According to previous conventional wisdom, saving a million dollars was the benchmark for a safe retirement. Except for the most fortunate, this seemed like an impossible task. Now, Helaine Olen in the Guardian writes that perhaps the goalpost for a comfortable retirement is now even further away–and a million dollars might not be enough:
Today, $1m is not enough. And that’s the subject of the somewhat problematic article “For Retirees, a Million Dollar Illusion” published by The New York Times this past weekend.
That’s right. Even if you have $1m on hand, you can still die broke.
The issue is one of interest rates, withdrawal rates, and investing to preserve principle.