Every so often, a headline will declare that you “need” a certain amount to retire comfortably — $1 million, $1.5 million, $2 million. The number changes, but the message is always the same: you’re either “on track” or you’re not.
The problem? Retirement doesn’t work like that. A single national figure can’t account for the thousands of individual decisions, lifestyle choices, and personal circumstances that actually determine whether your money will last.
It’s a little like saying every car needs 15 gallons of gas to reach its destination — without mentioning whether you’re driving across town or across the country.
National averages are based on assumptions that rarely reflect real life. They don’t know:
They also assume your spending is static — as if a retiree in a smaller Midwest city spends like someone in downtown San Francisco, or as if your own expenses never change year to year.
When we run retirement projections, we don’t start with “How much should I have?” We start with “What do you want your retirement to look like?” From there, we:
It’s a dynamic plan, not a static target. For many who are already retired, these tailored projections show a healthy surplus — not because they hit someone’s magic number, but because the plan matches their reality.
Even within a specific state, retirement costs vary. Housing, property taxes, utilities, and healthcare premiums can all shift from one community to another. The same dollar buys more in some places and less in others.
That’s why chasing a national benchmark without considering location is like budgeting for a vacation without knowing whether you’re going to Florida or France.
The number that matters isn’t the one in the headline — it’s the one that fits your goals, your location, and your lifestyle.
If you’re approaching retirement, the best next step is to project your own needs using realistic assumptions about where you’ll live, how you’ll spend, and how you’ll adapt if costs rise faster than expected.
Your retirement plan should feel like a well-tailored suit — it doesn’t matter what size is hanging on the rack, only that it fits you perfectly. And just like a good tailor, a good plan can be adjusted over time to keep that fit right where it needs to be.