Affluent Americans Put Retirement Goal at $2.6 Million as Savings Lag

The $2.6 million retirement target reported by affluent Americans is rising faster than their accumulated savings. HSBC research found that US respondents had saved an average of 52% of that goal, leaving a reported gap of roughly $1.25 million. The figures point to a planning challenge shaped not only by retirement costs, but also by demands on household finances before retirement begins.

That target climbed 26% from a year earlier. The research, conducted by Ipsos for HSBC, covered almost 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors across 10 markets. Across those markets, respondents put the perceived cost of retirement at $1.26 million and had accumulated 49% of their stated goal on average. The US target is therefore substantially higher than the cross-market figure, though the two measures reflect respondents’ estimates rather than a single standardized spending plan.

The savings gap varies by age

Respondents in every age group reported falling short of their goals, but the reported distance narrowed among older investors. Baby boomers said they had 74% of their goal in hand, compared with 55% for Gen X. Gen Z reported 45%, edging millennials at 42%. These figures describe progress against each group’s own target; they don’t show how much money each generation has saved in absolute terms.

Age helps explain part of the pattern: people closer to leaving work have had more time to build assets. But the reported percentages also make clear that the gap isn’t limited to people early in their careers. Even the group nearest retirement, on average, had not reached its stated target. How much any household needs will depend on its spending, income sources, health costs and plans for later life—details that a single survey average can’t resolve.

Several demands are drawing on the same finances

For many US respondents, life plans no longer fit into a clean sequence of career, family, saving and retirement. Seven in 10 said their plans don’t follow that kind of orderly progression. Retirement remained the most common priority, cited by 43%, while 39% were also paying for other life changes, including a career change, a new business, a planned break or new skills. Another 37% said they were supporting both children and aging parents.

That overlap can make a retirement target difficult to pursue consistently. Money set aside for later life competes with current costs and choices, and the timing of those demands may shift. HSBC’s US head of international wealth and premier banking, Racquel Oden, said: “A comfortable retirement is becoming more expensive, even for those with substantial wealth. As investors build careers, raise families, support aging parents and save for retirement all at once, flexible planning and expert guidance are more important than ever to help them stay on track toward their goals.”

The responses suggest demand for help managing those competing priorities: 76% of US respondents said they wanted expert guidance and specialist help, while 75% wanted wealth products flexible enough to serve multiple needs. Those preferences describe what respondents say they want; they don’t establish whether a particular service or product can close the savings gap.

Leaving work may become a gradual process

Among US respondents who had not yet retired, 64% expected to step away from work in stages. Within that group, 34% planned to reduce their hours over time, 21% expected to move into an advisory role or a passion project, and 10% planned mini-retirements. A phased exit could give some people a way to change their work and income gradually, though the research doesn’t specify how respondents expect those arrangements to affect their savings.

Mini-retirements offer a sharper example of the trade-off between time away from work and financial security. MassMutual research found that 15% of Americans had taken one, while 34% had considered one or might do so in the future. Yet 72% worried that a break would undermine retirement security. Among non-retired respondents, 34% said insufficient savings held them back from trying one, and 23% cited concern about losing steady income. Those findings underline why a temporary break can raise a different financial question from a permanent retirement: whether the household can absorb a period without regular earnings and still meet its longer-term plans.

Longer lives also affect plans for heirs

Retirement planning and legacy decisions are connected in the HSBC findings. Some 59% of Americans surveyed said living longer had already changed how they planned to pass on wealth. Meanwhile, 31% were setting aside more for possible future costs such as long-term health care, even if that meant heirs might receive less. Still, 55% expected to leave a significant legacy, with a median value of $900,000.

That combination captures a central uncertainty for families: resources reserved for later-life needs may compete with the amount ultimately passed on. A stated legacy expectation is not a guarantee, particularly when future care costs and lifespan are uncertain. The research offers a snapshot of intentions, rather than a projection of what families will actually spend or transfer.

The $2.6 million figure also sits near another estimate for wealthier households. Northwestern Mutual found that Americans with more than $1 million in investable assets put their retirement number at $2.67 million on average. In the same study, the target reported for all Americans was $1.46 million. The comparison suggests that affluent households set a higher dollar goal, but it doesn’t establish that the studies use identical methods or assumptions.

For investors, the figures are most useful as evidence of the gap between an ambitious target and reported progress. The next question is how households balance saving with caregiving, career changes, health costs and a gradual exit from work. Those choices will shape whether today’s targets remain realistic as circumstances change.

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