Saved $1 million for retirement? Here's where your money will last the longest around the U.S. (2024)

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Saved $1 million for retirement? Here's where your money will last the longest around the U.S.? ›

The key finding: Retirees can get the biggest bang for their buck in Mississippi, where the combined cost of food, utilities, housing, health care and other essentials is $44,000 per year. Saving of $1 million in the state would last you nearly 23 years, the personal finance site said.

In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings. The majority of retirees, however, have far less saved.

The average retirement savings for all families is $333,940, according to the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. The median retirement savings for all families is $87,000.

Based on this, if you retire at age 65 and live until you turn 84, $1 million will probably be enough retirement savings for you. However, it's important to remember there is no one-size-fits-all amount.

The Cost of Waiting to Save for Retirement

The longer you wait, the more you'll have to put away each month to reach your retirement goals. 27 years old? You have to put away $214 a month to reach $1 million. Start at age 37, and you're putting away $541 a month to reach your goal.

Around the U.S., a $1 million nest egg can cover an average of 18.9 years worth of living expenses, GoBankingRates found. But where you retire can have a profound impact on how far your money goes, ranging from as a little as 10 years in Hawaii to more than than 20 years in more than a dozen states.

You can retire a little early on $400,000, but it won't be easy. If you have the option of working and saving for a few more years, it will give you a significantly more comfortable retirement.

The Federal Reserve also measures median and mean (average) savings across other types of financial assets. According to the data, the average 70-year-old has approximately: $60,000 in transaction accounts (including checking and savings) $127,000 in certificate of deposit (CD) accounts.

Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.

Can you live off the interest of $1 million dollars? ›

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

The maximum Social Security check

Your maximum benefit if you file at full retirement age – between 66 and 67 – is $3,822 per month. Your maximum benefit if you file at age 70 – the age when extra benefits stop accruing – is $4,873 per month.

Many retirees fall far short of that amount, but their savings may be supplemented with other forms of income. According to data from the BLS, average 2022 incomes after taxes were as follows for older households: 65-74 years: $63,187 per year or $5,266 per month. 75 and older: $47,928 per year or $3,994 per month.

If you have more than $1 million saved in retirement accounts, you are in the top 3% of retirees. According to EBRI estimates based on the latest Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts, while just 0.1% have $5 million or more.

But most people are far from reaching that objective, with the study finding that the average amount held in a retirement account today is just $88,400. That means that the typical worker has a $1.37 million gap between their actual savings and their retirement aspirations.

Americans think they need almost $1.5 million to retire. Experts say to focus on another number instead. Americans' “magic number” savings goal for retirement has increased by over 50% since 2020. But experts say the secret to building true wealth is having a high savings rate.

There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more.