He only contributes the max needed to be matched 100% by company.
Same here. 55 and not expecting to retire. All the more important to concentrate on keeping in good health.
For those trying to put as much as possible into retirement accounts, wouldn’t the Roth version (with tax at the front door) effectively allow putting more in than the traditional version (with tax at the back door)?
@ucbalumnus I don’t believe so, as the Roth is capped at a much lower amount.
My baby boomer husband has NO plans to retire. At all. He does want, someday, to ease out of managing the day-to-day operations of his company and focus on long-term goals and strategies. But as a creature of habit, he can’t fathom waking up in the morning and not having specific things to do related to the business he created, nurtured, saw through crises, grew, and still has ideas for.
Re: #23
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-comparison-chart indicates that Roth 401k and pre-tax 401k have the same contribution limits.
I’ve never asked any of my Ds this question, but I can’t imagine that any of them would answer that they expect to work until they die! They all have very good jobs and two of them have excellent employer pension plans. The others started saving for retirement as soon as they were working after graduation. Good planning is the issue, regardless of what generation we’re talking about. Too many have not planned for retirement, for a variety of reasons.
My H and I are both retired, myself after cutting back my practice to part-time several years ago, and my H fully retired at 60 with an excellent pension, as well as a very good nest egg of investments and stock options. We are enjoying retirement, and don’t miss the working world one bit, even though we both enjoyed our jobs very much. Our hobbies, involvement in our community, our volunteer work, more time with our kids and grandchildren, friends, and travel, keep us busy and engaged.
Didn’t realize you were talking about Roth 401k as opposed to the middle column. Is the Roth 401k an option for individuals if the company offers a pre-tax 401k?
Yes, my H has both types of 401k at his place of employment. He plans to retire next year at 62. He has a traditional pension. We have several friends who do not think they can retire for a long time.
I also found it odd they labeled 27% as ‘more than 1/3’ in the graph.
My kids are not like most millennials, I guess, as I had them open Roth IRAs as soon as they had summer jobs. If my D stays with her company and becomes a partner, there is a 62 mandatory retirement age (although the EEOC has been questioning that in recent years.) My S wants to retire as soon as possible and is saving his money, planning to move to get a higher paying job than the current high paying one he has. He does not enjoy working for a living.
I never thought of retiring early. Although I do enjoy thinking of retiring at 70s and open my own bakery…
Too bad you are forced to retire around 50 in Korea
I agree with HImom that not having debt is huge. D and SIL are both saving in their 401K’s as well as other savings. They live in an expensive city, SIL has student loans ( D does not) and they don’t make tons of money.
Most kids know nothing about personal finance or investing. They are taught that greed = capitalism and capitalism is bad. Socialism is good. Why should they save?
Our millennials are also savers, especially the CPA one. She and her H sock away every penny they can. They are ones who want to retire as quickly as possible. 
Maybe your kid(s) was/were taught that. Mine was not, educated in the capitalist mecca of NYC public schools, lol.
I don’t know how they will find work. Currently impossible to find work at age 60. Too many low wage millennials.
401k is a gift in so many ways. Just gotta wait 30 years. Law of compounding interest was Einstein’s favorite.
Lots of jobs out there that do not offer 401k/503B etc. When that is the case people can only contribute $5500 a year. .
They need to allow people to save as much as they want in a retirement account. Why should some get to save $18,000 tax free (and up to $53,000 total) and others only $5500. .
I think time is something that is so far in the future that millennials aren’t sure what it means to work until they die. It’s just some thing way in the future and who knows what the future holds. All they know is that is a long way away.
I have to admit about people who have said that they or their spouse has no intention of ever retiring is a bit puzzling. I see my parents and IL’s who have slowed down and could no longer are up to the demands of working full time. My fil dabbles in a business but very part time. He’s really slowed down lately and getting around is hard. He doesn’t need the money but what if he did? I’m not sure how that would work.
My H is lucky in that he has a job that has a pension. He also has a 401k. We’ve tried to live within our means and we have made a plan for him to retire at 62. I’ve been lucky to have worked part time so I won’t work after he retired.
I have a friend who has said they won’t retire until 70. They’ve lived a very big life, with multiple expensive vacations every year, an expensive house and kids they are still supporting. I’m not sure that they will be in a position to retire at 70 but what happens then? At what point is working full time no longer possible?
My bil just passed away at 52 though. They went on great vacations and lived life to its fullest.
I wonder, my H and I, are we too conservative? We live our lives to be comfortable in retirement and plan on traveling when we retire. Is that the right plan? Should we have been more carpe diem and had more life experiences?
No way to predict the future.
My kids are doing all they can to save. All are saving what they can, definitely the max the company matches and more. My one kid and partner has saved enough for a sizable down payment on a house and for a wedding. The other saved enough to pay cash for a car but feels like a slacker compared to the other one. I am not worried about my kids.
Really not sure what your point is, but it sounds like someone dropped the ball in educating them about money–usually a parent responsibility. My very left-wing kids are both massive savers, even though they don’t’ make a lot of money. That’s just smart. What does that have to do with politics?
@burgermeister…not impossible to find a job at 60. H just left a CEO position at that age and found another within 6 weeks. He thought about retiring but decided he wasn’t quite ready…and I was nervous about health care costs. Networking was key to getting offers. Also look at interim placement companies who really want “seasoned” or experienced workers. One of H’s colleagues has a year long placement in the Palm Springs area! Great gig! Good luck to you.