Americans Think they need $1.46 million to retire

[bjl584]

Americans think they need $1.46 million to retire. What experts say (cnbc.com)

[disneysteve]

If you go with the 4% safe withdrawal rate, that would give you $58,400 to spend in year one of retirement which isn't an unreasonable number at all and is well below the median US household income. Add in SS and most folks would be okay on that income as long as they're in a LCOLA.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

You mean average cost of living area. That SS will be $1800/month or around $21600 which is pretty good income with $58,400. $1m = $40k + $21600 is $61,600 isn't a ton

[ua_guy]

There's just too many variables to say $1.46M is the number, although the article does cede the plan needs to be personally tailored. The 4% rule seems to be a bit outdated, given the ROI data the original studies were based on--it's a historical context which is a good reference but may not be true in today's or future markets. One needs to decide how much of their principal they want to preserve, or how much they think can be preserved. The "rule" is based on depletion over 30 years, with at least one penny to your name at the end of year 30...

With as low as average retirement savings are based on age, we shouldn't be looking to preserve principal, but fully fund our own expenses first. There are some other huge variables that need discussion, like, do you own your home in retirement? That significantly changes the number.

[Fishindude77]

The more the merrier. It may need to last a long time.
My dad has been retired for about 35 years now and still in pretty good health.