My wife and I are nearing 60 and slashed our expenses to $2,700 a month — are we still falling short for retirement?

Emma Caplan-Fisher

Mon, May 18, 2026 at 10:55 AM EDT 6 min read

Imagine Dan and Carol, both approaching 60, who have spent the last several years methodically dismantling their cost of living. They downsized their home, paid off their mortgage, bought electric vehicles, installed rooftop solar panels and planted a backyard vegetable garden.

Their annual property taxes run about $2,000. Barring a medical emergency, they figure they can cover insurance, utilities and groceries for somewhere around $2,700 a month — possibly a little more.

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By almost any measure, that's an impressive financial feat. And yet, as retirement looms within the next five years, Dan and Carol can't shake the anxiety. Their portfolio is growing — earning roughly $100,000 a year during a bull market — and they're hoping to crack seven figures by the time Dan turns 64.

But they've watched their peers accumulate what feels like significantly more, and they keep asking themselves: Where did we go wrong?

And it's a question millions of Americans are sitting with right now.

They're not alone, but the numbers are still worrying

Median retirement savings for Americans aged 55 to 64 are just $185,000, according to Kiplinger's analysis (1) of Fed data. Yet a Northwestern Mutual study (2) found the balance Americans believe they need to retire comfortably in 2026 is $1.46 million — a target that remains out of reach for most households.

Dan and Carol's trajectory puts them closer than most. But closer isn't the same as on track.

The couple's story reflects a pattern the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (3) has documented: Roughly one in five middle-class Americans say they are very confident in their ability to fully retire comfortably, with debt repayment, emergency savings and daily living costs ranking among competing financial priorities taking away from retirement savings.

What $2,700 a month actually means for their nest egg

Here's where the math clarifies the future.

The widely used 4% withdrawal rule suggests that a retiree can withdraw 4% of their portfolio annually with a reasonable probability that the money lasts 30 years.

Working backward, a couple wanting $2,700 a month ($32,400 annually) from their portfolio alone would need roughly $810,000 saved. If they're counting on $4,000 a month in total spending, the math requires about $1.2 million — assuming no other income.