Ticker Reports for September 23rd
The Average 401k Balance by Age Explained
Knowing what the average person has saved by age and how to maximize your 401(k) contributions can help you stay on track with your retirement goals. Keep reading to learn about the average 401(k) balances by age, tips for maximizing your contributions, and how to adjust your investment strategy as you get closer to retirement. Whether you're just starting to save or trying to catch up, we'll provide actionable insights to help you make the most of your 401(k) and secure your financial future.
How Much Do You Need to Retire?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the amount varies depending on factors such as your desired retirement age, lifestyle expectations, and future healthcare costs. However, if you aim to retire at age 67, a general rule is to have saved ten times your annual salary by the time you decide to retire.
Fidelity, one of the largest 401(k) providers in the United States, suggests saving specific multiples of your annual salary by different age milestones to ensure you’re on track for a secure retirement:
- By age 30: 1x your annual salary
- By age 40: 3x your annual salary
- By age 50: 6x your annual salary
- By age 60: 8x your annual salary
- By age 67: 10x your annual salary
If you want to retire early, you’ll need to invest earlier and more aggressively. You’ll also likely need to save more than ten times your income to account for more years of living on your investment income.
Be sure to consider both healthcare expenses and long-term living expenses when deciding when you can afford to retire. MarketBeat’s retirement calculator can help you see where you are in relation to your goal and what adjustments you may need to make.
How Much Should You Have in Your 401(k)?
Knowing how much you should have saved in your 401(k) by certain ages can help keep your retirement goals on track. While individual needs may vary, here’s a look at the average 401(k) balances by age according to Fidelity’s 2023 data:
| Average Age | Average 401(k) Balance |
| 20s | $17,700 |
| 30s | $56,200 |
| 40s | $124,400 |
| 50s | $212,400 |
| 60s | $239,900 |
How to Maximize Your 401(k) Contributions
Maximizing your 401(k) contributions doesn’t only help you retire sooner — it can also help you take advantage of tax savings and gain a sense of financial security. Use these tips to boost your contributions at any age.
Take Advantage of Employer Match Programs
Some employers offer a 401(k) match program, matching any contributions you make to your account up to a certain percentage of your income. This is essentially free money — and all you need to do to access it is devote a portion of your earnings to retirement savings. Ask your HR representative about any retirement match programs and contribute up to the limit if possible.
Automate Contributions and Increase Annually
Set up automatic contributions to your 401(k) account to ensure you're consistently saving. Many employers offer options to automatically increase your contribution percentage annually. This “set-it-and-forget-it” strategy helps you grow your savings over time without having to manually adjust.
Don’t Check Your Balance Too Often
While it can be tempting to monitor your retirement account balance, it’s usually better to avoid checking how much money you have more than once or twice a year. The stock market naturally moves up and down throughout the year — and checking your balance too often can make it tempting to panic sell during periods of economic stress. Contribute to your account consistently to take advantage of dollar cost averaging and see more consistent growth over time.
401(k) Investing in Your 20s
Investing in your 401(k) in your 20s gives you the biggest advantage of all: time. With decades ahead before retirement, you have more flexibility to make mistakes or invest in assets with a higher risk-reward balance. Focus on allocating a higher percentage of your 401(k) into growth-oriented stocks that have the potential for higher long-term returns.
While it can be difficult to find money to invest while simultaneously getting established in your career and paying back student loans, the power of compound interest means that small, consistent investments can result in dramatic returns by the time you reach retirement age.
If your employer offers a 401(k) match, make sure you're contributing enough to take full advantage of it. Employer matching is essentially "free money" that can significantly boost your retirement savings over time, so contribute at least up to the match threshold to maximize your benefits.
The earlier you learn about investing, the easier it is to get started. If you’re completely new to investing and don’t know how to start, MarketBeat’s Learn articles are free crash courses in investing aimed at beginners.
401(k) Investing in Your 30s
By your 30s, your career is likely more established and you might have more disposable income, which provides an opportunity to increase your 401(k) contributions. This is a key decade for accelerating your retirement savings, and your investment strategy should begin to reflect more structure and intention. Aim to save at least 15% of your income, including any employer match.
You can still take some risks by maintaining a diversified portfolio weighted towards stocks, but it’s also a good time to think about balancing risk with more stable investments. Consider increasing your holdings in index funds and bonds, and gradually reducing the weight of high-risk stocks.
In your 30s, you may be juggling other financial priorities, such as buying a home, paying off debt, or saving for a child's education. It's important to balance these goals while still contributing to your 401(k). Consider setting up separate savings accounts or investment vehicles (like a 529 plan) to keep your retirement savings on track.
If you haven’t already, take advantage of automatic contribution increases to consistently grow your savings. Setting long-term financial goals in your 30s will help keep you on track for a secure retirement.
401(k) Investing in Your 40s
In your 40s, retirement starts to feel more tangible, and your focus should shift toward maximizing contributions and safeguarding your savings. Consider increasing your 401(k) contributions again, especially if you’re behind on savings. This is the decade to fine-tune your strategy and focus on long-term growth while preparing for a more conservative approach in the future.
Your portfolio should balance growth and stability, so add more conservative assets like bonds or dividend-paying stocks. Reassess your retirement goals and adjust your risk tolerance accordingly. Keep an eye on fees, and opt for low-cost funds to preserve more of your returns.
401(k) Investing in Your 50s
In your 50s, retirement is on the horizon, and it’s time to focus on preserving the wealth you’ve built while continuing to grow it cautiously. This is also the time to gradually shift your portfolio toward safer investments, such as bonds or low-risk mutual funds. The goal is to reduce volatility while still allowing for growth. Consider consulting a financial advisor to ensure you’re on track to meet your retirement goals. It’s essential to have a clear picture of your financial needs in retirement and adjust your contributions accordingly.
Once you hit age 50, different contribution limits apply, and you can make additional “catch-up” contributions. Adults 50 and older can contribute an additional $7,500 to their 401(k) plans in 2024 — take advantage of these extra contributions if you can.
At this stage, you need to factor in future healthcare expenses into your retirement expenses. Consider investing in a health savings account if you’re eligible, which offers triple tax benefits and can be used for medical expenses in retirement.
401(k) Investing in Your 60s
While there’s no rule on when you have to retire, most Americans born after 1960 retire at age 67. If you’ve been maxing out your 401(k) since your 20s, it could also be possible to retire earlier — though you’ll face penalties when collecting Social Security.
The last thing you want is to run out of money in your golden years. So, as you approach retirement, you need dto focus on protecting the savings you've accumulated. Consider shifting a large portion of your portfolio into lower-risk assets like bonds or money market funds. Develop a withdrawal strategy to ensure your 401(k) funds last throughout your retirement, and review any required minimum distributions (RMDs) to avoid penalties.
When you reach age 60, it’s also time to decide when you’ll start taking Social Security benefits. While you can start as early as age 62, your benefits will be significantly higher if you wait until your full retirement age of 67 (or earlier if you were born before 1960). If you started investing for retirement later in life, you may want to continue working and contributing to your account until you reach age 72. This is the age when you’ll be required to begin taking minimum distributions according to current IRS rules.
Investing for Retirement at Any Age
Your age is one of the key factors that determines your risk tolerance. So whether you’re just starting out or nearing retirement, understanding the average 401(k) balances by age and how to maximize your contributions can help you stay on track. Investing younger gives you more time to take advantage of compound interest and leaves you with more time to explore riskier assets. However, if you’re getting started investing later in life, don’t despair. With consistent contributions and utilizing multiple tax-advantaged retirement accounts, it’s still possible to retire even if you start saving in your 40s or 50s.
Prepare For Retirement with MarketBeat
Thinking about the road to retirement? MarketBeat All Access can help you identify your next great investment opportunity — and keep on track on the road to retirement.
Wall St. Icon: Looming Financial Tsunami will Wipe Out the 1%
Wall Street icon who forecasted Black Monday and dot-com crash says a new economic event will hit the American economy like a tsunami. It doesn't matter if you're blue collar, white collar, working, or retired. He says, "I am literally afraid for my family's future. I'm taking drastic steps to prepare for what I know will inevitably happen next."
Click here to see his new prediction
3 Uranium Stocks To Gain as Microsoft Goes Nuclear to Power AI
Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ: MSFT) signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy Co. (NASDAQ: CEG). The clean electricity will come from a revived nuclear reactor formerly known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, renamed Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation plans to invest $1.3 billion to revive the 835 MW nuclear reactor pending permits and authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The restart is expected in 2028, and Constellation seeks a license renewal that will extend operations for at least another 26 years.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Constellation Energy has stated that it is the largest power purchase agreement in history. In reaction, Constellation Energy’s stock surged 22.29% on the news. This news rocked the oil/energy sector as uranium stocks also saw a boost in anticipation of the increased demand for uranium. Here are three uranium stocks that may benefit from the deal.
Cameco: The World’s Largest Publicly Traded Uranium Producer
If you're looking for a pure play on uranium, Cameo Co. (NYSE: CCJ) is your go-to stock.
Cameco, based in Canada, is the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producer.
Operations are split into two segments: Uranium and Fuel Services.
- Its Uranium segment operates several mines and mills to extract the uranium and produce a uranium concentrate referred to as yellowcake due to its yellow-colored powder appearance. This segment also handles exploration activities to discover new deposits and sales for utilities and customers worldwide.
- Its Fuel Services segment provides value-added services, including converting the yellowcake into UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), the material just before the enrichment stage. Cameco outsources the enrichment process to providers since it doesn't have facilities for this. This segment also manufactures fuel bundles and various other essential components for its nuclear reactor clients.
Cameco also owns a 49% stake in a joint venture developing a laser-based uranium enrichment technology called Global Laser Enrichment. The technology has the potential to provide a more cost-effective, safer, and efficient way to enrich uranium in the future.
Cameco's First Half of 2024 Saw Growth in Its Uranium Segment
The company saw revenues grow 5% for the first six months of 2024 to $1.2 billion. Uranium production rose 61% YoY to 7.1 million pounds. Sales volume rose 13% to 6.2 million pounds. The average realized price was $56.43 per pound. Fuel services saw a 12% YoY decline in volume to 2.9 million kgU and a 21% decline in sales volume.
Long-Term Contracts Call for at Least 29 Million Pounds of Annual Delivery
Cameco expects to deliver 32 million to 34 million pounds of uranium in 2024. As of June 30, 2024, the company had long-term contract commitments requiring delivery of an average of 29 million pounds per year from 2024 through 2028, up one million pounds since March of 2023. Cameco also has contracts spanning decades in its uranium and fuel services segments, many of which can benefit from market-related pricing mechanisms.
Rising Uranium Prices Boost Energy Fuels' Profit Potential
The only conventional uranium mill operating in the United States is operated by Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: AU).
In addition to uranium, the Colorado-based company also produces and sells rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, and vanadium pentoxide, which is used in rechargeable batteries and to produce sulfuric acid.
At the Starting Line for Uranium Production
Energy Fuels is not a major producer of uranium just yet. In Q2 2024, they sold 100,000 pounds on the spot market at $85.90 per pound for $8.59 million in proceeds at a 57% profit margin. They expect to produce 150,000 to 500,000 pounds of finished triuranium octoxide (U308) in 2024 from stockpiled alternate feed materials and newly minted ore.
Newly Signed Contract with a U.S. Nuclear Utility
They signed a new long-term sales contract with a U.S. nuclear utility to deliver 270,000 pounds to 330,000 pounds of uranium between 2026 and 2027 and potentially another 180,000 pounds to 220,000 pounds until 2029 under a hybrid pricing formula, subject to floor and ceiling prices that can provide upside from rising uranium prices and protection from inflation. Its large-scale uranium processing campaign at the White Mesa Mill is expected to commence in 2024 and continue until 2026.
Uranium Energy’s Sweetwater Plant Boosts Production Potential
Headquartered in Corpus Cristi, Texas, Uranium Energy Co. (NYSEAMERICAN: UEC) explores, mines, and processes uranium and titanium concentrates.
The company has the U.S. licensed capacity to produce 8.5 million pounds of uranium. Note the word 'capacity'; they haven’t actually started producing yet.
The company has around $558 million in properties and mineral rights and continues to make acquisitions and equity investments to grow its portfolio.
Acquiring the Wyoming Sweetwater Plant and Uranium Assets From Rio Tinto
The company is still in the exploration stage despite agreeing to purchase Rio Tinto Group’s (NYSE: RIO) Sweetwater Plant and Wyoming uranium assets for $175 million. UEC would control 12 uranium projects in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming. This is the third U.S. hub-and-spoke production platform. The Sweetwater Plant is a 3,000-ton-per-day processing mill with a licensed capacity of 4.1 million pounds per year.
Waiting at the Starting Gate
Uranium Energy has two production-ready ISR hub-and-spoke platforms in Wyoming and South Texas. Both are anchored by fully operational processing plants served by seven fully permitted United States ISR uranium projects. It's a matter of waiting for them actually to start producing.
The #1 day to buy Walmart stock
These sheets tell you the exact day you should consider buying a stock… And the exact day you should consider selling it…
All based on TEN YEARS of historic data and trends.
For example, like January 6th through the 12th with Apple… It's gone up every single year for the last decade.
Or like May 26th through June 11th with LULU… Again - it's gone up every single year for the last decade.
Then there's July 1st through the 21st with Walmart… What happened to WMT?
Biotech Boom Ahead? Key Stocks and ETFs to Watch Now
As a new regime and phase begin for the market and economy, after the FED cut interest rates by a surprising 50bps last Wednesday, several new opportunities and sector bull and bear markets might begin.
The biotech sector looks primed for a potential momentum shift and significant breakout, which some might deem long overdue. This sector, represented well by popular ETFs such as the XBI and IBB, has been flirting with major higher timeframe resistance for several months and is on the cusp of a potential breakout.
So, might now be the moment for the sector to play catch up to the rest of the market? Could the biotech breakout trade be among the most popular and attractive in the final quarter?
Let’s take a closer look.
Why Rate Cuts Matter for Biotechs, Especially
The Federal Reserve's 50 basis point rate cut on Wednesday significantly boosts biotech companies, especially those in the early stages of product development. These firms often rely heavily on external funding to support costly research, clinical trials, and operations.
Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, making it easier for biotech companies to access the necessary capital. This not only extends their financial runway but also reduces the pressure on funding, allowing biotech investors to see their investments stretch further.
Additionally, lower rates tend to improve market sentiment, encouraging more risk-taking and long-term investment. For a sector like biotechs, which demands patience but offers high potential returns, the rate cut could accelerate growth and increase opportunities for both companies and investors.
Biotechs Are Flirting With Major Resistance
The sector, represented by the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB), which seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, is trading near its 52-week highs and significant breakout level.
Zooming out, on a daily or even three-year weekly chart, the $150 level for the IBB shines through across multiple timeframes as a major inflection area. If the IBB can break through this area and see buyers firmly step up to continue buying and support the breakout, a significantly higher timeframe shift would have been confirmed. As of Friday’s close, the IBB was just 1.7% away from this area, which is a 52-week high.
ETFs vs. Individual Stocks: 3 Leading Biotech Investment Options
iShares Biotech ETF Offers Sector Growth With Low Fees
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) is a popular choice for a well-rounded, diverse approach to gaining sector exposure. The sector ETF’s top holdings include heavy giants such as Gilead Sciences, Amgen, Regeneron, and many other household names in the industry. The ETF has an aggregate Moderate Buy rating, 0.45% net expense ratio, and 0.27% dividend yield.
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF: A Mid-Cap Play with Breakout Potential
The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE: XBI) seeks to closely match the returns and characteristics of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index. The ETF has less concentrated holdings in mega-cap Biotech stocks versus the IBB and includes many mid-cap holdings, arguably allowing for greater momentum behind breakouts. Like the IBB, the XBI is trading right at its 52-week high and major breakout level. The XBI has an aggregate Moderate Buy rating and a 0.35% net expense ratio.
Gilead Sciences Near 52-Week High, Offering Sector Exposure
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is the largest holding in the IBB ETF and a biopharmaceutical giant with a $104.5 billion market capitalization. With such a significant holding in the IBB ETF and its importance and influence across the sector, investing in GILD might offer prominent exposure to the industry. Of course, investing in one stock versus a sector ETF is more risky, considering the isolated and concentrated nature of the investment. GILD, notably, has a 3.32% dividend yield and a Hold rating based on twenty analyst ratings. Like the ETFs mentioned above, GILD trades near its 52-week high and potential breakout area. However, the stock has surged significantly in recent months, up over 35% from its 52-week low. As a result, the upside potential might be weaker in GILD than in XBI.
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