Do we really need $1M in retirement savings? Not even close, one top economist says

“Biggs disagrees. To prove his point, the economist looked at responses to the federal Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking between 2019 and 2022. The survey asked retirement-age Americans, 65 to 74, how well they were managing financially. A majority, roughly 85%, said they were just fine: They were living comfortably, or at least ‘doing OK.’ Only 15% said they were struggling. The finding matters, Biggs says, because most retirees have much less than $1 million in the bank. In the federal survey, the typical senior who reported a satisfactory retirement had $50,000 to $100,000 in savings.”