Americans need $1.46 million to comfortably retire but most seniors have just $200,000 in savings

Americans need more money than ever to retire comfortably — but a shocking majority of senior citizens have just a fraction of the recommended savings.Savings of at least $1.46 million are recommended for a comfortable retirement, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 financial planning study.But most Americans between 65 and 74 years old had just about $200,000 in retirement accounts, a 2022 federal consumer finances survey found.That’s just 13% of the recommended retirement savings — a shocking figure reinforced by 2026 Planning & Progress Study which found almost half of Americans don’t think they’re going to have enough saved away for retirement.Another 48% feel their retirement savings are likely to run out before they die.“There seems to be a widening gap between what we all expect we’re going to need and what we actually have,” Northwestern Mutual executive vice president John Roberts told USA Today.Roberts clarified that $1.46 million is merely a savings “guidepost” for Americans to target.But it’s a guidepost that’s been steadily increasing — just four years ago in 2022 Northwestern Mutual recommended Americans have $1.25 million stashed away before retirement.Many Americans still manage to retire without meeting those goals, with services like Social Security helping to fill in the gap and support a sustainable lifestyle.A more modest retirement goal some financial groups like Fidelity back is saving about 10-times your annual salary before retiring.Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

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Never miss a story.That’s about $800,000 based on the 2024 median household income of $83,730 — a target the majority of Americans are still far from, with just 4% of Gen X respondents telling the Northwestern survey they’d hit the 10-times savings goal....