Affluent US investors put retirement cost at $2.6M and hold 52% of it

Affluent US investors put the cost of a comfortable retirement at $2.6 million, 26% more than a year earlier, according to an HSBC survey of almost 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors across 10 markets. Ipsos conducted the fieldwork for the bank.

US respondents held 52% of that goal, leaving a gap of about $1.25 million.

For advisors, a client with the survey's $2.6 million target is about $1.25 million short, and the 26% rise means last year's projection already understates current need. The 37% supporting children and aging parents and the 39% funding a career change, a new business, a planned break or new skills have current spending competing with retirement contributions.

Baby boomers, the closest to leaving work, reported holding 74% of their goal, Gen X 55%, Gen Z 45% and millennials 42%, so HSBC found a gap in every age group.

Across all 10 markets, HSBC put the perceived cost of retirement at $1.26 million, with investors holding 49% of their target on average. Seven in 10 US respondents said their plans no longer follow a neat sequence. Retirement was the most common priority, cited by 43%, while 39% were also funding another life reset and 37% were caught between children and aging parents.

“A comfortable retirement is becoming more expensive, even for those with substantial wealth,” said Racquel Oden, US head of international wealth and premier banking at HSBC. In the same release, Oden said flexible planning and expert guidance matter as investors build careers, raise families, support aging parents and save for retirement at once. Some 76% of US respondents said they want expert guidance on competing priorities, and 75% want products flexible enough to serve several needs.

Among US respondents not yet retired, 64% expect to leave work gradually: 34% plan to reduce their hours over time, 21% to move into an advisory role or passion project and 10% to take mini-retirements. HSBC also cited MassMutual research finding 15% of Americans have taken a mini-retirement and 34% have considered one or might in future, with 72% worried it would take away from their retirement security. HSBC found non-retired respondents named insufficient savings as the main barrier to test-driving retirement.