Here’s How Much Americans Think They’ll Need to Retire Comfortably

American workers appear to be losing faith they will save enough to retire comfortably, a new survey indicates.

For two straight years, workers ages 45 and up have pegged the figure they need at about $1.1 million. That’s according to the 2023 U.S. Retirement Survey from Schroders, a European investment management firm.

However, this year only 21% say they expect to save even $1 million by retirement, down from 24% of those surveyed in 2022. Almost 60% of this year’s working survey respondents say they expect to amass less than $500,000, up from 56% in 2022.

Schroders commissioned both annual retirement-readiness surveys. In 2022, they surveyed 1,000 U.S. investors ages 45 to 75. For its 2023 report, the number of investors surveyed doubled to 2,000 and respondents’ ages ranged from 27 to 79 to include millennials.

While millennials in the survey, ages 27 to 42, estimate they will need $1.3 million to retire comfortably, only 29% expect to accumulate $1 million. Almost half say they expect to save less than $500,000.

Just 24% of working respondents ages 60 to 67, on the doorstep of retirement, say they have saved enough to retire. That’s up slightly from 22% in 2022.

Nearly 2 out of 3 working respondents across the age groups say they keep a substantial portion of their retirement investments in cash because they fear losing money if the stock market falls.