It sounds like a lot, but a million bucks is not what it used to be.
"With people living longer and the continuing rise in the cost of living, a million dollars no longer guarantees a five-star retirement," says ReKeithen D. Miller, a CFP with Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Atlanta. "Most people will need to have enough money to support them for 25 to 30 years in retirement. Depending on the lifestyle you want to maintain and where you live, $1 million may not go that far."
Of course, for many people, a $1 million retirement nest egg may be well out of reach.
"First of all, you have to start with the realization that all you have is all you have," says Mickey Cargile, CFP with Cargile Investments in Midland, Texas. "Less than 5 percent of our population has $1 million. One has to work with what they have."