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.
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 had hit the 10-times savings goal.
Only about 49% of Gen Xers think they will be financially ready to retire, while half said they were likely to keep working into retirement.
While Gen X’s golden years might not be looking to bright for many of them, younger generations are faring far better.
Gen Z is well on their way towards building retirement, with most having started saving by 22 — compared to Gen X, which typically began at 32, according to the study.