When were you able to max your 401k?

[khangaroo]

This year will be the first that I'm able to contribute the maximum $18k into my 401k and still have 3 paychecks left to spare! I've luckily been able to max a Roth IRA every year since 2011 as well so it's a great feeling knowing that I'm going to be able to fully invest in both.

However, it took a lot of work for me to even get to this point and I wanted to hear other people's stories. I mean just from an income stand-point, you have to be making at least $72k in my company to be able to maximize your 401k because they cap you at a 25% contribution rate. I know it varies at different companies because I manage my parent's 401k and their cap is at 75%! Although I'm willing to bet that less than a handful of people would even consider that contribution rate, at least at their company (Kroger).

I'm able to do this because my rent is $0 but pay all the utilities, I'll let you figure that one out... I'm also debt-free and making more than the $72k threshold. It's a little grueling to see how much gets taken out each paycheck but then seeing that I'm about to hit $100k in the account sometime in mid-2018 is a great solace.

What has your journey been like to be able to fully fund your 401k? Have you had to make any sacrifices? Are your circumstances out of the "norm" that allows you to do this? Do you ever second-guess that you're putting way too much money into retirement?

[gravitysmiles]

I'm no where near there yet, and with my low salary I might never hit it, but I wanted to say congratulations!

That's a big milestone. I'm happy for you!

[RWD]

I *could* have maxed my 401K starting in 2011.  I wasn't smart enough to max my 401K until 2015.

Similar here. I was making enough when I first started work (about 10 years ago) to max it. Waited until just a few years ago to actually do it because I thought it would be locked away for too long (I didn't know about Roth conversion ladders and such).

[Fomerly known as something]

First year I did was 2006 6 years after I was first employed.  But I wasn't eligible to contribute until July 2001 and was limited to a % of pay until 2005 which was less than the max dollar amount allowed.  I probably could have maxed out in 2003 or 2004 if allowed.

[TheAnonOne]

I could max it 1-2 years out of college. Now 7-8 years into my career I routinely max it by February or early March.

[Dictator_Mars]

Congrats! Next year for me.

[Sarah Saverdink]

My first job paid $65k/year and I immediately maxed out my 401k (which was $15,500 at the time) by electing to contribute 24%. I was used to living a college student lifestyle so I never "missed" the money. I was paying all my own living expenses and a car payment, but somehow it worked out. Saving at a high rate so early has been a huge advantage now that I'm aware of FIRE and working towards that goal.

[Samuel]

This year.

High five!

[Raenia]

Congrats!  This will be the first year I max, too.  I probably could have done it last year, but I didn't realize.  This year I will also be fully funding an HSA, though I may have to slide into next year to fund my IRA for the year (mostly because I tapped my EF to fund my 2016 IRA by tax time, and need to replenish).  Next year, I should be more organized about everything, plus the small raise I got this year, should make it easier to hit the max on all three and maybe even some post-tax savings too.  It will be very exciting when that last contribution goes through!  (ETA: This is on a ~60k salary.)

[simonsez]

2018

Nice work!

[Much Fishing to Do]

2003 was the first year I saved enough to have maxed (looks like I made about 70k and spent about 40k not including taxes), but job had no 401k offered so saved in IRAs, taxable, and paying down mortgage.  I actually never had a job with a 401k until I started my own business and started a solo 401k, which I always maxed to whatever my allowable limit was. 2014 was a big year for me as at that point my profit was high enough that my max was the top max of $52k (employee + employer contributions), so I'm finally, but quickly, building a significant retirement account balance to go along with the taxable that has been growing for some time.

[DeskJockey2028]

I may never get there. Right now I'm able to put a little over $12k into it, plus I hope to max out my rIRA in 2018, for the first time. It'll only be my 2nd year of actually having an rIRA though.

If I retire on my schedule, which will be in a little under 11 years, I may get to max out towards the end of my career. It'll be close.

[dignam]

This year will be the first year I've been able to.

[Much Fishing to Do]

About 2 years out of college I got a pay bump from 70K to 80K and I directed the 10K raise entirely into my 401k

That is awesome.  The only way a 10k raise is a 10k raise (minus FICA i guess, but pretty close)

[2Birds1Stone]

My company caps you at 20% of BASE salary, and being in sales only 45% of my comp plan is base salary.

They had one loophole that stated, if you contribute 20% all year, you can do a "catch up" in Nov/December and go up to 100% (minus FICA, health, dental, etc). So I was able to get pretty darn close in 2015, 2016, and now 2017. Thanks to a promotion taking my base salary to $90k/yr, 2018 will be my first year being able to really max it out.

I will be 31 years old.

[Schaefer Light]

In the days before I started paying alimony ;).

[merlin7676]

congrats to you all.

I still am not able to yet but then again I don't make 75K either.  I should get about 12K in there by the end of the year and plan on getting that raised up to 14K next year.
So will still be another few years for me

[fatcow240]

This was my first year to max out my 401k.  My company allows for 50% of pay contributions.  If all goes well, I will max it out for the next two years.

[FireHiker]

This is the first year mine will be maxed. My husband used to have his pretty close to maxed back in his single days, then dialed it back when we had kids and bought a house and my work was slow for a few years. We SHOULD have stayed in the cheaper house and maxed them both before moving to a bigger house, but hindsight is a bitch like that. Not only is this year the first year we'll have them both maxed, but my husband turns 50 next week (I am 39) so we get his catch up contribution as well. Fortunately we have scaled back our other spending so much thanks to MMM that we are still saving more this year, and spending more on travel, than we used to when we were only putting in 6% (to get company match) apiece. Still, I was a stupid idiot and we should have had them both maxed beginning in 2008. Prior to 2008 I was in a crummy marriage with a relative deadbeat partner, or a single mom, so putting in more than the 6% to get the company match would have been a real stretch. No excuse except stupidity and ignorance starting in 2008 though.

[Caoineag]

2013 for DH and 2014 for me (his late 2012 job change brought massive income gains). Didn't even have access to a 401k until 2011. If we didn't pool our money into one pot, I still wouldn't be able to max it as my 401(k) gets more money out of my paycheck than I do.

[GettingClose]

2008 for me, but then in 2014 became a highly compensated employee, so the max I can now contribute is $4k.  I do "max" it out each year, but very frustrating.  IRA contributions at my income level are post-tax, so it's a double whammy.

[J Boogie]

I maxed it for a little while, then bought a house and had a baby in rapid succession.

When school starts for him in a few years I'll max and maybe my wife will too.  Until then we'll paying our nanny ~2k/mo

[dogboyslim]

First year out of college I couldn't participate.  Second year, 8%, third year 17%.  Fourth year couldn't participate, switched jobs.  Every year after that, hit the max.  That was in 2000.  I do not front-load my contributions because of the way my company matches, so I don't max until my final Dec. Paycheck.

[little_brown_dog]

Last year was the first year we maxed out my husband’s 401k (and also the first year we maxed our IRAs too) which put us at age 28.  Prior to that, we spent 5 years aggressively paying off 100k in student loans (at 6.8%). Once those were officially eliminated, we turned around and used all that money to max the accounts. It’s amazing how quickly everything turned around once the damn loans disappeared…now all those extra dollars are just funneled into savings. We don't even notice or miss the money after years of living on less due to debt repayment.

As far as our circumstances go, a high income certainly helps everything, both in terms of rapid debt repayment and then the subsequent maxing-retirement-accounts department. Our high income allows us to hit the max on a 401k, 2 IRAs, and save aggressively for our kids' college while also comfortably paying for any major expenses that pop up (home renos, needing to buy a new used car when our old one inevitably goes, etc). That definitely puts us in a more fortunate position than most people who have to save well with far less income. However, we have a very typical income for our peer group/cohort....so we are both unusual (in a global perspective) and very normal (in a subgroup perspective).

[big_owl]

We both started maxing our 401k directly out of college in 2004. Now 13 years later when we look at our balances we conclude that move turned out to be a very, very, very good idea.  I don't count 401k balance for fire calculation, but if I did then I could fire right now.

[RWD]

I don't count 401k balance for fire calculation, but if I did then I could fire right now.

What? Why wouldn't you include retirement accounts to determine if you can retire?

[big_owl]

I don't count 401k balance for fire calculation, but if I did then I could fire right now.

What? Why wouldn't you include retirement accounts to determine if you can retire?

Because I said so.  I'm only 37yo and don't want to plan on touching 401k monies until I'm about eligible for SS. 

[dogboyslim]

I don't count 401k balance for fire calculation, but if I did then I could fire right now.

What? Why wouldn't you include retirement accounts to determine if you can retire?

Because I said so.  I'm only 37yo and don't want to plan on touching 401k monies until I'm about eligible for SS.

No disrespect is intended by sharing this, but you can use a rule 72t distribution to avoid penalties on 401k withdrawls earlier than SS age.  I suspect you knew that and the decision above is your personal decision, but I wanted you to know about it just in case you weren't aware of it.

[gluskap]

We've only been able to max our 401k in the last few years.  It wasn't until I hit 6 figures that I felt like we could max it and still be comfortable with our spending.  I tried to max out IRAs before that.  But there was a period of years when we were saving up for wedding, house, and possible baby where having some extra cash seemed better to maxing out retirement funds.  Kind of wishing I hadn't done that but oh well, lessons learned.

[big_owl]

I don't count 401k balance for fire calculation, but if I did then I could fire right now.

What? Why wouldn't you include retirement accounts to determine if you can retire?

Because I said so.  I'm only 37yo and don't want to plan on touching 401k monies until I'm about eligible for SS.

No disrespect is intended by sharing this, but you can use a rule 72t distribution to avoid penalties on 401k withdrawls earlier than SS age.  I suspect you knew that and the decision above is your personal decision, but I wanted you to know about it just in case you weren't aware of it.

Thanks, def familiar with that rule. I don't have much faith in SS or healthcare so I consider an extra couple million at 65yo to be a good hedge.  Neither of is in too big a hurry to fire at the moment, we are fortunate in that our income supports us a lifestyle I never thought possible even ten years ago yet still allows for extensive savings, while little owl loves her job and mine isn't bad either. 

[Tig_]

I started a new job in March (65k) and started maxing then, although I could have before. Technically  I do $0 of my own money in a 401k. ;) I max a 457 and do $20/month in a 403b until the student loans are paid off. This isn't front loaded. My employer contributes another 7.25% on top of this into a 401k.

HCOL. 29 years old.

[PhrugalPhan]

I started investing late in the game, plus I was paying off a house and a Master's Degree.  At 44 y.o. in 2007 I started maxing out a Roth IRA and about $10k in a 457 plan.  Once the house was almost paid off ('09) I started maxing out the 457.  In 2012 I was able to include the catch-up money as well.  Starting in '09 I front loaded so I finished in October.  I have been slowly increasing my contributions so that this year I maxed out ($24k) on my first paycheck in August.  Maybe next year I will max out by the end of July.

[Bateaux]

Been Maxed since 1994.  Took forever to get past market drops in 2001 and 2009.  Since 2009 it's been a pretty good ride.

[Goldy]

I started working in 2008 making 65k and set my contributions at 15% with an automatic 1% increase every year.  It wasn't until I noticed how the 1% increases were nearly inpercievable that I started raising it every couple of months until it was maxed out around 2011.  I also got my wife to do it and now we have over 650k just in our 401k's at 33.

[letired]

I maxed my SIMPLE IRA the year I got a raise from 55k to 65k (I was contributing a hefty percentage, but not maxing before that). Later, I got a job with another nice pay bump and an actual 401k, and it's been smooth sailing ever since. One of my favorite things is to run my little max-out spreadsheet after my raise every year, and do any percentage adjusting necessary.

[gliderpilot567]

"could have" maxed TSP and Roth both, back in 2005. But I was a dumb shit and did not invest. There were a few years I put in Roth money into random stupid funds that I didn't understand (back in the early 00's) but then I was a dumb shit again and cashed them out to pay off debt (hadn't learned the math yet).

I discovered MMM in 2014 and started maxing the year after, TSP and both my roth and wife's. Turned out to be fortuitous, I dumped in a lot of money in Jan 16 and right after that the current runup started. Inadvertent market timing...

[dude]

When I started in the federal government, I wasn't allowed to contribute ANYTHING in my first year of employment. After that first year, contributions were limited as follows:

1987-2000:  10%
2001: 11%
2002: 12%
2003: 13%
2004: 14%
2005: 15%
2006 - present: percentage limitations were lifted, contributions allowed to IRS max

I contributed the max in 2002, dropped to 10% for 2003, 11% for 2004, then started contributing the IRS max from 2005 onward.

[Roots&Wings]

Been Maxed since 1994.  Took forever to get past market drops in 2001 and 2009.  Since 2009 it's been a pretty good ride.

Woah, your balance must be huge!

Maxed 401k since 2010, sitting at $205k. Set it and forget it works.

[haypug16]

If all goes well I'll be maxing out by 2019. Currently only doing about $5K a year as I pay down some debt.

Congrats to all those who are maxing or close to maxing. :)

[Acorns]

I first maxed out my 401k (well, TSP for me) in 2009, five years after I first started working full time. It worked out to be about 20% of my pay. Kept that up until I quit working f/t. Now my husband maxes his 401k. Considering that I started out contributing 2% of my pay (or about $500/yr), it felt great to work up to the max out point.

[gmdv]

This is the first year I'll be able to max my 401k.

[Paul der Krake]

I was really pissed when I discovered that my first job with a 401(k) had a cap on contributions, and I would not be able to max it in the 5 months remaining that year. There is no good reason why these things exist. It should be 90% or thereabouts (FICA + insurance + whatever deductions) everywhere.

[katscratch]

If all goes to plan, I'll be able to max in 2020.

[MrsPete]

We began maxing out our 401Ks from our very first professional paycheck.  As college students, we were used to being broke -- so we still had oodles more money than we were used to having.  Really, saving from the very beginning is the way to go:  you never have to cut back, so saving never feels like a sacrifice.

[MrsPete]

My first job paid $65k/year and I immediately maxed out my 401k (which was $15,500 at the time) by electing to contribute 24%. I was used to living a college student lifestyle so I never "missed" the money. I was paying all my own living expenses and a car payment, but somehow it worked out. Saving at a high rate so early has been a huge advantage now that I'm aware of FIRE and working towards that goal.

I should've read ahead to see that someone else had already given my answer. 

[aceyou]

2014 and before: Not a dime in my life...so stupid
2015: Found MMM...5k into 403
2016: Maxed out one 403B
2017: Maxed out 403, 457, wife's 403, wife's 457...and Roth...$83,000

Let's  GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[Erica]

No maxing out 401k. Probably never will do that, we have a crappy plan with ok match of 4%. Advisor fees are too high


401k-$2200 (miycompany match)
ROTH 401k- $500
ROTH IRA- $5500
ROTH IRA (Husband)- $6500
HSA- $3000 (will use to buy a new air conditioner. Doctors note explains his breathing issues making it a valid expense)
-------------------
$15,500

Just started saving. We are very late bloomers~ but it is early enough to accumulate so our son's inheritance will be a good amount
Should keep us from paying so many taxes. Calif State & Fed Disability is 9% of my paycheck...wow. I guess that's normal and pays for Temp disability.

[tjrssibelle]

I started maxing out my 401k in 2015; but now that I'm considered an HCE, I'll be limited to 10% of compensation

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[thebattlewalrus]

This is the first full year I have maxed it. I could have done so the last two years technically, but had significant medical issues that I have to ensure I had cash to pay for since I went to Europe and paid out-of-pocket.

[nouveauRiche]

Learned about 401ks in early 1996 at my first job & started contributing 5%.  Switched jobs for a small pay raise and decided to "try" maxing out (figuring I'd decrease the amount if it was too much). 

Maxed out 401k 1996 - 2010 (now contribute about 10%, including company match).

Maxed out Roth 1998 - 2004 (after marriage, income was too high to contribute).