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These days, many Americans think they need more than a million dollars to retire comfortably.

More specifically, they expect their magic retirement number to be $1.26 million, according to a 2025 Northwestern Mutual survey (1).

However, only a small number of people will have this amount when they become unemployed. In fact, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis of 2022 Federal Reserve data, only 54.3% of American households even had retirement account assets to begin with (2). Of these, only 4.6% had more than $1 million.

Older Americans were more likely to be in the seven-figure club. According to an American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) analysis of the same data, 9.2% of people aged 55 to 64 had $1 million or more in their retirement accounts (3). Still, that’s more than 90% of Americans who are nowhere near the supposed magic number.

And average retirement balances make that clear. Data from Fidelity Investments for the fourth quarter of 2024 found that the average 401(k) balance for Baby Boomers was $249,300, while the average IRA balance was $257,002 (4).

There are ways to improve your odds of landing another million-dollar nest egg, but it takes work and some planning ahead of time. Here are three big money moves you can make to secure your spot.

As of November 2025, the average personal savings rate for Americans was just 3.5%, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (5). In other words, for every $20 of disposable income, most people saved about 70 cents.

If you can save more than that, you can put yourself ahead of your peers. Aiming for a monthly savings rate of at least 10% could improve your odds of a million dollar retirement, especially if you use that money for 30 years.

To do this, you can maximize contributions to tax-efficient savings plans like 401(k), Roth IRAs, and others, and see if your employer matches any contributions.

If not, consider changing jobs to an employer that will pay you more or match your contributions. You can also sign up for one of several online platforms that allow you to automate the storage process so you’re always on track.

Once you’ve established a consistent savings habit, the next step is to make sure the money actually works for you. You can increase your returns by simply choosing a smarter place to stash your cash.

Read more: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don’t panic, you are not alone. here they are 6 Easy (and Fast) Ways to Catch Up

Instead of keeping your loose change in traditional low-interest checking and savings accounts, consider opening a high-yield savings account to get a higher return on unused cash.

A high yielding account such as a Wealthfront Cash Accountcan be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when you need it.

A Wealthfront Cash account provides a base variable APY of 3.30%, but new customers can earn a 0.65% increase in their first three months for a total APY of 3.95% provided by program banks with your uninvested cash. That’s 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s December report.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic bank transfers, you can be sure your funds remain accessible at all times. Also, Wealthfront Cash account balances up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.

Passive investing in low-cost index funds has become the norm for many Americans. In fact, over the past decade, passive index funds have attracted more capital than active funds, according to Morningstar (6). In 2024 alone, global ETF inflows generated $2 trillion of capital flows, according to an article published for S&P Global’s Market Intelligence series (7).

That could be because passive investing in low-cost index funds has been relatively easy and lucrative in recent years. Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF has returned 14.78% annually over the past 10 years (8).

This is slightly above the historical average since 1957, which is just over 10% (9).

Although past performance is not an indicator of future returns, if you assume a 10% annual return and commit to a 10% annual savings rate on a salary of $70,000, you could reach $1 million in 29 years.

Even if you’re 35, deploying this plan today could put you in the seven-figure club when you retire. If you can start earlier, earn more than $70,000, or save a larger percentage of your monthly salary, you might even get there faster.

Do what you can to start sooner rather than later, so you benefit from the power of compounding returns.

And a good place to start is investing your spare change from your daily purchases using a micro-investing app like Now acorns.

All you have to do is link your bank account or credit card, and Acorns will round up your daily purchases to the nearest dollar, then invest the excess in a smart investment portfolio.

For example, if you make a $23.45 purchase at a restaurant, Acorns will round up the expense to $24 and automatically invest the 55-cent difference in a diversified portfolio of ETFs.

Even better, Acorns offers the ability to set up recurring monthly deposits to increase your savings. And if you sign up now with just a $5 monthly contribution, you can get a $20 bonus investment to start

There is no single path to wealth creation. Depending on your age, income, and where you are in your retirement savings journey, you may need to adjust your investment strategy to stay on track toward your goal.

This is where a financial advisor can help. According to Vanguard research, people who work with financial advisors can earn 3% higher net returns compared to those who don’t.

Advisor.com can quickly match you with up to three advisors who can guide you through your options. Platform advisors are fiduciaries, meaning they are legally bound to act in your best interest.

Just answer a few questions about your investment schedule and goals, and Advisor.com will match you an accredited financial advisor.

From here, you can book a call today for free and without obligation to see if they fit your needs.

While a simple savings and investment plan could get you into the million-dollar retirement club, it won’t guarantee peace of mind unless you can also reduce your debt load. You can’t enjoy your golden years with a hefty mortgage, expensive credit card debt, or monthly car payments to worry about.

Unfortunately, nearly half of American seniors have credit card debt, according to the AARP. It is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve a debt-free retirement (10).

High-interest credit card debt, with average rates currently above 23% according to LendingTree, can quickly spiral out of control (11).

If you’re juggling multiple balances or struggling to keep up with your payments, consolidating your debt with a personal loan could make things easier. That way, you’ll only have one monthly payment, ideally at a lower interest rate, making it easier for you to keep track and pay.

Whether you plan to retire at 55 or 65, an essential part of the process is trying to be as debt-free as possible in your golden years. If you’re having trouble paying your debts, here are the two most common methods of dealing with those payments: the avalanche and snowball techniques.

The avalanche method focuses on paying off your highest interest debts first. This can create a cascading effect where, after you pay off the big debt, you quickly eliminate the smaller ones.

Meanwhile, the snowball method starts with paying off your smaller debts one after the other to build steam. Then, once you get rid of a single debt, put all your resources into paying it off. From there, most financial experts recommend building an emergency fund and then starting investing as soon as possible. But becoming debt free is the first step, and probably the most important.

If you’re not sure where to start, it can be helpful to assess your financial situation to find out where you stand.

A quick daily check of your accounts can show you exactly where your money is going.

An app like Rocket money can easily flag recurring subscriptions, upcoming bills and unusual charges using transactions from all your linked accounts.

This can help you cut unnecessary costs, and you can then manually redirect the savings directly into your retirement fund. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no stress. Small habits like this can make a big difference over time.

Rocket Money’s intuitive app offers a variety of free and premium tools. Free features include subscription tracking, bill reminders, and budgeting basics, while premium features like automated savings, net worth tracking, customizable dashboards, and more make it easy to stay on top of retirement contributions and overall financial goals.

We only rely on verified sources and credible third-party reports. For more information, see our ethics and editorial guidelines.

Northwestern Mutual (1); Congressional Research Service (2), (3); fidelity (4); US Bureau of Economic Analysis (5); morningstar (6); S&P Global (7); cutting edge (8); Questrade (9); AARP (10); LendingTree (11); cotality (12)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without any warranty.