Is $1 million enough?

[Bob B.]

I'm figuring on the $1.5 mil neighborhood. I'm 41, and I have about 148K saved for retirement. So, I'll need to increase my nest egg by a factor of at least 10 before I can retire.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Maybe it depends on when we retire and what our expectations are.

[BuckyBadger]

Maybe it depends on when we retire and what our expectations are.

Of course it does. There is a lot of area between MMM-type "retirement" and working until you're 65+ years old. I think most of us are shooting for something comfortable in the middle of those two extremes.

[Randomsaver]

To me $200,000 in 401K is enough. I'd probably retire in my birth country Philippines (or perhaps its neighbor Thailand) and live like a prince due to exchange rate. I'm already saving for a purchase of my 2nd condo -- I'm renting out the first one which I purchased in 2011. I figure there'd be more US HMOs going global and offer the same coverage we have in US by the time I retire 20 years from now God-willing. I'd live on one of my condo that's fully paid by that time, and live off the rent of the other, the 401K, SSS and pension, and yes, the proceeds from the sale of my $300K home in US. I'll be enjoying strolling along the beaches, drinking fresh coconut juice, meeting new friends, eating the freshest seafoods, and enjoying the hospitality of the folks there.

[bennkar]

For me $1,000,000 would be more than enough to retire on, but I am looking to retire in 10 years (@ 60) so that amount should still be a good sized nest egg. In my case I am expecting SocSec to exist in some form, and I have a very secure pension (as well I have a paid off house and car), so my savings needs aren't the same as many people. My retirement accounts are over 40% of the way there, so I think I can do it.

And I have a GF who can retire in 6 years and has retirement accounts twice the size of mine, and well.... .

[danthecashbackman]

So many variables, so many unknown in the future

The world economic environment changes at a rate that is unseen to date. I am not sure saving steadily to retirement using the traditional formulas would still do the trick as they used to. A big inflation caused by the new unpredicted economic conditions could wipe out retirement savings entirely or partially. Recession has already wiped out savings for lots of people worldwide. Most investments underperform, many investments fail. For me, the traditional way is over.