You May Not Need $1 Million To Retire Comfortably

You might not need an effect quite as large as $1 million to retire comfortably if you are single, since an $800,000 nest egg is enough to cover retirement costs in 28 states once Social Security income is factored in. Where you live changes the math more than most people expect.

In Brief

• An $800,000 nest egg covers a comfortable single retirement in 28 states, according to a state by state cost analysis.
• New Jersey requires the most savings, about $1,018,000, while North Dakota requires the least, about $644,000.
• Only 9% of single headed households age 65 or older actually hold $800,000 or more in financial assets.
• Housing costs, ranging from roughly $9,100 to $18,800 a year for older households, drive most of the state to state gap.
• Saving more, delaying retirement, and cutting housing costs are the main levers single savers can pull.

Which States Let $800,000 Go Furthest

Maine sits closest to the $800,000 threshold, needing about $786,000 for a single retiree to live comfortably. Texas follows at $777,000 and Pennsylvania at $771,000. On the cheaper end, North Dakota tops the list of affordability at roughly $644,000, with Arkansas close behind at $648,000 and Mississippi at $653,000.

The gap widens considerably once you look above the $800,000 mark. New Jersey sits at the top of the cost scale, requiring an estimated $1,018,000, about 58% more than what North Dakota demands. Housing explains most of that spread. Census Bureau figures show annual housing costs for households headed by someone 65 or older ranging from about $9,100 in North Dakota to more than $18,800 in New Jersey. That single expense category, more than food, health care, or transportation, tends to decide which side of the affordability line a state falls on.

How Common Is an $800,000 Nest Egg, Really

Reaching $800,000 in savings is unusual no matter your age, and it gets rarer among the single retirees this comparison focuses on. Federal Reserve data from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, the most recent available, shows about 17% of households headed by someone 65 or older held at least that much in financial assets. Narrow that group to people who are neither married nor living with a partner, and the share drops to 9%.

The median single senior household held about $25,000 in financial assets in 2022, a fraction of the $644,000 that even North Dakota, the cheapest state in this analysis, would require. For comparison, the median across all households headed by someone 65 or older, married or not, was about $88,000.

A partner clearly helps the numbers. Roughly 25% of married or partnered households 65 and older had reached $800,000, compared with just 9% of unpartnered households. Education matters even more: 34% of households headed by a college graduate 65 or older crossed that threshold, versus 6% without a degree, a wider gap than the marital status split. Homeownership tells a similar story, with 20% of homeowning households reaching $800,000 compared with only 4% of renters. None of these figures include home equity, just financial assets.

Ways Single Savers Can Close the Gap

Retiring alone means fixed costs like housing aren't split with anyone, which makes the savings target harder to hit. Still, there are concrete moves that narrow the distance.

Start with retirement plan basics: contribute enough to capture any employer match, then raise your contribution rate whenever you get a raise or pay off debt. Workers 50 and older can make catch up contributions to many workplace plans, and those between 60 and 63 can contribute even more under provisions in legislation passed in 2022.

Working a few extra years helps from two directions at once. It gives investments more time to compound and shortens the number of years savings need to stretch. Waiting past full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, to claim Social Security also raises the monthly benefit, with delayed retirement credits accumulating until age 70. That strategy isn't realistic for everyone; health, expected longevity, and near term income needs all factor into whether delaying makes sense.

Trimming expected expenses is the third lever, and housing offers the most room to move since those costs are large and unshared for a single retiree. Paying down high interest debt, downsizing, or relocating to a lower cost state can meaningfully shrink the target. Even for savers who never reach $800,000, every dollar saved or every dollar trimmed from future housing costs buys more breathing room later, and it's the combination of these choices, not any single fix, that will determine how comfortably a solo retirement plays out.