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Americans think it'll take $1.46 million, on average, to retire comfortably, according to the 2026 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study (1). And reaching $1 million is a major milestone towards that goal.

Fidelity offered some good news in that regard.

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According to their reports, the number of 401(k) millionaires hit a record high in the second, third, and fourth quarters of last year, reaching 654,000 individuals by the end of 2025.

Though that figure dipped slightly in Q1 2026 to 645,000 millionaires due to market weakness, more Americans are joining the 401(k) millionaire club than ever before (2).

Here's what they're doing right.

Even with inflation and periods of market uncertainty, saving for retirement is clearly still a priority for many Americans.

According to Fidelity, the total 401(k) savings rate — which includes both employer and employee contributions — reached an all-time high of 14.4% in the first quarter. That means 401(k) savers are closer than ever to Fidelity's suggested savings rate of 15%.

The hero behind the historic high? Automation.

Features that automatically enroll workers into retirement plans — and auto-increase their contributions — factor heavily into these positive savings behaviors, says Fidelity. In that way, modern 401(k) plan design may be producing even more future millionaires than stock market rallies.

And they're not the only financial services firm to report this finding.

Vanguard reveals that 61% of its retirement plans use automatic enrollment — and participants in these plans save about 65% more than workers who have voluntary enrollment plans. Not only that, but those enrolled in a plan with an auto-increase feature typically save about 20% to 30% more in three years than those who are only autoenrolled (3).

Of course, time is a key element in the quest to save six figures. Fidelity confirms that 401(k) millionaires reached that milestone by making regular contributions to the same account for many years.

In fact, workers who remain in auto-enrollment plans for 10+ years have median balances about 60% higher than comparable voluntary-enrollment participants, reports Vanguard. That's because most auto-enrolled participants have been saving since they started at their company.

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Becoming a 401(k) millionaire may be more realistic than you think. The key is consistent saving and starting as soon as possible.

For example, if you invest $400 each month into a 401(k) with a 7% annual return for 41 years, your total contribution of $197,000 could grow to over $1 million, thanks to compound interest. However, reducing that timeline to 31 years would only yield about $490,000 — illustrating the value of saving consistently and over the long term.

If $400 per month seems out of reach, try starting with a smaller amount and work up from there. One way that might help is by automatically investing your spare change with Acorns.

The app automatically rounds up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference into a diversified portfolio. This means that every transaction — from your morning coffee to grocery shopping — contributes to building your savings.

Plus, if you sign up with a recurring monthly deposit, Acorns can give you a bonus $20 investment to get you started.

Alternatively, if you want to do more self-directed investing, you could work with SoFi.

This DIY approach allows you to invest with no commission fees, plus, for a limited time, you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.

Even better, SoFi is designed to help you learn investing as you go, with real-time investing news, curated content and the data you need to make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.

Either way, it's important to start saving as soon as possible to take advantage of the power of compound interest. After all, over half of the growth from that 7% annual return came from the final 10 out of 41 years.

Investing in real estate has traditionally been one way to build wealth. But if you aren't ready to jump into homeownership — financially or otherwise — new investing platforms are making it easier than ever to tap into the market.

If you're not an accredited investor, crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to enter the real estate market for as little as $100.

Arrived offers you access to shares of SEC-qualified investments in rental homes and vacation rentals, curated and vetted for their appreciation and income potential.

Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to fit these properties into your investment portfolio regardless of your income level. Their flexible investment amounts and simplified process allows accredited and non-accredited investors to take advantage of this inflation-hedging asset class without any extra work on your part.

For those who may be a bit closer to the 401(k) millionaire mark, multifamily and industrial assets are another great option to consider.

Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT's direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

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Northwestern Mutual (1); Morningstar (2); Vanguard (3)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.