I was curious so did some rough math with a compound interest calculator. Historic total return for the S&P has been 10% a year. Say you upgrade at 27 like some people. You’re definitely going to hit the IRS max when you’re a captain. 38 years at 5833 a month (hitting the 70k max) has your 401k at 30 million when you hit 65. That’s not including the catchup years or the fact that the max will increase, or the fact that you would already have a little in before you upgraded. That’s literally just the 401k not counting any other investments.

That number seems insane. Are we going to have normal line dudes retiring in 30 years with 30 million dollars in their 401k? Is my math off?