The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - The Future of 401(k)s, Choosing Single Parenthood, and Caring for Aging Parents

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

Scott answers listener questions on the future of 401(k)s and how to approach funding your retirement, the decision to pursue single parenthood, and how to balance career ambitions with caring for aging parents from a distance. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [e-mail], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit TELUS.com slash Total Security to learn more. Conditions apply. Welcome to Office Hours of Prop G. This is the part of the show where we answer questions about business, big tech entrepreneurship and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question for next time, you can see. send a voice recording to office hours at profftymedia.com. Again, that's office hours at profftingmedia.com. Or post a question on the Scott Galloway subreddit, and we just might feature it on our next episode. First question, I have not seen or read these questions. Our first

question comes from Agent Sanity, 5596 on Reddit. They say, Hi, Prof. What is your view on the success of 401K as a way of building retirement savings in America? a great tax-efficient way to build wealth. On the other hand, they seem to favor higher-income earners with steady employment. Not everyone has access to a 401K, including gig workers. Not everyone can afford to contribute, and life expectancy is increasingly longer. As Americans, we rely on our employers for good health care and retirement savings. I also know some people have saved well, but have been laid off from their jobs mid-career and face ageism while trying to get back to the workforce. So my question is, what do you think about this and what might you suggest is

an alternative way for Americans to fund the retirement other than Social Security, which is a whole other discussion. Okay, 70% of private sector workers now have access to some sort of 401k-style plan, and that's up from 60% a decade ago, so it is growing. The average savings rates are about 14% of income, and that's great, actually, $1.7. That's close to the recommended 12 to 15%. As of early 2025, the average balance is $127,000, and the number of 401k millionaires is near record highs around $600,000, thanks to stock market gains, compounding, and long-term saving habits. The drawbacks, as you mentioned, 30 to 60 million workers, especially low-wage part-time and gig workers, lack access to employer retirement plans. Gig workers are disproportionately

undersaved, roughly 30 percent have no retirement savings at all. And even though adoption has picked up recently, about 40 percent of the working population isn't saving enough to maintain their lifestyle throughout retirement. There is some risk here. 401K accounts are more stock-heavy than ever. Workers in the late 30s now hold about 9 and 10 of the assets in the 401k in equities. That's up from 82% a decade ago because the returns of spend so exceptional that people are, you know, if you're under the age of 40, you don't believe that stocks go down more than one year in a row. They can go flat for a decade or even down. Even early 60 savers have 60% in stocks. And total equity exposure in 401k has reached $9 trillion in 2024, driven by strong demand. And there kind of is no alternative mentality. Reliance on a few megastocks, including NVIDIA, now 8% of the S&B raises concentration risk. So first off, the first thing you do when you take any job is you want to find out what type of tax-deferred or tax-advantaged investments in matching programs there are and immediately max them out. Because one, just a human nature, 90% of us will spend everything that comes into our hands. So you want to find saving mechanisms that keep the dollar out of your hand.

you are going to be hit. The smartest people on the planet aren't trying to put a person on Mars or solve world hunger. They're trying to figure out a way to use technology to hit you on a screen at the exact right moment when you're in the exact right move so they can sell you a pair of bomba socks with your on running shoes at the exact right moment or get you to upgrade from economy to economy to comfort. It is nearly fucking impossible not to spend as much or more money than you have in this environment. And the deepest, deepest, most talented companies in the world are basically there just to do that. and that's to figure out a way to grab you by the ankles, turning you upside down and shake you. So forced savings are a great way to build wealth. Housing or owning a home has been a great way to build wealth. Now, is that because it outperforms other asset classes?

No, if you include maintenance and taxes, it's probably underperformed the stock market. But people don't like to have their home foreclosed on. So they generally make that mortgage payment and slowly, but surely the value in their house should grow tax deferred to kind of build wealth because of its forced savings mechanism that's built into it. And you want to implement the same type of thing for you. So, for example, you want to download the Acorns app, which rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and then automatically invested for you.

And people, one of the flaws in our species is we just don't recognize how fast time is going to go. And that is when I was 22, I remember going to the beach with my friend Lee Lotus and he was putting money, we scrambled to that. I need to find $2,000 to put in my IRA or $4.1.K. And I'm like, dude, if, 50 years, I needed $22,000 in my 401K, take me on and shoot me. Okay, someone should take me

out and shoot me because my friend Lee is now a multimillionaire and he's made really good money his whole life, but he's never been like, he's never sold a huge business or anything. But because he started saving $2,000 a year, you save $100 a month from the age of 22. You're going to be a millionaire by the time you're 65, 100 bucks. Start now. I moved to London yesterday. It's been over three years. I was applying to college yesterday. I drove my son to take the ACT on Saturday. Time is going to go fast. Do you want to have $100,000, $800,000, $2 million in a four-savings IRA 401k plan or not? If the answer is yeah, maybe I'd like that. Start now. Question number two also comes from Reddit. Morocco 212 asks. Hi, Scott. You speak a lot about

the joy of being a parent, but I would love to hear your thoughts about consciously, deliberately deciding to be a single parent. I live in New York City, and I'm getting to the age where if I don't have a child soon, I will not be able to easily have one. I have yet to meet someone with whom I want to raise a child, though, and I'd strongly consider going through IVF and raising a child on my own. I would love to hear your thoughts, pro or con, thanks. This is a very personal decision. So a lot of it, quite frankly, just comes down to a couple things. One, do you have the money? If you don't, I just would take it off the table.

I just don't think you want to create that kind of stress in your household. I was raised by a single immigrant mother who lived and died of secretary. Lied in my life. It worked out. We had a nice life. She had a nice life. I had a nice life. But there's just no getting around it.

It was stressful, not having money. And two, do you have a support system in place? And it doesn't have to be a man. It can be friends, family, good. friends, but do you have either the economics or the support system to make sure that you're kind of playing not one-on-one coverage, but zone coverage? And that is, you can have some semblance of time and a life yourself for working out for your own health to advance your own professional career, because kids require a ton of resources and time and attention.

One of the wonderful things about having kids is that I'm a pretty selfish, narcissistic person, which made it difficult when I had kids my first few years because I was pissed off. I didn't get to go have brunch and be fabulous to my friends every week because of this little alien that I was charged with keeping alive on weekends. But the thing I really began to love about it was for the first time of my life, I began to think about something other than me. And I found that quite liberating, actually. I found it sort of relaxing at a certain point. Like, oh, no, how do I be more fabulous this weekend? Well, I don't need to worry about that because I'm going to soccer practice and then some lame birthday party on Sunday with the other dads who all look at each other

like, Jesus, I believe we have to put up with a shit of chucky cheese. But anyway, I like that women are having kids without necessarily having a romantic partner. I think it's a sign of progress, but there's just some reality. So I'm not going to stay here and say, yeah, go for it, girl. You know, these are difficult questions and they require really open, honest conversations around money and around the support system. Having said that, there is never the right time to have a kid. It's especially tough on the women because the reality is you face a much more cruel or unfair clock than I do. So I understand the sense of urgency. I think if you're thinking this way, it means you want children. Do you really want kids or is it society telling you to have kids? If you really want kids, then I would say put yourself on some sort of financial plan and put in place the infrastructure such that you can do that. And I have friends who've had kids out of wedlock and said, that's a and I'm just going to take care of the kid on my own. Most of them had money, and it's unfair.

I'm not talking about the way the world should be, but the way the world is. Other countries have much more infrastructure. So let me finish where I started, deeply personal decision. Having said that, having a kid has given me purpose. My purpose, or kids, I should say, my purpose, the beginning of my life was to be rich and awesome, such that I could take care of my mom and attract potential mates.

That's what I wanted. I wanted to be more interesting to other people. I wanted to be more attractive to women, and I wanted to take care of my mom. And then when I was fortunate enough to check those boxes, it was kids that now are my sense of purpose. My only goal right now and sense of purpose, as I barrel towards the end, and I ask myself, what's this all about? It's simple. I'm here to raise good men. Full stop.

That's why I'm here. And it's been very rewarding. So I empathize and understand your desire to do it. I think having kids is wonderful. but there's some practical realities that the world forces on us. Oh, my God, what a word salad. I wish you the best around this important decision. Thanks for the question.

We'll be right back after a quick break. Support for the show comes from LinkedIn. We say this all the time on our show, but it bears repeating. Running a small business isn't just a full-time job. It's about a dozen full-time jobs that you raise. rarely, if ever, get to clock out of, at least until you get to the point where you can start hiring the dream team. And if you've made it that far, you already know there's no time to mess around. That's where LinkedIn jobs comes in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job

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where you want to go, Betterment might be a good option. Don't just start to stop. imagine a better future, start investing in one with Betterment. Be invested in yourself, be invested in your business, be invested with Betterment. Go to betterment.com to learn more. Investing involves risk, performance not guaranteed. Welcome back onto our final question. Hey, Prof. G. This is a question about balancing career and personal pursuits with the responsibilities of being a good son. My brother and I both live in major cities far away from our aging parents. While we've benefited from city living, I feel guilty about the distance, especially with my father's declining

health. My parents would never ask us to move. They don't want that for us. Moreover, they seem committed for staying for financial and social reasons. But I don't see how this works as they age and as they need more support. What advice would you offer young men who have chosen to live far from aging parents, but worry about responsibilities that they hold as sons. P.S., I'm sorry to hear about your father. It's clear in the way you've spoken about him that his life left a lasting impact for many. Thanks very much. Look, this is a tough one, and my general sense is it sounds like your parents have each other. It sounds like they're doing pretty well, and it sounds like you are benefiting from living where you are. So my gut is that,

that as you get older, they're going to get, they're going to get sicker. And at some point, you and your brother are going to have to be pretty involved in their lives. And I'm not saying this is the right way, but this is my way, and it's two different sides of the coin. I was much closer to my mother than my father. My mother raised me on her own. I was her top priority. You know, it was me and her against the world. So when she got sick, I actually moved in with my mom. I took nine months leave of absence from NYU. I was fortunate I had some money, some resources, and I had the ability, and I moved into a senior's community.

The Dell Webb active living community, true story, they sent a letter to my mom's house saying it's become clear you're cohabitating with a man under the age of 50 in violation of HOA, Del Webb community rules, and I had to go down there and say, I'm her son. She's dying of cancer, and I've moved in to help take care of him. They said, we're sorry, no problem. Anyways, and during the day, let's get this back to me. During the day, I would manage my mom.

It was her third time with cancer. She said, I said, all right, what do you want? What's your bucket list? She said, I only have one thing on my buckle list. I want to die at home. And I'm like, okay, I can think I can figure that out. So during the day, I would manage her health care, a nurse. There's certain things I just can't do for my mom.

And at night, I would head down to the strip. She lived in a suburb of Las Vegas called Summerlin, and I would party with entrepreneurs and strippers and get really shitty drunk. And sometimes spend the night on the strip. at a cheap hotel during the week for $49 and then the next day I'd go back and hang out with my mom all day and watch Jeopardy and take her on walks

and push her wheelchair and watch everyone loves Raymond and then go out again. Kind of a weird time in my life. Kind of a weird time. And then when that thing resolved, I then started my life again. And that is something that I would treasure

the rest of my life, that I had made enough money, had enough flexibility to give my mom like a fraction of the love back she had given me. That was, I will treasure that for the rest of my life. You know, these are, again, very personal questions, but some people, their reason for being, their center of gravity is family, and they want to be around their family. And if that's the case, okay, make those sacrifices. But if you're doing well, especially in a city, you mentioned the term city living. Two thirds of all economic growth is going to be in one of 20 super cities. And what I tell

young people is if you want to be economically secure, you've got to get to a city. Or you want to, if you want to be in the top 10%, much less the top 1% of economic security or influence, you've got to be in a city. And if you're just an economic animal, of which I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s, get to the biggest city in your country, get to a super city. And that's where you make your career. That's where you find opportunities. You're just in a, you're in a room of opportunities all the time when you're in a city. Long-winded way of saying the following. My gut is your parents are doing well and they have each other. My gut is you are benefiting based on what you're saved from being in a city,

which says to me, there's no reason you can't be close to your parents now and kill it professionally, personally, and emotionally, sticking where you are, knowing that at some point you're going to have to be more involved in their lives and that mental and economic wellness that you will accrete by that point

will help you do a better job with a reduction in the amount of stress that is naturally part of the process when they get really old. In some, I probably, stick where you are. And finally, I don't know all the nuance of the situation, so I'd have very open and honest conversations with your brother and friends or people who understand the situation and can better advise you. I very much appreciate the question. And the fact that

you're even thinking this way means you're a good son and means your parents are good people or did a good job with you. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to Office Hours of Propaggymedia.com. That's Office Hours of Propagymedia.com. Or, if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Scott Gowley subreddit and we just might feature it in an upcoming episode. This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez.

Drew Burroughs is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prophegy Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. Thank you.