{"id":757177,"date":"2026-07-11T18:51:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T18:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/757177\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T18:51:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T18:51:01","slug":"whats-the-magic-retirement-number-check-your-clients-zip-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/757177\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Magic Retirement Number? Check Your Clients\u2019 ZIP Code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built for investors<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It’s not just real estate that’s all about location, location, location. <\/p>\n

Many clients worry they won’t have enough money saved to retire comfortably, assuming they’ll need more than $1 million by the time they leave the workforce. But where they spend their golden years can make a huge difference. Required nest eggs vary by hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the state, according to an Investopedia<\/a> analysis of federal data. Assuming the traditional 4% withdrawal rule, the typical American couple needs about $1.16 million saved for retirement, below the $1.46 million that Northwestern Mutual<\/a> estimated earlier this year. But maybe there is no magic number. <\/p>\n

“Chasing one is how good savers end up anxious,” said Jim Crider, founder of Intentional Living FP. Having a target early on is helpful, he said, but eventually advisors should shift the conversation toward taxes, withdrawal sequencing and spending habits. “The number also becomes a treadmill. Someone hits it and immediately moves the goalposts because the number was never connected to a life they actually wanted.” <\/p>\n

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READ ALSO:\u00a0The Medicare Myths Costing Retirees Thousands<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Trump Accounts May Create Millionaire Gen-Beta Retirees<\/a> <\/p>\n

Cross-Country Tour <\/p>\n

If clients prefer big cities and beach life, the most expensive places to retire are New Jersey, Hawaii, California and Washington, D.C., each requiring couples to save more than $1.3 million. But if they’re fond of mountains and prairies, North Dakota, Arkansas and Iowa require just over $800,000. The analysis takes into account the spread between annual living expenses in each state and how much a couple gets in Social Security, which is roughly $38,000 a year right now: <\/p>\n

Housing is one of the biggest slices of annual living expenses, accounting for about 30%. <\/p>\n

The prices of goods and services don’t vary too heavily across the contiguous US, but in Alaska, where nest egg requirements surpass $1 million, food and utility costs are significantly higher. Plus, clients who need specialized medical care might have to travel out of state. <\/p>\n

Florida may be the classic retirement destination, but it’s hardly a bargain, with annual expenses topping $80,000. Some advisors say clients should consider overlooked alternatives. John Bovard, owner of Ohio-based Incline Wealth Advisors, recommends Tennessee. “There’s no income tax, and it has some great attractions like the Smoky Mountains,” he said. “It has a relatively cheap cost of living, and the winters are not as severe.” <\/p>\n

Better Safe than Sorry. Not every client earns as little as the average American, though (the US does account for nearly half the world’s millionaires<\/a>). Catherine Valega, a CFP with Green Bee Advisors, works with high-net-worth clients on the coasts and recommends they have $3 million to $4 million saved by retirement. “Gone are the days where $1 million is enough,” she told Retirement Upside. <\/p>\n

This post first appeared on Retirement Upside<\/a>. To receive actionable insights for financial advisors guiding clients through the strategies, products, and policy shifts shaping retirement outcomes, subscribe to our free Retirement Upside<\/a> newsletter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Concerned about an AI bubble? Sign up for The Daily Upside for smart and actionable market news, built…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":757178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,23693,147,530],"class_list":["post-757177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-location","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}