Here’s how to be a retirement ‘super saver’

A retirement savings crisis is looming for people who have 401(k) plans and other retirement balances woefully short of what they will need to live on.

But some workers — called “super savers” — are managing to successfully grow their retirement nest eggs.

Super savers are workers who are putting away more than 10% of their salaries toward their retirement plans, according to new research from nonprofit Transamerica Institute and its division Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

More than half of workers — 56% — are saving 10% or less, according to a 2023 Transamerica study that surveyed more than 5,700 U.S. workers.

The rest, 44%, have reached super saver status — with 15% of workers putting 11% to 15% of their annual pay toward retirement, Transamerica said. Meanwhile, 29% are contributing more than 15%. Transamerica said it asked those surveyed to indicate what percentage of their salary they were contributing, and told CNBC it is not clear if respondents included company contributions in their answer.

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Super savers can be of any age. Notably, the youngest cohort — Generation Z — has the most super savers, with 53%, followed by millennials and baby boomers, each with 44%, and Generation X, with 40%.

But accumulating large retirement balances takes time.

“I always tell people there’s no microwave millionaires,” said Ted Jenkin, a certified financial planner and the CEO and founder of oXYGen Financial, a financial advisory and wealth management firm based in Atlanta.

To reach $1 million in a 401(k), it often takes a high contribution rate that is sustained over many years, said Jenkin, who is a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

Currently, 401(k) savers can generally contribute up to $23,000 this year, or $30,500 if they are 50 and over. High earners may be able to set aside even more, if their retirement plan allows it.

Those limits are adjusted each year. In 2023, 401(k) savers could save up to $22,500 — or $30,000 for those 50 and up.

New research from Vanguard finds 14% of the firm’s defined contribution clients reached those maximums in 2023. Those savers typically had higher incomes. More than half of participants — 53% — with incomes over $150,000…