minimal saving before then.

1999 $16K. Age 30
2009 $150K. Age 40. (In 2008 , it was like $90K)
2019 $720K. Age 50

DW’s #’s are similar. We max 401K’s and are now doing catch up contributions. Also do 529’s and after tax savings.

Vanguard tells me my avg rate of return over last 10 years is 8.8%.

Anonymous wrote:Had about $700,000 a decade ago, on the heels of huge losses in 2008. Took a while to get that back and now have $1.3 million, age 46.

Similar but *started* saving in 2008. I'm super frugal but didn't know I was supposed to start saving when I started earning. My retirement started when I was 30. That said, I did luck out on real estate. So of that which I saved, I'd argue that about 200K was luck money; not anything I earned.

Wow, I have an excel file that has this exact info. It's shocking to me--a decade ago I was 39 and had $90308. (I did a PhD and had a late earning start and then lost a bunch in 2008). But I maxed everything I could (401a, 457, IRA) and with market growth I'm now at $553227. (This is just my personal retirement--not DH's or any assets outside retirement accounts).

Honestly, I don't remember. There have been ups and downs.

Just put something away every paycheck. It adds up.

Had about $700,000 a decade ago, on the heels of huge losses in 2008. Took a while to get that back and now have $1.3 million, age 46.

38k in 2009 to 581k today. I’m 37 and divorced. Feel better about my situation because I got a decent start saving

A decade ago we were coming out of the Great Recession. I didn’t even look at retirement accounts. Too depressing.

Ar age 40 I had 700K.

I'm 41 and I have 210k. A decade ago I had 150k. I stopped saving for retirements because I.m a heavy smoker and I don't believe I'll live until retirement.
I want be able to access my savings before retirement age.

I'm 40. My current balance is $600K. No idea what it was 10 years ago but I can tell you that I started to contribute at the age of 25 and maxed my 401k deduction every year since then. SO whatever the Feds said I can max I did.

At first it feels like a drip in the bucket but after 15 years it clearly has started to fill the bucket up!

I'm 35. In 2009 balance was less than $10,000, balance today around $230,000. My salary in 2009 was around $40k, and now around $115k

I’m curious too OP and hope more people answer you. I’m just starting out myself

In before the high rollers start posting!

I'm 39 and retirement balance is 252K. At 29 it was around 55K, and felt like I was throwing money into a black hole back then. Contributions have hovered around the same % over that time though employer match is getting worse. We just finished the daycare years and looking to contribute the max next year.

I know all the formulas, so I can figure out - if I stop contributing (no plans to do that), then by age 65 at 6% growth I'll have x, at 7% y etc. But how about some IRL examples? Where were you at age 40 and where are you now? How have your contributions looked since then, is this just you or did your spouse also contribute, and what matches did you have?

And for those who aren't 40 yet -- what did you have a decade ago vs. now? I'll post my own separately.