Unlock stock picks and a broker-level newsfeed that powers Wall Street.

How to become a 401(k) millionaire

There are now more 401(k) millionaires than ever before. According to new data from Fidelity, there are now roughly 497,00 401(k) plan participants with balances of at least $1 million in their accounts.

UBS financial advisor Tracy Byrnes joins Wealth! to break down some steps retirement savers can set themselves up to be a millionaire by the time they're ready to tap into their 401(k) plans.

"It's much like when you diet Monday through Friday and then on the weekend you have pizza and potato chips and you wonder why you're not losing weight. It's the same thing. Slow and steady wins the race," Byrnes explains.

She encourages retirement savers to not "set it and forget it," and explains the importance of revisiting a retirement account to rebalance and diversify. She warns, "What was good when you started working 20 years ago might not still work today."

Byrnes also notes that it's equally important to increase contributions to the account as your salary increases. While it may be tempting, she strongly advises against withdrawing funds before retirement.

00:00 Brad Smith

There are more 401k millionaires than ever before. According to new data from Fidelity, there are now roughly 497,000 401k plan participants with balances of at least $1 million in their accounts. So, how can you set yourself up to be on the path to be a 401k millionaire yourself? Here with more, we've got some of those tips. Tracy Burns, who's the UBS financial advisor, joining us here. Tracy, great to see you again. So I think first and foremost, people just want to know, okay, am I part of that number? And if not, how do I become part of it? What are some of the first steps that people can take to set themselves up to be a millionaire by the time they're ready to tap in that 401k?

01:21 Tracy Burns

Yeah, Brad, it's all about consistency. You know, it's much like when you diet Monday through Friday and then on the weekend you have pizza and potato chips, and you wonder why you're not losing weight. It's the same thing. Slow and steady wins the race. And I bet you those 497,000 people put money in, left it there, put it in the stock market, checked on it, and let it grow. And I think that's really important, too. Don't just like set it and forget it. Make sure you revisit, you diversify, you rebalance if you have to. What was good when you started working 20 years ago might not still work today, Brad. So you have to get back to it as well and pay attention.

02:27 Brad Smith

And so, with that in mind, what are some of the common mistakes that you see people making, Tracy?

02:37 Tracy Burns

So that's it, right? We forget all about it. We don't increase. I'll tell you the number one of the number one things people could do is when you get a raise, give your retirement plan a raise as well. Bump it just a little. Bump it in accordance, set it, set the percentage as a matter of fact to increase with your salary if you can. I would also say that one of the worst things and the hardest things is that people make withdrawals before retirement. And you can, right? It's your money. Try really hard not to. You can for first-time home buyer, you can for hardship. If it's possible not to touch that, leave it alone. And lastly, don't forget that match. If your company is offering you money, you better give to you get it because it's free money and it's yours, and it will add to that million down the road someday.

03:54 Brad Smith

What's what's a good investment rule of thumb for contributions to that 401k as well here?

04:03 Tracy Burns

It's really hard to say, right? If you live in Manhattan and you're first you're you're just out of college, it's so hard to say, oh, by the way, you should put the max in because you can't make rent. So I get it. I say you just try really hard to pay yourself first. But I am cognizant of the fact that living expenses are tough in certain places. But ideally, you want to hit that annual number every year. Because that don't forget, you don't pay tax on it until you retire. So it is a help paycheck to paycheck to not have to pay tax on a portion of your salary.

Watch the video above to hear more tips from Byrnes.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth!

This post was written by Melanie Riehl