Quote:
Originally Posted by huge-pigeons
If you ask Americans, the average answer is an astounding $1.46 million.
That’s per a recent Northwestern Mutual survey of 4,500 U.S. adults, which found retirement cost expectations have spiked since 2020. This year’s average estimate is 53% higher than it was four years ago, when people said they’d need $951,000 to retire.
When it comes to their actual savings, though, Americans are far from achieving their expected retirement needs: Survey respondents reported their average retirement savings is just $88,400 in 2024.
That’s a $10,000 decrease from the average retirement savings recorded by Northwestern Mutual in 2021, when the metric hit its five-year peak of $98,800.
IMO, having $100,000 in your savings when you retire is pretty sad. I know many people the made good money throughout their careers but always seemed to spend more than they made. I think $1.5M is a little low too to retire on especially if you are fully invested. That $1.5M could become $800,000 if another 2008 happens and you might not have to years for your money to come back, all the while taking distributions out of it.
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You're comparing apples to lifeboats.
Savings isn't income. Most people have social security income in addition to savings. Also, if you don't owe on a mortgage but own your house, you have equity, in addition to savings, and income.
We absolutely don't have $100k saved up. We took what we got for the sale of our house up north and sunk it into a house in The Villages. We owed for around 6 months to a relative and repaid it in full. And then - we had very little in savings to show for it.
I continued to work part time, he got his pension, then he started work part time after the first year, then I quit, and he started collecting social security, and I'm getting social security too now.
So we have two social security checks, a pension check, and not much in the way of savings. This is how millions of people live. We're living much better than many, because we have no outstanding debts, and we're not "one paycheck from homelessness." We enjoy dining out, we enjoy a house that isn't falling apart, a truck, a car, two golf carts, the taxes and insurance obligations covered, health insurance paid for, dancing, watching TV, having cell phones and other assorted technological gadgets and doodads, a decent wardrobe, and an outstanding neighborhood of great people.
You don't need $100,000 savings to get all that. But you DO need a regular income stream to pay the bills, and some padding in case you need a new roof.
If I wanted to live MORE comfortable than I do now, I'd say - having our current income stream, and maybe $250,000 extra kicking around somewhere would be excellent. But I wouldn't turn down the winning powerball ticket.