11% is a good return. It won’t be that all the time though. If it is I would say you have done very well. I’ve been retired now for over a year and my guy is conservative with most of my money, but not all. There were years in the past that were 20% and some were not near as good.

11% this year
Or over the last 8?

I’m up about 12.8% this year after checking

Who is your 401k provider? They probably have investment advice available to you.

I'm up 13% 1-year return. 8% year-to-date. That's ok - not great, not awful. Market as a whole is up this year higher than the average, so judging it against the average return in terms of your personal performance is not really fair. But in the end all that matters is that your account is going up

5% match is fantastic

Mine is at 9% on return and I’m happy with it

I would suggest a20% deposit each check. Did your company have a pension before they started your 401K?

Over the long haul if you can match or slightly beat the overall market you are doing well. That tends to be about 7% per year. I'd actually argue if you are near retirement and getting 11% you are probably investing too aggressively.

Yup- it’s not about the rate of return he just needs to jack up his saving rate.

For 26 years you did not invest in a self directed 401k? Your investment options are going to be limited by the plans offered through who ever administers your companies 401k. But 11% is a nice return.

I retire at the end of this year. In November 2022 I put most my 401k into a dividend paying stock. 7% return, but as long as the company pays a quarterly dividend, I'll have passive income for life.

I had an uncle that educated me about saving many yrs ago. He told me to save until you feel it and then save a little more. The companies I worked for almost always had some kind of a match, usually 6 percent.

My goal was to save 25 percent of what I made in 401K , It didn't always work out that way but I tried.

When I retired about 2 yrs. ago, 28 percent of what I had in retirement was what I had put in and the rest was match and growth.

Time and compound interest is a powerful tool. I have told younger guys save all you can and don't touch it.

These are my experiences and thoughts. Your mileage may vary.

John Hancock, i haven't gone back to see what my rate of return has been in the past, I was scared to due to the current government administration.



I did the catch up contributions when we first received the 401K, i definitely didn't want to start with a zero balance being so close to retirement.

My main advice is if your 401k balance takes a big dip for whatever blip in the economy do not sell when it is down. Over the years I have seen folks post how they lost big time in their retirement accounts because they panicked and sold during the 2008 crash. That is precisely when do you not sell if anything you try and buy more shares when it is low.

I can’t stress this enough the only time you actually lose is if you sell in a down market.

Mine's at 13.28%

I was very fortunate in 2008. Probably just dumb luck but I saw it coming and got almost completely out of stocks. I also timed the return correctly. My problem was the ex took 1/2 of it 2 years later.

That would tend to have the same negative effect.