A recent report on retirement savings says a comfortable retirement will take the average American $1.3 million in savings to achieve – nearly $200,000 less than the previous year’s estimate.
The latest survey research report from Northwestern Mutual drew from a survey of more than 4,600 adults across the US in January. The consensus was down from the previous read of $1.46 million published last year, though it’s in line with prior readings in 2022 and 2023.
For those thinking seriously about their retirement, having that hard dollar figure target might be a valuable anchor point. But according to several financial planning and wealth industry experts speaking to InvestmentNews, the conversation should by no means end there.
Crystal Cox, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, sees the magic number of $1.26 million in retirement as one of the many useful rules of thumb for financial planning – think the rule of 72, the 60/40 formula for balanced portfolios, and the 4 percent rule for retirement withdrawals.
