By Jeremy A. Wechsler, Esq.
Investment Advisor Representative
[email protected]
It’s one of the most common questions our advisory team hears, and understandably so. After decades of working and saving, the thought of relying on those savings for the next 20 or 30 years can be unsettling. As my dad often reminds us, retirement doesn’t always happen on our schedule. We may plan to work into our late 60s or early 70s, only to face a health issue, a layoff, or the responsibility of caring for an aging parent. Suddenly, retirement is staring us in the face.
Given the title of this article, I suspect many of you want a magic number. If only it were that easy!
But, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, the Americans they surveyed said they need approximately $1.46 million saved for a comfortable retirement. Interestingly, respondents who are already millionaires put that number at $2.67 million. The same study found that approximately half of Americans worry about outliving their savings.
Those are intimidating figures. But here’s the problem: they tell us almost nothing about what you actually need. Someone with a paid-off home, modest expenses, and a pension may retire comfortably with substantially less than $1 million. Someone else with $3 million saved, a large mortgage, and extensive travel plans may need considerably more. Neither person is necessarily doing anything wrong. A ‘perfect retirement’ looks different for each and every one of us.
That’s why one of the most important pieces of retirement planning is developing a retirement income plan—one of FRS’s puzzle pieces! A well-developed income plan considers your anticipated spending, Social Security, pensions, taxes, inflation, investment returns, and unexpected expenses. Most importantly, it helps determine how much income you can reasonably withdraw from your savings without the risk of running out of money.
Of course, no plan can predict the future. Markets fluctuate, expenses change, and life throws us curveballs. That’s why a retirement plan shouldn’t be a one-time exercise. It needs to be reviewed and adjusted as your circumstances evolve.
So, back to our original question: Do you have enough to retire?
The answer isn’t found in a national survey or someone else’s account balance. It’s found by taking an honest look at your own financial picture and developing a plan around the retirement you want to enjoy. And here’s the encouraging part: you may be closer than you think. Or perhaps you have more work to do. Either way, knowing where you stand is far better than simply hoping everything will work out.