Maybe they are investing instead of just piling up savings. 100k is more than enough in liquid funds. It's nice that savings rates are moving back up (unfortunately along with borrowing rates) but the return is still nowhere near even a conservative investment fund. If I were in that situation I absolutely would be maxing out my 401k and funneling income into long term investments knowing I already had enough cash to last me for over a year if I lost my job.