--- title: Here's How Much Money Americans Think They Need to Retire Comfortably description: A new survey sheds light on the retirement gap in 2023. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 501 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2023-06-23T19:10:12.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T13:12:54.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News - Retirement word_count: 633 canonical: https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo Collage of an older couple embracing at the beach where the sky is filled with ones and zeros from a dollar bill](https://img.money.com/2023/06/News-How-Much-Money-Retirement.jpg) As Americans expect to live longer lives, the anticipated price tag of a comfortable retirement continues to climb. On average, Americans say they’ll need at least $1.27 million to afford a comfortable retirement in which they can relax, spend time with family and travel. But the amount they have saved up is a far cry from meeting those expectations, according to [new research](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/2023-06-22-Americans-Believe-They-Will-Need-1-27-Million-to-Retire-Comfortably,-According-to-Northwestern-Mutual-Planning-Progress-Study) from the financial firm Northwestern Mutual. This chasmic difference is known as the retirement gap, and [separate research](https://money.com/retirement-savings-shortfall-state-automated-ira/) by Pew suggests that the cash shortfall could end up costing taxpayers over $1.3 trillion in the long run. "The good news is that they are saving and investing more for tomorrow, even in this time of high inflation and market volatility,” Aditi Javeri Gokhale, Northwestern’s chief strategy officer, said in a news release Thursday. Nevertheless, "there continues to be a big disparity between what they think they'll need to retire and what they've saved to date," he added. ## Put a gold-backed IRA into your golden years ### Gold IRAs are similar to traditional retirement accounts, but they are backed by investments in gold and other precious metals, such as silver, platinum, and palladium. To get started, click on your state. [Invest in Gold](https://money.com/pr/g648fe360239?ap_referrer=%2Fhow-much-money-retire-comfortably%2F) ## What the research says In Northwestern’s latest Planning & Progress study, the firm sheds new light on the retirement gap as well as Americans’ hopes, dreams and fears for their golden years. - The average amount adults have tucked away for their retirement increased 3% this year to $89,300 — up from $86,869 last year. - At the same time, the expected price tag of a comfortable retirement is also increasing. In 2023, American say they will need $1.27 million to retire comfortably. Last year, they said $1.25 million. Depending on the age group of the respondent, these numbers vary widely. - People in their 20s say they’ll need $1.2 million; 30-somethings say $1.44 million. People in their 50s say $1.56 million — the largest amount reported on average. - Likewise, the money those age groups have already saved up ranges considerably. The survey's youngest respondents have, unsurprisingly, the least socked away for retirement. Here’s a look at how much each age group has saved for retirement — and what they think they’ll need, on average: - **20s:** believe they will need $1.2 million to retire comfortably. Their actual savings is $35,800. - **30s:** say $1.44 million is needed to retire comfortably; they have $67,400 saved up. - **40s:** say a comfortable retirement will cost $1.28 million. Their average retirement savings is $77,400. - **50s:** say they need $1.56 million to retire comfortably, the highest of all age groups. They've socked away $110,900, on average. - **60s:** believe $968,000 will grant them a comfortable retirement. Their savings is $112,500. - **70s:** report that they will need $936,000 to afford a comfortable retirement. They have the largest savings of $113,900. On average, Americans say there’s a 45% chance that they’re going to outlive their savings, yet a third of them said they haven’t taken any steps to avoid that possibility, Northwestern Mutual found. The survey was based on responses from more than 2,700 U.S. adults in February and March. ## The upshot The so-called retirement gap is still pretty sizeable, but the average American’s retirement savings is finally on the rebound. Recent reports from investment firms [Fidelity](https://money.com/average-401k-balance-plummeted-last-year/) and [Vanguard](https://money.com/average-401k-balance-2022-stock-market/) found that the average [401(k)](https://money.com/what-is-a-401k-rollover/) balance plummeted more than 20% in 2022, amid [abysmal stock market performance](https://money.com/bear-market-when-do-stocks-recover/). And Northwestern’s Planning & Progress [study from last year](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2022) found that the average retirement savings fell from $98,800 in 2021 to $86,869 in 2022; a dip of 11%. However, markets have performed impressively in the first half of this year — and [may continue to rally](https://money.com/stocks-could-rise-second-half-of-year/) throughout the remainder of 2023.~ ~ Northwestern’s latest report suggests that as the stock market recovers from the beating it took last year, so are people’s retirement savings. ## In times of market volatility and uncertainty, Gold has performed historically well ### By diversifying your retirement portfolio with a Gold IRA, you can potentially safeguard your savings from market fluctuations and other financial risks, and enjoy greater peace of mind knowing that your funds are well-protected. Click below to start investing. [Invest in Gold](https://money.com/pr/s8440a998477?ap_referrer=%2Fhow-much-money-retire-comfortably%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/19305/medium_414558a1-29d4-465e-b5d1-921febc39ed2.png) American Hartford Gold can help you take control of your financial future [Invest in Gold](https://money.com/pr/cdf8db27d320?ap_referrer=%2Fhow-much-money-retire-comfortably%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here's How Much Money Americans Think They Need to Retire Comfortably" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/", "name": "Here's How Much Money Americans Think They Need to Retire Comfortably", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-06-23T19:10:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/how-much-money-retire-comfortably/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T13:12:54.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Here's How Much Money Americans Think They Need to Retire Comfortably", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/06/News-How-Much-Money-Retirement.jpg", "width": 1634, "height": 1090, "caption": "News-How-Much-Money-Retirement" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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