Financial Experts: Make These 4 Moves If You Can't Save $1M To Comfortably Retire

As costs of living climb, $1 million has become a recommended baseline retirement number. But that milestone can feel discouraging — or simply unrealistic — for many Americans.

Instead of chasing an arbitrary number, financial experts suggested five strategic moves to find your real retirement target.

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Why $1 Million Isn't the Right Retirement Goal for Everyone

Rather than treating $1 million as a universal benchmark, retirement success depends on whether your income can support your lifestyle. Stoy Hall, a certified financial planner (CFP) and CEO and founder at Black Mammoth, called $1 million, “mostly a scare tactic.”

The number that matters most is “whether your reliable income covers your monthly life,” he said. To clarify, he said that someone with $400,000, a paid-off house and Social Security can be more secure than someone with $1 million, a mortgage and expensive taste. “Net worth doesn't pay the light bill. Income does."

On the other hand, KJ Dykema, master registered financial consultant (MRFC) at FamilyRetire.com, does feel that retirees need at least $1 million in net worth, but “this doesn't have to come in the form of liquid assets,” she said.

Anyone who doesn’t believe they can hit such a high target, shouldn’t give up, however, according to Robert R. Johnson, a certified financial analyst (CFA) and professor of finance at Creighton University.

“Having $900,00 is better than $800,000, etc.,” he said.

1. Lower the Amount Your Retirement Needs

One of the fastest ways to improve retirement security is cutting fixed expenses. Hall recommended paying off a mortgage because it is “the closest thing to a guaranteed return there is.” Those are dollars your portfolio no longer has to cover.

"Cut fixed costs to the bone” after that, he said, wherever possible.

People with high-interest debt should prioritize paying that down first, according to Dykema.

“For liabilities with low-interest debt, it's better to maintain them rather than pay them off," she said.

2. Keep Investing for Growth

Experts largely agree that retiring with less than $1 million doesn't mean abandoning growth investments, it means getting strategic about them. If anything, Johnson said, “the biggest financial mistake people make is taking too little risk, not too much risk.”

Hall also cautioned against being too conservative too early “or swinging for the fences to catch up.” He suggested pairing cash with a “bond cushion” so you’re never forced to sell low.

Whatever investing strategy people adopt, the surest way to build wealth over long time horizons is to regularly and consistently invest in a diversified portfolio of common stocks, Johnson said.

3. Build Reliable Retirement Income

A retirement account is only part of the equation. Reliable income can make a modest portfolio stretch much further.

Sometimes the simplest way to add income at this stage of life, Dykema said, is to delay taking Social Security until full retirement age — that adds 8% each year to the total benefit. The catch is paying for the extra years without those funds to rely on.

Other options include holding onto a few years of part-time work while money stays invested, and annuities that pay monthly if one can afford them in their younger years.

4. Focus on the Financial Moves You Can Still Control

For readers in their 40s and 50s, feeling behind isn't the same as being out of options.

"Stop staring at the million-dollar finish line and pull the two levers you control," Hall said. "Your debt, and jack up your savings rate now, because these are your peak earning years."

Also, Johnson said, make sure to maximize retirement plan contributions and automate the process to make it second nature.

Though everyone may be on different tracks to retirement, focus on your own journey, not others'. It's not what you're doing, it's what you're doing better than yesterday.

"Amplify what you do well," Dykema said, "and just because you are not doing things perfectly doesn't mean that you have to stop."

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.

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