Six Americans Built $1 Million 401(k)s Through Decades of Saving and Employer Matches
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Sep 4
Six Americans Built $1 Million 401(k)s Through Decades of Saving and Employer Matches
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Sep 4
Summary
Six savers profiled by USA TODAY reached seven-figure retirement balances by contributing steadily for decades, often starting in their 20s and increasing contributions as pay rose.
Employer matches and long stock-market compounding did much of the heavy lifting: Fidelity counted a record 769,000 401(k) millionaires by mid-2026, while planners say workers should save at least enough to capture the full match.
Several examples show the pattern across modest incomes: Mary Woulf began at 3% while earning $8 an hour, Elisa Brown never made more than $100,000, and Jackie Borja amassed $1 million in about 20 years on a counselor's salary.
The stories also highlight obstacles to replicating that path, including career breaks, hardship withdrawals, and missing plans altogether; nearly half of private-sector workers lack workplace retirement plans, and $1.7 trillion sits in lost 401(k) accounts.
Across the six cases, the common formula was simple but hard to sustain: start early, avoid tapping the account, and keep raising contributions toward the legal maximum of $23,500.