Survey Reveals Huge Salary Americans Think They Need to Retire

A new surveys shows how Americans feel about their financial situation and how much money they think they need to survive.

Americans have been feeling the squeeze of inflation combined with rising costs of living for over a year now. As a result, the idea of what it means to live comfortably has taken on a new meaning—and a new dollar amount—based on the current financial environment. 

A new survey from Bankrate found that Americans feel they’d need to earn at least $233,000 a year on average to be secure or comfortable with their finances. What's more, most people believe they'd need to make more than double that—roughly $483,000 on average—to achieve wealth and financial freedom. 

When it comes to a comfortable retirement, the number is even higher. Recent research from Northwestern Mutual found that Americans feel they need, on average, $1.27 million to retire comfortably. Again, "comfortably" is the operative word, as people just want to make ends meet without breaking the bank. 

"Being capable of paying for ongoing expenses, saving for retirement and emergencies, paying down debt, and having a bit more left over for an occasional ‘splurge,' whatever it might be, is more likely to be aligned with being comfortable," said Bankrate's senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick. "Typically, people fantasize about the notion of getting ‘rich,’ but most aspire to get by or a bit better than that."

Related: 10 Best Places You Never Thought of Retiring To

Interestingly enough, while most would expect millennials and Gen Z to see their future financial outlook as bleak, it's actually Gen X and baby boomers who are the least likely to feel financially secure in the long run.

According to the findings, 30 percent of Gen X and 35 percent of baby boomers say they aren't completely secure and likely never will be. By comparison, just 19 percent of millennials and 13 percent of Gen Z feel the same way.

As costs of living and wages continue to rise at increasingly disparate rates, it's best to start saving early and often for anyone who hopes to retire one day.