Couples Need About $1.16 Million to Retire, Varying by State Costs

Investopedia finds the typical 65+ couple needs about $1.16 million to retire comfortably, with state costs ranging from roughly $800k to about $1.33M. Housing costs drive about 27% of retirement expenses, and two Social Security checks cover roughly 45% of spending, reducing the nest egg needs for dual-earner couples to about $916k and for single-earner couples to about $1.21M. The analysis uses 2024 federal data and the 4% withdrawal rule, excluding retirement-income taxes and long-term-care costs from the model.