You Might Be A Future Millionaire If Your 401(k) Passes This Number By 35

In recent years, there's been evidence that 401(k) balances and the number of 401(k) millionaires have been rising. According to an analysis from Fidelity covering 24.8 million participants, the average 401(k) balance hit a record $146,400 at the end of 2025, up 11% from a year earlier, while the number of 401(k) millionaires hit an all-time high of 595,000 in 2025. 

It may be true that many younger workers under 35 are far away from having $146,400 in their retirement savings, but those who can save as much as $131,400 could potentially become millionaires by 65. Assuming you're 35, have $131,400 in your 401(k) savings, and the S&P 500 annual returns stay under their historical 10.4% average at 7%, you'd end up with $1,000,250 by the time you turn 65. That's assuming you don't add or remove anything from your 401(k) for those 30 years.

However, the hard truth is that having $130,000 in a 401(k) at 35 is unusual. The 2025 How America Saves report from Vanguard shows workers aged 35 to 44 had an average defined-contribution balance of $103,552 in 2024, while the median — a more accurate representation not swayed by the odd, astronomically high balance — was just $39,958. For workers aged 25 to 34, the average was $42,640, and the median was $16,255. So, $131,400 is not a "you're behind if you don't have it" number. It's more of a "you're way ahead if you do" number. In fact, with around $90,000 in your 401(k), you have more in retirement savings than most millennials.

Ideally, you should start putting money aside as soon as you get your first job. That said, many experts agree that the best age to start saving for retirement is 25. If you start from $0 at 25, you will need to save about $790 every month to reach roughly $131,000 by 35 — assuming 7% yearly returns. Someone starting at 30 would need about $1,900 a month to get there in five years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median weekly earnings of full-time workers aged 25 to 34 was $1,143 in 2025, or $4,953 per month. Therefore, a 25-year-old trying to reach the $130,000 milestone by 35 would need to contribute about 15% of their median monthly earnings. Meanwhile, someone starting at 30 would need to put aside a much larger share — 38% of those same median monthly earnings. That's before any employer match, but also before taxes and routine living costs, which make the late-start version unrealistic for many workers unless they have unusually low expenses or a very high income.

But retiring a millionaire doesn't necessarily give you enough money to retire rich. According to a GoBankingRates survey, many Americans agree that to retire rich, you would need around $5,000,000 in savings. To accomplish that goal when starting from $0 at 25, you would need to put about $2,023 away every month until you reach 65.