--- title: Americans Think They'll Need $1.8 Million in Retirement description: When asked how much money they think they’ll need in retirement, Americans' average answer is a whopping $1.8 million, per a Schwab survey. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 602 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 - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 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 - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-07-24T19:51:41.000Z' modified: '2025-02-12T18:35:59.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 455 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/ 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/). ![Claw machine with golden egg](https://img.money.com/2024/07/News-Retirement-Amount-Prediction.jpg) The golden years don't come cheap: When you ask Americans how much money they think they’ll need in retirement, their average answer is a whopping $1.8 million. And while that's [unchanged from last year](https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2-million/), it's up from 2022, when the average prediction was $1.7 million. It’s a sum that feels out of reach for many savers amid concerns about rising retirement expenses and increases in the general cost of living, according to a [new study](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_2024_401k_participant_survey_findings.pdf) from Charles Schwab. The brokerage firm found that people expect to retire at age 65 and have their retirement savings last for 23 years, based on a survey of adults using 401(k) plans to save. ## Increase your income today with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you're 62 or older, work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative in your state today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/f9aaa98cdbb4?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-cost-predictions-2024%2F) Where are they planning to get that cash? Respondents expect most of their retirement savings, 43%, to come from their 401(k)s. That’s more than [Social Security](https://money.com/social-security-check-this-month/) (which folks expect to make up 16% of their retirement income) and savings and investments (13%). “Uncertainty about the future of Social Security means employers will play an increasingly important role in helping workers develop a retirement income stream not only through their 401(k), but also through other workplace financial benefits,” Marci Stewart, director of client experience at Schwab Workplace Financial Services, said in a Wednesday news release. ## The good news: Workers are confident they'll reach retirement goals Despite the sizable sum they think they need to save, Americans are more optimistic about their financial path to retirement than last year. The share of workers who say they’re very likely to achieve retirement goals was 43% in this iteration of Schwab’s survey, up from 37% in 2023. “Workers are feeling more confident about their ability to reach their financial goals for retirement as anxiety around inflation and market volatility has come down since last year,” the company wrote in the release. However, 45% still say they’re just “somewhat likely” to reach their retirement savings goals. And another 12% admit making those retirement dreams a reality is “not likely.” This, too, may be linked to the economic environment. In 2024, workers say inflation is the top obstacle to saving for a comfortable retirement. Challenges including stock market volatility and keeping up with monthly bills are also significant hurdles. Other wealth management companies conduct similar polling on how much people [think they’ll need in retirement](https://money.com/retirement-cost-estimate-record/). In April, Northwestern Mutual reported the figure at $1.46 million. Unfortunately, the actual savings that most Americans have is far shy of the amounts they think they’ll need: Northwestern Mutual found the average savings balance among adults is just $88,400. ## A Reverse Mortgage can unlock the equity in your home for a more secure retirement ### Work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative today. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/ucc329b181d0?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-cost-predictions-2024%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39553/medium_d01d803f-1110-4310-8997-bada342c27e4.webp) Get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/ed1a928f8683?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-cost-predictions-2024%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/#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": "News", "item": "https://money.com/tag/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Americans Think They'll Need $1.8 Million in Retirement" } ] }, { "@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/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/", "name": "Americans Think They'll Need $1.8 Million in Retirement", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-07-24T19:51:41.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-cost-predictions-2024/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-02-12T18:35:59.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Americans Think They'll Need $1.8 Million in Retirement", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/07/News-Retirement-Amount-Prediction.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Retirement-Amount-Prediction" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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