--- title: Want to Retire With $1 Million? Start Saving by This Age description: A new study shows that you need to start saving at 25 if you want to be a millionaire in retirement. It seems Gen Z is up to the challenge. authors: - name: Brenden Rearick role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/ bio: Brenden Rearick is a former reporter at Money who specialized in covering breaking news and enterprise stories about credit cards, real estate, investing, and personal finance trends. education: University of Pittsburgh, BA at_money_since: 2023 articles: 133 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-09-05T20:40:31.000Z' modified: '2023-09-12T13:05:16.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 511 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-saving-age-1-million/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Conceptual photo collage illustration of a woman looking at a timeline that fills up with money into the distance](https://img.money.com/2023/09/News-Millionaire-Retirement-Start-Saving-By-This-Age.jpg?crop=0px%2C135px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Workers seem to know how much money they need to be comfortable in retirement — [previous surveys](https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2-million/) suggest that it's over $1 million. But what they often don't know is *when*, exactly, they need to start saving in order to reach that goal. It looks like we now have an answer. Research from the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, shows you should begin [saving regularly for retirement by 25](https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/AFrameworkforActionStrategiesforEnhancingLifetimeFinancialSecurityFINAL.pdf) if you hope to retire with at least $1 million set aside. Missing that deadline won't kill your hopes of a million-dollar retirement completely, of course, but the data sheds light on the importance of starting out young when it comes to saving. ## Saving money now affords you new opportunities in the future ### It's never too late to put some money aside in a High-Yield Savings Account from Barclays. Click on your state and find out more. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/u4474283ac96?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-saving-age-1-million%2F) ## What the data says The Milken Institute report, released last week, finds that the latest age Americans should begin saving for [retirement](https://money.com/retirement/) is 25. The think tank's reasoning has to do with compounding. For instance, $100 invested weekly starting at 25 years old would lead to $1.1 million in retirement savings by age 65, so long as the saver were to achieve a 7% return. (Seven percent is the standard return investors tend to strive for when it comes to long-term growth; under normal circumstances, this return will beat [inflation](https://money.com/inflation-june-2023-rent-insurance/) and then some.) The benefits of compounding are much clearer when you begin saving younger. That $100 invested weekly starting at 35 will produce only about $300,000 by retirement age — a significant difference. Admittedly, there are plenty of barriers that can keep workers from starting their retirement savings while they're still young. The economy is still recovering from a turbulent few years during the COVID-19 crisis. Both [homes](https://money.com/home-prices-peak-most-big-cities/) and [cars](https://money.com/average-new-car-price-record-high/) are more expensive than normal right now, and the October resumption of [student loan payments](https://money.com/student-loan-payments-resume-how-to-prepare/) is set to put a dent in whatever savings borrowers have built up since the pandemic-era pause was first implemented in spring 2020. These hurdles contribute to what the Milken Institute calls the "temporal discounting" bias, or the trouble imagining (and thus prioritizing taking care of) your future self. "Saving to prepare for 40 years ahead can be challenging when they \[young savers\] need to take care of other pressing responsibilities," the report says. ## Make your future brighter by opening a High-Yield Savings Account ### Want to start saving for retirement? A SoFi® High-Yield Savings Account is a safe and easy way to grow your money. Click below to learn more. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/f05cb5f51878?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-saving-age-1-million%2F) ## A silver lining On paper, it might seem like young folks won't be able to make this savings deadline as they rush to deal with more immediate and tangible expenses. But there's solace to be had in the fact that Gen Z is hyper-focused on saving for retirement. In spite of temporal discounting and the many pressures on the youngest generation of adults, nearly half of Gen Z workers say they [expect to retire with $2 million saved](https://money.com/gen-z-retire-early-survey/) and as young as age 57. In fact, the demographic is saving far more than previous generations did in their [retirement plans](https://money.com/gen-z-saving-for-retirement-increase/), meaning the kids might be all right. ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19227/medium_5c3a0d96-3da5-45d8-8e99-d58f043e9433.png) With a Savings Account from SoFi®, you can save money while earning it [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/s46e80315d91?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-saving-age-1-million%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-saving-age-1-million/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Want to Retire With $1 Million? 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