Is $1 million enough for a household to retire? The answer keeps changing.

By Quentin Fottrell

'Some readers - and couples - would be grateful to retire on half that amount'

The average retirement savings for an individual in their 60s hovers around $1.2 million, but the median - or middle - amount drops to $568,000.

How much is not enough?

A reader writes: "I often read posts about retirement goals from exhausted readers who say they have $1 million saved for retirement and wonder whether it's enough to stop working. What I've noticed is that the experts responding to these questions rarely clarify whether they're talking about a single person or a married couple. Is $1 million as a goal for retirement intended for one individual, or is it a combined total for a couple?"

Retirement is a jigsaw puzzle that looks different for everyone. Some puzzles will have pieces containing real estate, others will have cruises and vacations. Retirement depends on a lot of factors: whether you have to pay rent or your mortgage is paid off, how much you want to travel, if you have enough money to cover health insurance before you turn 65 and qualify for Medicare, and your perceived need for long-term-care insurance.

In other words, your ability to retire is entirely dependent on your expenses and your desired income. With a $1 million retirement portfolio, a 3.5% withdrawal rate would generate about $35,000 a year, while a 4% withdrawal would provide $40,000. The idea is to avoid a sequence-of-returns risk where you are forced to withdraw funds from your 401(k) or IRA in a down market, thereby losing out on future returns.

There is no universal retirement savings goal.

Some readers - and couples - would be grateful to retire on half that amount. The average retirement savings for an individual in their 60s hovers around $1.2 million, but the median - or middle - amount drops to $568,000, per the Empower Personal Dashboard. Northwestern Mutual's 2026 Planning & Progress Study found that Americans believe they need an average of $1.46 million to retire comfortably - a $200,000 increase from 2025.

The Northwestern figure fluctuates depending on economic and political events. The higher estimate for 2026, the study notes, reflects concerns about inflation, longer life expectancies and uncertainty surrounding what will happen with Social Security's funding in 2032. Crucially, 46% of those polled said they do not expect to be financially prepared for retirement, while 23% of people with retirement accounts have saved the equivalent of one year or less of their current annual income.

High-net-worth individuals have even higher expectations, estimating they will need $2.67 million to retire comfortably. So here's the takeaway: There is no universal retirement savings goal. Instead of focusing on a $1 million goal per individual (or household), Northwestern researchers recommend planning to replace 80% of pre-retirement income, while cutting your cloth according to its measure when it comes to your lifestyle.

A couple with a paid-off house and modest spending needs may be in a very different position from a single person paying rent in an expensive city. This California-based Moneyist reader identifies with your concerns: "I am 68 and my wife is 71. We have been retired for the past 12 years. I am disabled. Fortunately, we owned our home outright, which made retirement much more manageable. Our assets have grown and are now worth about $1.5 million. Looking back, we have no regrets."

Related: 'He's never been good with money': If I set up an annuity for my brother, 65, would it jeopardize his Supplemental Security Income?

"Retirement is a jigsaw puzzle that looks different for everyone."

Biggest enemies in retirement

Our biggest enemies in retirement are inflation, healthcare costs before Medicare eligibility, and long-term care costs. What happens if your house is damaged in a storm and the insurance company balks, saying it's flood damage rather than wind damage, for example? Some folks want to delay claiming Social Security until they are 67 or even 70 in order maximize their monthly benefits and reduce reliance on investment withdrawals later in life. Others are obsessed with emergency funds.

Retiring before the age of Medicare eligibility could mean significantly higher and more volatile healthcare costs, particularly since Affordable Care Act subsidies expired in December 2025 and premiums increased by up to 25%, and out-of-pocket costs went up by even more. An increasing number of people in their 60s, whether or not they have $1 million in retirement funds, are exploring alternatives like reducing their workload, taking a sabbatical or finding part-time work.

How confident you feel about your retirement fund relies in part on how much time you have until you plan to retire. Not everyone can keep working, even if some - like this reader - intend to do so well into their 70s. Roughly 7% of older Americans surveyed by AARP reported returning to the labor market within the past six months. The reasons included financial necessity (48% of those polled), boredom (15%) and a desire to help others (14%).

Middle-aged Americans are feeling the pinch.

However, Northwestern says middle-aged Americans are feeling the pinch, and Generation X remains the least confident. Nearly 50% of that generation, the oldest of whom are turning 61 this year, have saved at least four times their annual income, up from 41% last year. However, 20% have already delayed retirement due to financial concerns - the highest rate of any generation. Generation Z remains the most optimistic, with 58% expecting to be financially prepared for retirement, though this is down from 63% in 2025.

Like that Moneyist reader in his 70s, many Americans expect to continue working during retirement, Northwestern found, particularly millennials and Gen Xers, reflecting changing views of retirement and financial needs. It also found growing concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on careers: One-third of Americans feel somewhat or extremely pessimistic about what AI will mean for their jobs, with that figure rising to nearly half of Gen Z.

Where you live matters, too. As this Moneyist reader, who with his wife has $2 million saved, writes: "I'm 55 and my wife is 50. I live in Illinois, but as soon as my wife and I retire, we plan to move to a state with no income tax and lower property taxes. We own our $550,000 home outright, but our property taxes are about $13,000 a year, and Illinois also has a 5% state income tax. By comparison, I have friends in Texas who don't pay any state income tax."

What does it all mean? Is $1 million enough for one person or even a couple? What if that couple is taking care of an elderly parent? There is no number that will make you feel less anxious about retirement. It's highly personal. Do you live in New York or Los Angeles or Panama or Mexico City? Your cost of living now likely determines your cost of living in retirement. Just know that everything is connected. The jigsaw puzzle you had in your 30s and 40s will influence the one you have in your 60s.

Whether or not you like puzzles, you can count on that.

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

Don't miss: If I marry my girlfriend, 67, will she lose her Supplemental Security Income and divorced spouse benefits?

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

Should wealthier Americans forgo their Social Security benefits as a charitable gesture?

I am a 63-year-old semiretired physician. If I saved $2 million for retirement, should my Social Security become optional?

Social Security's funding crisis is the elephant in the room. But don't ignore the mouse.

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-Quentin Fottrell

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08-15-26 1200ET