Chief Retirement Strategist
In part, that’s because without a fixed target, saving is little more than guesswork, especially when the finish line is years (or decades) away. Mike Conrath, Chief Retirement Strategist, says having checkpoints can help eliminate uncertainty.
Saving for retirement should have a clear starting point
When it comes to retirement saving, many people try to do the right things—contributing, investing, staying consistent. Yet, most people don’t know what those actions add up to.
“There’s no shame in individuals not knowing their target number,” says Conrath. In fact, 53% of workers say they don’t know how much they need to accumulate to retire securely, according to the 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Participant Survey from J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
In other words, the finish line often isn’t clearly defined—which makes it harder to know whether or not plan participants are on track and, more immediately, what they need to do today if a course correction is needed.
Indeed, 59% of workers in the J.P. Morgan survey think they should be contributing more to their retirement plan. That response rate is even higher among retirees, who have the benefit of hindsight: 63% say they wish they had contributed more while they were working. This sentiment is echoed by plan sponsors—only 25% are highly confident most of their employees are saving enough for retirement.
The challenge is retirement account balances alone can’t help individuals determine if they have saved enough.
How checkpoints work
When it comes to retirement readiness, even so-called rules of thumb require personal context. That’s because goals and needs vary dramatically among individuals. Age, income, contribution rate, investment returns, inflation, desired lifestyle in retirement and expected income sources (including Social Security) all play a role in retirement calculations.
Moreover, retirement readiness isn’t just about confidence—it’s about the math. This is where a checkpoint can help.
The simple benchmarks in the table below are designed to help individuals reality-check where they are today. While this is not a personalized financial plan, it can replace uncertainty with a starting point that can translate today’s savings into a clearer target.
The starting point is the intersection of an individual’s current age and household income. This figure serves as a checkpoint for how much they might reasonably have aimed to have saved today. For example: a 40-year-old earning $80,000 in annual household income would have a checkpoint of $190,000 today. At age 65, the checkpoint—or target accumulated personal savings—in this example is about $660,000.
These figures are based on key assumptions, including: saving 5% annually to age 65, retiring at age 65, and investing in a target date fund. The checkpoints reflect personal savings only and incorporate assumptions about Social Security.
Keep in mind—this is directional guidance—not precise requirements. However, it can help individual savers take corrective action, if needed. Or accelerate toward more ambitious goals. For example, someone who is below their checkpoint, has been able to identify potential gaps before they stop working—when small adjustments can still make a meaningful difference.
Simply put, having a checkpoint tied to one’s age and income is a practical starting point for answering, What is my number? It can also help make clear if more individualized guidance is needed—be it using planning tools and/or working with a financial professional—to reach one’s retirement goals.
The bottom line is, having a reliable checkpoint can help turn uncertainty into action.
For information, check out our Guide to Retirement.
789a5312-8663-11f1-90f2-db85e21b4ff9