Nobody can hand you a number, and anyone who does without asking questions is guessing. It comes down to what your life actually costs, what income you'll have coming in regardless, and how long it needs to last. Start with the cost of your life — that's the part you can actually measure.
Start With Your Spending, Not a Target
People start with a headline number and work backwards, which gets them nowhere. Start with what your life costs now, then adjust for what changes — the house might be paid off, the kids are grown, but health costs and the things you finally have time to do go the other way.
You can't plan hay for the winter without knowing how many head you're feeding.
Then Subtract What Arrives Anyway
Some income shows up whether or not you've saved — a pension if you have one, Social Security, a lease, a piece of a business that keeps running. The gap between your costs and that income is what your savings has to cover.
That gap is the actual question. It's almost always a different shape than the number people have in their head.
Why We Will Not Print a Figure
Any multiple or target we published would be wrong for most people reading it, and wrong in a way that feels authoritative. Your answer depends on your costs, your other income, your health, your family, and what you want the back half to look like.
That's a sit-down, with your CPA involved on the tax side.
Want a Straight Answer for Your Own Situation?
Thirty minutes, no pitch, no obligation — just a plain look at where you stand.