{"id":2216,"date":"2026-06-25T16:47:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2216"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:47:02","slug":"tiaas-ceo-made-26000-in-her-first-job-but-still-maxed-out-her-401k-she-has-advice-for-gen-z","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2216","title":{"rendered":"TIAA\u2019s CEO made $26,000 in her first job but still maxed out her 401(k). She has advice for Gen Z"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Right after graduating from the University of Houston in 1996, Duckett landed her first job at Fannie Mae: a government-backed mortgage finance company. And just like other Gen Zers working their way up from the bottom of the totem pole, money was tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI made $26,000 when I graduated from college\u2014that was $26,000 more than I made ever\u2014and so I immediately maxed out on my 401(k) plan,\u201d Duckett revealed during Fortune<\/em>\u2019s Titans and Disruptors of Industry<\/em> podcast with Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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She\u2019s been topping up her 401(k) ever since, from Fannie Mae\u2019s to her ascension as Chase\u2019s CEO of Consumer Banking in 2016, and her current 5-year run at TIAA. Now she\u2019s a multimillionaire and two-time chief executive, one of just 11 Black CEOs leading Fortune <\/em>500 companies. And she hopes Gen Z will start adding to their 401(k)s sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially for young people, retirement seems so far away, but there\u2019s a hack,\u201d Duckett added. \u201cThe hack is: first job, first dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I tell young people is, your very first job, max out before you get the check, because once you get it, you will find ways to spend it,\u201d the CEO continued, emphasizing the \u201cPower of compounding: $1 today is worth more than $1 tomorrow\u2026You want to make sure you take full advantage of that match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duckett\u2019s advice for Gen Z: start investing and stay optimistic<\/h2>\n

After pensions fell out of favor among many employers, the 401(k) has become the default retirement plan for many workers. And there are real financial incentives behind the savings pot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Nearly all employers offering 401(k)s match contributions, usually up to 6%; it can also save professionals hundreds to thousands of dollars in taxes each year. Over time, the small piece taken out of paychecks snowballs into a sizable nest egg.<\/p>\n

Duckett also advises young workers that after setting aside enough for retirement and necessary expenses, they should use whatever financial runway they have left to invest in other assets. Putting money towards a Roth IRA, stocks, and high-yield savings accounts are other popular ways young workers can grow their wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cRetirement tax policy is very favorable to making those dollars work harder for you longer,\u201d the CEO said on the Titans and Disruptors of Industry<\/em> podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor young people, max out understanding that you have to save to invest\u2026Max out on your retirement, have your rainy day fund to make sure that you can afford the flat tire and all the basic things that life will give you,\u201d she continued. \u201cThen you can start investing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Over time, she said, investing just becomes a \u201cmuscle habit.\u201d And while saving enough for a cushy retirement can feel like a pipe dream for workers in their 20\u2019s, the TIAA CEO is optimistic that there\u2019s no better time to take control of the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to remind this next generation, if you go back 250 years and you look at where we [America] are today, there is no better day that I want to be in than today,\u201d Duckett said. \u201cThe future is always brighter because we get to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n

A learning lesson with her father on the importance of retirement\u00a0<\/h2>\n

For the TIAA CEO, retirement readiness isn\u2019t just central to her role at the company handling post-career savings, investments, and insurance for millions of workers. It\u2019s also a part of her backstory.<\/p>\n

When Duckett landed that first job, her family was up against a financial challenge of their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Duckett had just returned home from graduating college when she had a look at her father\u2019s financial statements, and there was a glaring concern. Her dad\u2014Otis Brown, a blue-collar worker who worked at a warehouse and drove trucks\u2014wouldn\u2019t receive enough from his pension to comfortably live out retirement. He had access to a 401(k) through his employer, but the account sat empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely had financial insecurity growing up,\u201d Duckett explained. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Dad, this is not enough money for retirement\u2019\u2026He never contributed $1. That\u2019s 30-plus years of compounding that never got compounded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though her dad lost out on decades of savings, it wasn\u2019t too late to get in on the benefits. After that conversation, Duckett\u2019s father took the maximum contribution with his 401(k) plan, despite money being tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFast forward, he got to see the benefit of it, Duckett said. \u201cBut he also felt bad that he could have changed the course of his life if he would have been able to know that that benefit was for him, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett tells Gen Z to \u201cmax out\u201d their 401(k)s before they get paid: \u201cBecause once you get it, you will find ways to spend it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fortune-500-titans-and-disruptors-of-industry"],"yoast_head":"\nTIAA\u2019s CEO made $26,000 in her first job but still maxed out her 401(k). 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