The Cost of Waiting to Save for Retirement

Want to save $1 million by age 67? You'd better get started soon.

The longer you wait, the more you'll have to put away each month to reach your retirement goals.

  • 27 years old? You have to put away $214 a month to reach $1 million.
  • Start at age 37, and you're putting away $541 a month to reach your goal.
  • Begin at age 47, and you'd have to put away $1,491 a month.
  • Wait until age 57, and you're putting away a hefty $5,168 a month.
  • Wait until the last minute (age 62) and you'd have to stash $13,258 a month to reach $1 million by age 67.

So, the sooner you start saving, the fewer dollars you'll have to put away each month to reach your retirement goals. Don't pay the high cost of waiting!

This example is hypothetical and does not represent an actual investment. This uses a nominal 9% rate of return, compounded monthly. It uses a constant rate of return, unlike actual investments, which will fluctuate in value. It does not include fees and taxes, which will lower results.