Is $1 Million Still Enough to Retire Comfortably in 2024?
The retirement goalposts keep shifting. Here's what $1 million actually buys you now — and why couples need to rethink their number.
A million dollars used to sound like the finish line. Now it barely feels like the starting gun. Inflation, longer lifespans, and rising healthcare costs have quietly eroded what that seven-figure nest egg can actually deliver — and if you're a couple, the math gets even tighter.
The brutal reality: $1 million spread across two people in retirement is $500,000 each. Run a 4% withdrawal rule and you're pulling $40,000 a year for the household. That's not a retirement. That's a budget. Add Social Security and you've got breathing room — but probably not the lifestyle you pictured when you were grinding through your peak earning years.
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Here's the kicker — the answer keeps changing. What felt like a comfortable cushion a decade ago looks thinner every year. Healthcare alone can gut a retirement portfolio faster than any market crash. Long-term care costs, Medicare premiums, and out-of-pocket expenses are variables most people dramatically underestimate when they're still in accumulation mode.
None of this means $1 million is worthless. For a single person in a low cost-of-living area with a paid-off home and solid Social Security benefits, it can absolutely work. But couples need to stress-test their number harder than ever. The households that will retire comfortably aren't just saving more — they're modeling worst-case scenarios and building in real margin.
The target isn't fixed. It moves with inflation, with your zip code, with your health, and with markets. If you're anchored to a number you set five years ago, it's time to run the math again. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com
