the million dollar lump is all that there is.

Social Security itself, if one had a good job for a long time - will fulfill a good bit of what is needed.

Lots depends on what to do....I was pushed out of my corporate job when I was 52. I am now 62. My wife and I both make dribs and drabs in different ways - the gig economy so to speak - writing, speaking, books, quilts. I plan to take SS at 66 or so. Meanwhile the nest egg grows a little, or a lot depending upon the totally unreliable market.

The main thing is we choose to live very modestly - we don't like to go out to restaurants, grow lots of what we eat (and we love to cook), love being home to travel is not a biggie - just biking, walking, kayaking, a good movie, good music - it is enough -

we are not at that magic number and I am not the least big concerned. But that is just me (and my wife) and each person will have their own unique needs and abilities and resources.

The other thing I don't like about this sort of magic number is that I just don't think very many in our country, for a variety of reasons (percent wise) are anywhere near it. So it really does kind of rub salt into wounds....

which is exactly what you and your wife are doing. Plus, you didn't start taking Social Security at the soonest possible age, which too many people do.

I do wish I had more money myself, because I love to travel, but I still manage to do some.

and never made big paychecks; but we will be fine. My wife will get a retirement check plus SS (at 66) next year. I've deferred my SS until 70 1/2 and I will teach until they carry me out. That is partly to keep the state medical insurance. We freely admit getting lots of vacation days. I have several friends still teaching in their 70s.

We also both take side jobs on occasion. We have both been covered by school district or state medical so qualifying plans replace medicare.

We don't have a million, but our 403B is still growing, and we may have that much by the time I quit in my 70s. Our mortgage is down to the last couple years, so we will have a roof (40 year old house with dated decor, but who cares). We drive old cars (currently 10 and 18 years old), but they work well. I have a 1964 boat that is great (it floats and works as well as Debos's $40,000,000 yacht for sunsets and wine).

These "rules" are difficult to apply across everyone. I would not be tempted to move to Mississippi from Florida for a savings of $10,000 a year. Florida is actually pretty convenient for seniors. I like California, but I probably could not afford $20,000 a year more to move there to retire. Life is full of choices and compromises. I suspect I could find cheaper or more expensive places in Florida, but I will NOT move to the villages no matter how much I have in the bank! I suppose if you wanted to retire cheap, you'd move out of the US.

My father died early, and my mother was a career teacher in SC. She died at 87, and she had never touched her original retirement account - just took the RMD from the IRA part. She just lived on SS and a retirement check. We were surprised that she had about a million in the bank - her original $200,000 or less as best we can figure - just sat in a typical investment fund and quadrupled over 20 years. The only hint was that if one of the kids or grandkids needed school money or had a medical issue, my mother would chip and help.

I don't think a certain dollar figure is important, but stability and the ability to get ahead each month (even a little) goes a long way.

My husband died in June. He had been ill for about a year and a half. He wanted to make sure that if anything happened that his 2 adult children(previous marriage) got $100,000 each. Three weeks before he passed he changed his beneficiary(I had no idea)on the $500,000 IRA to split it 1/2 to me and the kids split the other half. Wisconsin is a community property state and he assumed I would get the other savings and investment accounts. He was wrong. Usually the wife would get the non-beneficiary accounts, but not if there are children from another marriage. I will be splitting all of the funds with his children. I am losing half of the retirement savings. MAKE A WILL.