You Should Be Contributing At Least 20% To Your 401(k) (2024)

FAQs

You Should Be Contributing At Least 20% To Your 401(k)? ›

However, regardless of your age and expectations, most financial advisors agree that 10% to 20% of your salary is a good amount to contribute toward your retirement fund.

As a rule of thumb, experts advise that you save between 10% and 20% of your gross salary toward retirement. That could be in a 401(k) or in another kind of retirement account. No matter where you save it, you want to save as much for retirement as you can while still living comfortably.

For that reason, many experts recommend investing 10-15 percent of your annual salary in a retirement savings vehicle like a 401(k). Of course, when you're just starting out and trying to establish a financial cushion and pay off student loans, that's a pretty big chunk of cash to sock away.

Matching 401(k) contributions are the additional contributions made by employers, on top of the contributions made by employees. These matches are made on a percentage basis, such as 25%, 50% or even 100% of the employee's contribution amount, up to a limit of total employee compensation.

As a general rule, it's certainly wise to sock away a good 15% to 20% of your income for retirement. And if you can push yourself to save beyond that threshold without compromising your near-term quality of life, even better. But striking the right balance can be tough.

However, the general rule of thumb, according to Fidelity Investments, is that you should aim to save at least the equivalent of your salary by age 30, three times your salary by age 40, six times by age 50, eight times by 60 and 10 times by 67.

For a successful retirement, you should aim to save at least 15% of your income annually over the course of your career. Saving steadily and increasing your contributions periodically should help you hit that target over time.

While recommended account balances vary significantly, retirement planners are generally united in recommending saving similar percentages of annual earnings. In most cases, planners recommend saving 10% to 15% of annual salary for retirement.

By age 30, Fidelity recommends having the equivalent of one year's salary stashed in your workplace retirement plan. So, if you make $50,000, your 401(k) balance should be $50,000 by the time you hit 30.

Financial experts typically recommend you save at least 15% of your pre-tax income for retirement.

Is a 7% 401k match good? ›

A study by Vanguard reported that the average employer match was 4.5% in 2020, with the median at 3% of salary. In 2023, if you're getting at least 4% to 6% in 401k employer matching, it's considered a “good” 401k match. Anything above 6% would be considered “great”.

Many employers match as much as 50 cents on the dollar, on up to 6% of your salary. Most advisors recommend contributing enough to get the maximum match. Turning down free money doesn't make sense unless the fund is so bad that you're losing most of it to fees and substandard returns.

If you're earning a salary of $100,000 and an employer offers to match your contributions up to 3% of your pay, you're really bringing in $103,000—and you don't have to pay taxes on all of that income. While an employer match isn't going to make or break your retirement savings, says Zigmont, it can offer a nice boost.

£300k in a pension isn't a huge amount to retire on at the fairly young age of 60, but it's possible for certain lifestyles depending on how your pension fund performs while you're retired and how much you need to live on.

So to answer the question, we believe having one to one-and-a-half times your income saved for retirement by age 35 is a reasonable target. By age 50, you would be considered on track if you have three-and-a-half to six times your preretirement gross income saved.

Savings requirements to retire with $10 million depend on your age and your return on investment. With a 10% annual return, the amount needed ranges from $1,159 per month for 20-year-olds to $26,228 per month for 50-year-olds.

As a very basic example, if you had $5,000 in your 401(k) today, and it grew at an average rate of 5% per year, it would be worth $10,441 in 20 years—more than double. If you withdraw those funds early, however, you're not only facing a stiff tax penalty, you're losing all of that additional growth.

Many companies offer 401(k) plans to encourage employees to save for retirement. Some even match contributions you make yourself. Aim to save at least 15% of your pretax income each year for retirement (including employer contributions). This can be in a 401(k) or another retirement account.

Key Takeaways

The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

Important reminder: The 50/30/20 budget rule only considers your take-home pay for the month, so anything automatically deducted from your paycheck — like your work health insurance premium or 401k retirement contribution — doesn't count in the equation.