As a generation, millennials are facing a lot of financial headwinds. But it seems that at least some are starting to gain some ground.

Nearly a quarter of the millennial population (defined here as ages 24 to 41) has $100,000 or more in savings, up from the mere 16% who had hit this milestone in 2018, according to a new report from Bank of America that surveyed about 800 millennials.

Before the Internet collectively blows a gasket, Bank of America's report is not saying that 24% of millennials simply have $100,000 lying around a savings account.

That $100,000 total includes retirement savings such as 401(k) funds and money invested in individual retirement accounts, Bank of America's Andrew Plepler tells CNBC Make It. However, it's not a net worth figure, so things like home value are not part of the $100,000 savings.

"It's a reasonably good economy, and so for those who do save and have been able to put money into a 401(k), they've had some nice tailwinds," says Plepler, who is the global head of Bank of America's environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

In fact, when you include retirement savings, hitting the $100,000 mark isn't that much of a stretch. Consider that the average millennial makes about $47,034 a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For those who are at the top of Bank of America's age range, 41, that means most have likely been working for about 20 years.

If they saved an average of 5% of their salary over that time period and earned returns of about 7%, then they'd have over $96,000 saved already. And of course, that's just an average — many millennials make far more than the average salary and save for retirement at higher rates.