My wife's situation may serve as a useful example. She started with her current university employer about 3.5 years ago. In that time, her balance there has gr

My wife's situation may serve as a useful example. She started with her current university employer about 3.5 years ago. In that time, her balance there has grown from zero to about $90k. This is from 401a/403b contributions and employer-matching based on a $125-150k salary and substantial market gains. She even used one of the Vanguard retirement funds targeted at millenial investors. We're actually gen x and have other retirement assets I'm ignoring here. But, this account illustrates real world performance that any number of tech workers could have reproduced in the same short time period. Not only that, but many are at an age where they could have been making contributions for 10-15 years now, rather than just 3-4...