That was just a silly little example of how if someone saves $24 per week over the course of a lifetime it can expand into great sums of money through the miracle of matching and compound interest.
And that was at 7% returns. Over the last 50 years the market has averaged 11% so if half a century ago (let's pretend 401ks are that old they're only 46 years old) an 18-year-old entry level worker emptied trash cans at an amusement park that had a 401k with employer match for 50 years they would have a vast sum of money today.
There are some people who cannot afford to save 4% of their income.
There are so few people who can genuinely not afford to save 4% of their (pre-tax) income that they are irrelevant to discussions about retirement saving.
And that was at 7% returns. Over the last 50 years the market has averaged 11% so if half a century ago (let's pretend 401ks are that old they're only 46 years old) an 18-year-old entry level worker emptied trash cans at an amusement park that had a 401k with employer match for 50 years they would have a vast sum of money today.
There are some people who cannot afford to save 4% of their income.
There are so few people who can genuinely not afford to save 4% of their (pre-tax) income that they are irrelevant to discussions about retirement saving.