You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth. That's how financial advisors typically view wealth.
The 95th percentile, with a net worth of $3.2 million, is considered wealthy, facilitating estate planning and possibly owning multiple homes. The top 1%, or the 99th percentile, has a net worth of $16.7 million and represents the very wealthy, who enjoy considerable financial freedom and luxury.
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.
$2.6 million
That lofty sum represents the net worth of the median American family in the upper 10% of income, a range that most of us would deem wealthy.
According to Schwab's 2023 Modern Wealth Survey, its seventh annual, Americans said it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million to qualify a person as being wealthy. (Net worth is the sum of your assets minus your liabilities.)
Among the 47 million households headed by someone age 60 or older, 7% had household investable assets of at least $2 million, Drinkwater said. Only 6% of the 89 million households in the U.S. headed by someone 40 to 85 years old has that amount, Drinkwater said.
The national average for retirement savings varies depending on age, but according to the Economic Policy Institute, the median retirement savings for all working age households in the US is around $95,776. This figure includes both employer-sponsored retirement accounts and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
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.
At its most basic, net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. To calculate your net worth, tally the value of all or your assets, including bank accounts, investments, and perhaps the value of your home or vacation home.
If you pay off your mortgage and debts before retiring, you could live on smaller portion of your preretirement income. Based on this rule, if your annual preretirement income was $100,000, you need $80,000 a year in retirement to cover your expenses.
Some sources define upper middle class as anyone who's making a lot of money but hasn't quite crossed the threshold to become truly wealthy yet. These individuals often have a net worth of at least $500,000 to $2 million.
Overall, the net worth that Americans say that is needed to be “wealthy” in the United States is $2.2 million in 2023. Washington, D.C. In San Francisco, respondents said they needed $4.7 million in net worth to be wealthy, the highest across all cities surveyed, and more than double the national average.
Middle class: Those in the 40th to 60th percentile of household income, ranging from $55,001 to $89,744. Upper middle class: Households in the 60th to 80th percentile, with incomes between $89,745 and $149,131. Upper class: The top 20% of earners, with household incomes of $149,132 or more.
As of 2022, the median household income in the U.S. was $74,580, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Assuming a middle-class retiree earned this salary and retired at age 65 — specifically 65 and 11 months — their Social Security benefit would be $1,867 per month.
The average American spends $4,345 per month in retirement, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's $52,141 per year.
However, not a huge percentage of retirees end up having that much money. In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings.
Nearly 2 in 5 Retirees Have No Retirement Savings
The survey found that about 37% of retirees say they have no retirement savings, up from 30% in 2022, and only about 12% have at least the recommended $555,000 in savings.
1,821,745 Households in the United States Have Investment Portfolios Worth $3,000,000 or More.
This number has been cited so often that investors may feel as if they're failing if they don't reach it. But that shouldn't be the case. In fact, statistically, just 10% of Americans have saved $1 million or more for retirement.
SmartAsset: How Do You Know If You Are Rich? Being rich currently means having a net worth of about $2.2 million. However, this number fluctuates over time, and you can measure wealth according to your financial priorities.
Only about 1.6% of 401(k) accounts and 2.5% of IRAs at Fidelity have account balances of at least $1 million. Even while that millionaire status evades the vast majority of savers, workers today predict they'll actually need much more than that — about $1.8 million — to retire comfortably.
As we have established, retiring on $500k is entirely feasible. With the addition of Social Security benefits, the possibility of retiring with $500k becomes even more possible. In retirement, Social Security benefits can provide an additional $1,800 per month, on average.