I asked ChatGPT how much savings you actually need to retire in the US — here’s the shocking answer

For most of us, retirement is one of those topics we keep pushing to the back of our minds. We know it’s important. We know we should probably be saving more.

But between student loans, rising rent, and the occasional splurge on a well-earned vacation, the thought of how much money we’ll actually need to stop working one day feels… impossible.

So, like any millennial drowning in uncertainty, I asked ChatGPT: “How much savings do you really need to retire in the US?”

The answer was both sobering and oddly motivating.

The number isn’t as simple as you think

Here’s the catch: there isn’t a single magic number. ChatGPT didn’t spit out a neat little answer like, “Save $1 million and you’re good.” Instead, it asked me to consider lifestyle, health care costs, inflation, and even where I plan to live.

But there was a baseline: according to Fidelity, a widely used guideline suggests saving around 10 times your annual income by age 67 to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. For example, earning $80,000 a year would imply a target of $800,000 in savings.

Sounds like a lot, right? In reality, many experts believe that truly comfortable retirement may require a nest egg closer to $1.5–2 million, depending on individual circumstances.

And here’s the sobering part—about 28% of non-retired Americans have no retirement savings at all, and only a minority feel they are on track.

Suddenly, the gap between “ideal” and “real” feels like the Grand Canyon.

Why inflation is the silent killer

When ChatGPT broke down the math, the scariest factor wasn’t daily spending—it was inflation. At 3% inflation, the cost of living doubles roughly every 24 years.

That means if you’re 35 now and you want to retire at 65, your grocery bill, your energy bill, even the cost of your favorite bottle of wine could be double or triple what it is today.

A loaf of bread that costs $3 today could easily cost $6–7 when you’re older. Doesn’t sound like much until you multiply that effect across decades of bills, meals, vacations, and healthcare.

Economist Teresa Ghilarducci puts it bluntly: “Retirement security is not about how much you make, but about how much you can replace when you stop working.” If you don’t factor inflation into your plans, your savings can get eaten alive.

Healthcare is the wildcard nobody wants to think about

I’ll be honest—before doing this deep dive, I never gave much thought to healthcare costs in retirement. I just assumed Medicare would take care of most things.

Not quite.

According to Fidelity’s 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a single 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend about $172,500 on healthcare and medical expenses over retirement.

For a couple, that total climbs even higher—Fidelity’s earlier figures suggest it could be around $330,000, not counting long-term care needs.

Think about it this way: that’s like buying a luxury car every few years, except instead of enjoying leather seats and smooth rides, you’re paying for prescriptions, check-ups, and hospital visits.

And while it’s depressing to plan for worst-case scenarios, not planning for them is worse. One health crisis can drain decades of careful saving.

Where you live changes everything

Here’s where things get interesting. ChatGPT pointed out that geography is one of the most underrated factors in retirement planning.

Want to retire in San Francisco? You’ll need millions. Median home prices alone will devour your savings. But move to somewhere like Oklahoma or parts of Florida, and your money stretches much further.

Bankrate’s 2025 “Best and Worst States to Retire” study reveals some surprising winners—and losers.

New Hampshire tops the list, scoring high across affordability, healthcare, safety, and taxes—while Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana rank among the lowest, despite their sunny weather and reputation as retiree magnets.

I couldn’t help but think about this in food terms. Imagine going out for a steak dinner. In New York, you’re dropping $75 without blinking. In Texas, you might pay $30 for the same quality cut. Retirement works the same way—location dictates how far your dollars take you.

The psychology of enough

One thing that really hit me wasn’t just the numbers—it was the psychology behind them. ChatGPT reminded me that “enough” looks different for everyone.

Some people dream of traveling the world, sipping wine in Tuscany and eating sushi in Tokyo. Others just want a modest home, a garden, and enough cash to spoil the grandkids on birthdays.

A landmark study by Princeton researchers Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that daily emotional well-being—real happiness—rises with income up to about $75,000, then levels off, though broader life evaluation continues to climb with income.

In other words, more money doesn’t automatically translate into more happiness—it buys comfort, yes, but not deeper joy.

So maybe the question isn’t “How much do I need?” but “What kind of life do I want to live when I’m older?”

I thought about my own parents. My dad’s idea of retirement bliss is a morning coffee on the porch and tinkering with the grill in the backyard. My mom dreams of long road trips and gardening. Neither of them cares about luxury cruises or high-end golf clubs. Their definition of “enough” is personal—and that’s exactly the point.

The habits that actually matter

Here’s the part that made me breathe a little easier: it’s less about hitting a giant number and more about building consistent habits now.

Things like:

• Saving 15% of your income if you can.

• Taking advantage of 401(k) matches or IRAs.

• Diversifying investments instead of letting cash sit in a savings account.

• Paying down high-interest debt as early as possible.

As financial expert Ramit Sethi often says, “You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be consistent.” That means even if you start late, it’s not game over. What matters is staying in the game.

Vanguard research backs this up: participants who benefit from automatic enrollment plus automatic annual increases save 20%–30% more over three years than those without such features.

These small, regular boosts add up—early momentum can turn into hundreds of thousands more in your nest egg over time.

Why Social Security isn’t a magic safety net

Another thing ChatGPT pointed out is that many Americans overestimate how much Social Security will cover.

The average monthly Social Security benefit in 2025 is around $1,976, which equates to about $23,700 a year—not nothing, but far from enough to cover housing, healthcare, food, and the occasional vacation.

It’s more like a safety net than a hammock. You won’t starve, but you probably won’t thrive either. Relying on it alone is like planning to live off appetizers instead of the full meal.

Retirement as a lifestyle choice

One insight that surprised me was how much retirement planning is shifting away from the old model of “work until 65, then stop.” More people are embracing semi-retirement: working part-time, freelancing, or starting a small business later in life.

The psychologist Carl Jung once said, “The afternoon of life must have a significance of its own and cannot merely be a pitiful appendage to life’s morning.” Retirement doesn’t have to mean quitting everything—it can mean designing a second chapter that feels purposeful.

I know a former chef who now teaches cooking classes from his home kitchen in his 70s. He doesn’t need the income, but it adds meaning to his days and helps keep his savings untouched longer.

In other words, the new model of retirement isn’t just about money—it’s about lifestyle design.

The answer that shocked me most

When I pressed ChatGPT for a straight answer, here’s what it said: “Most Americans will need between $1 million and $2 million to retire comfortably, but the true number depends on your lifestyle, health, and location.”

At first, that range felt terrifying. Who has an extra $2 million lying around? But then it reframed the idea for me. Retirement savings aren’t built in one giant leap—they’re built like a tasting menu, course by course, habit by habit, over decades.

And just like in fine dining, the small details compound. Skip one course and the whole experience feels incomplete. Skip years of saving, and the gap becomes much harder to close.

Final thoughts

Asking ChatGPT this question didn’t magically solve my retirement plan. But it did jolt me into realizing that “someday” planning has to start today.

The shocking part wasn’t just the $1–2 million figure—it was the realization that retirement isn’t about a single number at all. It’s about the lifestyle you want, the habits you practice now, and the choices you make about where and how you’ll live later.

The sooner you define what “enough” looks like for you, the sooner you can start working toward it.

And maybe—just maybe—that’s the real secret to retiring without regrets.