The new magic number for retirement is $1.46 million. Here’s what it tells us.

livemint.com:

The stock market gave 401(k)s a 19% boost last year. Inflation cooled. Still, lots of people feel no closer to hitting their magic number for retirement.

It would take $1.46 million to retire comfortably, according to a recent survey of 4,588 adults released Tuesday by financial-services company Northwestern Mutual. That is up from $1.27 million a year ago. And over $1 million more than the average survey participant’s nest egg.

The rising magic number reveals more about retirement anxiety than retirement planning, said Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New School for Social Research in New York City. People don’t really know how much money they will need in retirement, and often overestimate it, Ghilarducci said. While $1.46 million might make sense as a savings target for some higher-income households, most families with lower incomes likely need far less, she said.

“Anxiety about retirement is sky-high," she said, noting that concerns about the costs of healthcare and long-term-care add to the worry. Some of this nest-egg disconnect stems from the shift from pensions to 401(k)-type plans, which require savers to make investment and planning decisions on their own. Retirees with little financial background have to figure out how to make their nest eggs last for as long as several decades, a task BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink called “an impossible math problem" in an annual letter to shareholders last week that raised alarms about a retirement crisis.

It is hard for workers to imagine what their 401(k) balance ultimately buys in retirement. The Wall Street Journal profiled retirees with $1 million, $2 million and $5 million to show the range of lifestyles and challenges people face. About 2% of Fidelity