How Much Do I Need to Retire?
Key Points – How Much Do I Need to Retire?
- “How Much Do I Need to Retire?” Is a Straightforward Question with a Not-So-Straightforward Answer
- Factors That Help Determine How Much You Need to Retire
- What It Means to Retire with Confidence
- 4-Minute Read | 35-Minute Watch
According to the Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, the average U.S. adult says they’ll need $1.46 million to retire. However, Allianz’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study found that 67% of the people worry more about running out of money than death. In this article, we’ll assess how to build confidence in your ability to get to and through retirement.
How Much Do You Think You Need to Retire?
In 2025, we asked attendees at a conference a straightforward question: How much do you think you need to retire? Their answers ranged from $200,000 to $10 million. Why is that? Let’s review some key factors to help determine how much you need to retire.
As you think about your retirement, how much do you think you’ll need to have saved? $200,000? $10 million? Somewhere between that? Or do you think you’ll need to save more than $10 million?
We only interviewed seven people for the short video. A couple of interviewees said they thought they would need $1 million for retirement, while two others said they would need around $3 million. The person that said they would need $200,000 also said with a laugh that they planned to retire at 94. Meanwhile, the person that said $10 million indicated that would be the minimum amount they would need for retirement.
In the video, the seven interviewees were also asked what percentage of their income they were saving for retirement and if they were surprised by the results of another retirement study. That study was the Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study.1 Northwestern Mutual also asked the 4,375 U.S. adults they surveyed how much they needed to retire. The average answer in 2025 was $1.26 million, but when they did the survey again in 2026, it was $1.46 million.
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Important Factors to Consider When Planning for Retirement
So, now that you have a small and large sample size of answers to the question “how much do I need to retire,” how does that impact your answer to that question? Hopefully, it doesn’t. Northwestern Mutual shared that its survey’s data was weighted by these factors:
- Age
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Region
- Education
- Marital status
- Household size
- Household income
- Propensity to being online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population
Have you considered each of those factors when thinking about how much you need to retire? Let’s focus on that top bullet point for a minute.
When Do You Plan to Retire?
The age at which you plan to retire may dictate how much you need to retire. Whether you plan to retire at 64 or at 94 like the guy in our Money Walks video suggested, no one knows how long their retirement will last. But that doesn’t mean that you should just assume that you’ll live as long as your parents or other family members. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.2” Our team at Modern Wealth believes that is the case when it comes to preparing for retirement.
Building Financial Confidence
We want you to have a plan that helps you enjoy today with confidence for tomorrow and connects you with the people and causes you care about most, not a plan that’s built on hope. Trying to determine how much you need to retire can be very stressful.
According to Allianz’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study, 67% of the people they surveyed worry more about running out of money than death.3 Additionally, 48% of the people surveyed did not have a financial plan. Do you fall into that category as well? And if you do have a financial plan, are you still unsure about how much you need to retire?
It’s important to understand that an investment plan and a financial plan are two different things. An investment plan is actually just one component of a comprehensive financial plan. At Modern Wealth, we have what we like to call our Advantage Offerings:
- Financial Planning
- Investment Management
- Tax Planning
- Estate Planning
- Insurance Planning
If you’re working with a financial advisor, have they discussed tax planning, estate planning, or insurance planning with you? Our advisors at Modern Wealth are supported by tax, estate, insurance, and investment planning specialists to help deliver the Modern Wealth Advantage to our clients.
Think about the various implications that investments, taxes, estate planning, and insurance can have on your ability to retire with confidence. That’s why we built the Modern Confidence Score to help identify potential planning gaps during the retirement planning process. What is your confidence level when it comes to each of our Advantage Offerings? Get your Modern Confidence Score below to help our team better understand how we can help you enjoy today with confidence for tomorrow.
According to the Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, the average U.S. adult says they’ll need $1.46 million to retire. However, Allianz’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study found that 67% of the people worry more about running out of money than death. In this article, we’ll assess how to build confidence in your ability to get to and through retirement.
How Much Do You Think You Need to Retire?
In 2025, we asked attendees at a conference a straightforward question: How much do you think you need to retire? Their answers ranged from $200,000 to $10 million. Why is that? Let’s review some key factors to help determine how much you need to retire.
https://youtube.com/shorts/beGNHY5hsXM
As you think about your retirement, how much do you think you’ll need to have saved? $200,000? $10 million? Somewhere between that? Or do you think you’ll need to save more than $10 million?
We only interviewed seven people for the short video. A couple of interviewees said they thought they would need $1 million for retirement, while two others said they would need around $3 million. The person that said they would need $200,000 also said with a laugh that they planned to retire at 94. Meanwhile, the person that said $10 million indicated that would be the minimum amount they would need for retirement.
In the video, the seven interviewees were also asked what percentage of their income they were saving for retirement and if they were surprised by the results of another retirement study. That study was the Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study.1 Northwestern Mutual also asked the 4,375 U.S. adults they surveyed how much they needed to retire. The average answer in 2025 was $1.26 million, but when they did the survey again in 2026, it was $1.46 million.
Important Factors to Consider When Planning for Retirement
So, now that you have a small and large sample size of answers to the question “how much do I need to retire,” how does that impact your answer to that question? Hopefully, it doesn’t. Northwestern Mutual shared that its survey’s data was weighted by these factors:
- Age
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Region
- Education
- Marital status
- Household size
- Household income
- Propensity to being online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population
Have you considered each of those factors when thinking about how much you need to retire? Let’s focus on that top bullet point for a minute.
When Do You Plan to Retire?
The age at which you plan to retire may dictate how much you need to retire. Whether you plan to retire at 64 or at 94 like the guy in our Money Walks video suggested, no one knows how long their retirement will last. But that doesn’t mean that you should just assume that you’ll live as long as your parents or other family members. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.2” Our team at Modern Wealth believes that is the case when it comes to preparing for retirement.
Building Financial Confidence
We want you to have a plan that helps you enjoy today with confidence for tomorrow and connects you with the people and causes you care about most, not a plan that’s built on hope. Trying to determine how much you need to retire can be very stressful.
According to Allianz’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study, 67% of the people they surveyed worry more about running out of money than death.3 Additionally, 48% of the people surveyed did not have a financial plan. Do you fall into that category as well? And if you do have a financial plan, are you still unsure about how much you need to retire?
It’s important to understand that an investment plan and a financial plan are two different things. An investment plan is actually just one component of a comprehensive financial plan. At Modern Wealth, we have what we like to call our Advantage Offerings:
- Insurance Planning
If you’re working with a financial advisor, have they discussed tax planning, estate planning, or insurance planning with you? Our advisors at Modern Wealth are supported by tax, estate, insurance, and investment planning specialists to help deliver the Modern Wealth Advantage to our clients.
Think about the various implications that investments, taxes, estate planning, and insurance can have on your ability to retire with confidence. That’s why we built the Modern Confidence Score to help identify potential planning gaps during the retirement planning process. What is your confidence level when it comes to each of our Advantage Offerings? Get your Modern Confidence Score below to help our team better understand how we can help you enjoy today with confidence for tomorrow.
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GET YOUR MODERN CONFIDENCE SCORE
How Much Time Will You Have in Retirement?
How much you need to save for retirement could be very different from your friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague, even if you think you have a lot in common. We’re ready to build you a financial plan that’s tailored to your unique goals and situation.
It’s important to us at Modern Wealth to provide financial education to help people make informed decisions as they’re planning for retirement. In our upcoming Speaker Series webinar, Time in Retirement: The Next 8,000 Days, Hartford Funds Senior Vice President of Applied Insights John Diehl will cover important planning considerations for the four phases of retirement:
- The honeymoon phase
- Big decision phase
- Navigating longevity phase
- Solo journey phase
John also oversees Hartford Funds’ relationship with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. This webinar will air at 11 a.m. Central on June 17. Register below so you don’t miss it.
We’ll also have an on-demand version of the webinar on our YouTube channel shortly after, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!
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Resources Mentioned in This Article
[2] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/benjamin_franklin_138217
Investment advisory services offered through Modern Wealth Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Adviser. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.