Needing $1M has not been needed to retire comfortably for a great many people. While Canadian-focused, book The Sleep-Easy Retirement Guide has good numerical e

Needing $1M has not been needed to retire comfortably for a great many people. While Canadian-focused, book The Sleep-Easy Retirement Guide has good numerical examples: * https://findependencehub.com/qa-with-author-david-aston-about-his-new-book-the-sleepeasy-guide-to-retirement/ https://findependencehub.com/qa-with-author-david-aston-abou... In Table 5-1, he lists some real-life example of couples spending, with the average basics (shelter, groceries, vehicles, etc) totalling CA$ 42K and with average extras (entertainment, travel, etc) going to CA$ 72K. A "modest" couple spends CA$ 56K per year, and an "affluent" example couple spends $112K. In Table 5-2 he does the same thing for single retirees: the average single retiree spends $27K on basics and with extras $42K total; an "affluent" single retiree spends $90K. Then in Table 12-1 he lists what nest egg is needed for each of those: a couple with a modest income needs of $42K needs to have $420K saved to retire at age 60 and $150K to retire at age 67. A deluxe lifestyle couple ($100K) needs $2M saved to retire at 60, and $1.3M to retire at 67. For singles, an average lifestyle ($43K) needs $810K to retire at 60 and $510K to retire at 67; a deluxe single ($80K) needs $1.8M to retire at 60 and $1.4M to retire at 67. The book gives the arithmetic supporting these conclusions. But for a quick example, for the 'basic' lifestyle ($42K) couple: the author assumes each person gets $18K/year in CPP (Social Security) and OAS, which totals $36K just from government benefits. This is a pretty reasonable assumption, as the average OAS is $600/mo and the average CPP is $700/mo, for $1300/mo ($15,600/year): * https://www.qtrade.ca/en/investor/education/investing-articles/financial-literacy/how-much-will-your-oas-benefit-be.html https://www.qtrade.ca/en/investor/education/investing-articl... * https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/how-much-cpp-retirement https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/how-much-cpp-retire... Getting to $18K is not a stretch, if (a) you get a little above average, and (b) get more by delay taking the benefit to >65. For a couple, that is $36K per year, so getting to the desired $42K is "just" another $6K per year. With the common "safe withdrawal rate" of 4% we get $6K÷4% = $150K retirement nest egg. A summary by the author is in: * https://pmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/07-02-series-aritcle-1-Aston-David-What-s-Your-Magic-Number.pdf https://pmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/07-02-series-ari... * https://www.macleans.ca/economy/money-economy/heres-the-real-cost-of-retirement-happiness/ https://www.macleans.ca/economy/money-economy/heres-the-real... Fred Vettese, a now-retired actuary, also has two good books with similar conclusions: * https://lifeworks.com/en/resource/essential-retirement-guide-contrarians-perspective https://lifeworks.com/en/resource/essential-retirement-guide... * https://lifeworks.com/en/resource/retirement-income-life https://lifeworks.com/en/resource/retirement-income-life * https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/104 https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/104 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Vettese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Vettese A lot of folks also use the (supposed) rule of needing 70% of your pre-retirement income: in fact as little as 40% may be needed, per Vettesse: * https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/retire-planning/book-excerpt-retirement-income-for-life-getting-more-without-savingmore/article37971172/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/retirement/re... * https://archive.ph/tQp2L https://archive.ph/tQp2L