Is 2 million enough to retire for a couple? Whether $2 million is enough for a couple depends on several factors, such as lifestyle, healthcare needs, location, and longevity. If you plan for modest spending and have supplemental income from Social Security or pensions, $2 million may be sufficient.
It probably is possible for most people to retire at age 55 if they have $2.5 million in savings. The ultimate answer, though, will depend on the interplay between various factors. These include your health, your anticipated retirement lifestyle and expenses, and how you invest your nest egg.
By age 35, aim to save one to one-and-a-half times your current salary for retirement. By age 50, that goal is three-and-a-half to six times your salary. By age 60, your retirement savings goal may be six to 11-times your salary.
Retiring at 55 with $2.5 million is likely feasible for most people. However, the adequacy of this amount depends on several factors such as health, expected lifestyle and expenses in retirement, and investment strategies.
In findings from its 2024 Modern Wealth Survey, Charles Schwab said that Americans, on average, believe it takes $2.5 million to be considered wealthy in today's economy.
Still, financial experts often recommend having at least eight times your annual salary saved by this age to maintain your current lifestyle. If earning a current salary of $100,000 a year, you should aim for at least $800,000 to $1 million in retirement savings by 60.
Americans in their 60s have an average retirement savings balance of $1,197,814; the median is $605,329, giving some retirement millionaire status. Your 60s are a great time to review your retirement savings goals and make sure they reflect your current lifestyle as retirement approaches.
And if you're aiming for the $2 million club? Well, the number of those who make it is even smaller. We're talking about a sliver of a sliver – somewhere between that 3.2% and the razor-thin 0.1% who've got $5 million or more.
With careful planning, $2.5 million can fund a comfortable retirement starting at age 60. But as with any major life transition, retirees must weigh a complex set of variables from taxes to healthcare to ensure their nest egg lasts decades.
Probably 1 in every 20 families have a net worth exceeding $3 Million, but most people's net worth is their homes, cars, boats, and only 10% is in savings, so you would typically have to have a net worth of $30 million, which is 1 in every 1000 families.
A worker can choose to retire as early as age 62, but doing so may result in a reduction of as much as 30 percent. Starting to receive benefits after normal retirement age may result in larger benefits. With delayed retirement credits, a person can receive his or her largest benefit by retiring at age 70.
Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe. It's the total value of all your assets—including your house, cars, investments and cash—minus your liabilities (things like credit card debt, student loans, and what you still owe on your mortgage).
That's about 6% of the population. So if there's 100 people standing in front of you, 6 of them might have $2M and you won't even know.
That's not chump change, but it's also not the $5-$10 million range some financial gurus – like Suze Orman – insist you must live comfortably. If you're dreaming of $3 million or more, though, you're officially aiming for a financial VIP club that represents less than 1% of retirees.
Retiring with $2 million at age 60 is feasible, but it largely depends on your lifestyle and financial planning. It's crucial to evaluate the lifestyle you aspire to maintain during retirement and estimate the associated costs to determine if $2 million is adequate for your needs.
Rich retirees: In the 90th percentile, with net worth starting at $1.9 million, this group has much more financial freedom and is able to afford luxuries and legacy planning.
To be part of the top 1% in the U.S., a household's net worth needs to be at least $13.6 million. This measure includes everything you own – homes, investments, savings – minus debts. Wealth tends to be a lot more unevenly distributed than income.
By age 50, you should have six times your salary in an account. By age 60, you should have eight times your salary working for you. By age 67, your total savings total goal is 10 times the amount of your current annual salary. So, for example, if you're earning $75,000 per year, you should have $750,000 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. Taken on their own, those numbers aren't incredibly helpful. After all, not everyone who is the same age will retire at the same time.
Let's say you consider yourself the typical retiree. Between you and your spouse, you currently have an annual income of $120,000. Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.
A retirement nest egg of $2.5 million can likely produce an annual income of $100,000 for as long as you are likely to live. This is using the 4% withdrawal rate that many advisors consider safe. After starting with the first withdrawal of 4% of the total, the annual withdrawal will adjust for inflation.
The top 10% of earners have an average net worth of $2.65 million. Even if you're squeaking into the upper class (the 80-90% range), you're looking at about $793,000. Moving down to the middle class, things get a bit more varied. The upper-middle class folks have an average net worth of around $300,800.
Across those years, $2 million could equate to approximately $68,966 annually or $5,747 monthly. This should serve you incredibly well and make you feel comfortable and cushioned, especially if you have relatively low expenses as a retiree and a normal lifestyle.