Dallas residents have a “magic number” in mind for their retirement, but many are a long way from reaching that important goal. That said, Dallas residents actually improved their situation year over year. These are the latest top-level findings from Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning & Progress Study, the company’s proprietary research series that explores Americans’ attitudes, behaviors and perspectives across a broad set of issues impacting their long-term financial security.
Dallas adults believe they will need $1.4 million to retire comfortably, which is significantly more than last year’s total of $900,000. Meanwhile, Americans generally say $1.46 million is necessary to retire, an all-time high for the study and a figure that is greatly outpacing inflation.
Amount expected to need for retirement
In the U.S. the amount needed for retirement increased from $1.27M in 2023 to $1.46M in 2024. For the Dallas area, it went up from $900k in 2023 to $1.4M in 2024.
The average amount that Dallas adults have saved for retirement increased modestly from $65,300 in 2023 to $74,300 today. Dallas is bucking the national trend, as the average amount saved nationally decreased year over year.
| U.S. | Dallas | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount saved for retirement currently | $88,400 – 2024 $89,300 – 2023 |
$74,300 – 2024 $65,300 – 2023 |
| Gap between retirement goal and current progress | $1.37M – 2024 $1.18M - 2023 |
$1.4M – 2024 $65,300 – 2023 |
“The people of Dallas are realists – they know they need to have more money saved up for retirement than they do right now,” said Loren Hsiao, co-founder and wealth management advisor for 22 One Advisors, a Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group. “Meanwhile, Inflation is putting the pressure on to have a plan and stay disciplined. Making a ‘magic number’ appear isn’t about waving a wand; it’s about using time-tested techniques and building a sound financial plan with a skilled advisor.”
The ‘Silver Tsunami’ is here
For many, retirement time has arrived. In 2024, more than four million Americans will turn 65. That’s an average of 11,000 Americans per day, and it will continue through 2027. It’s the largest surge of Americans hitting the traditional retirement age in history, known as the “Silver Tsunami.”
When digging into some of the most pressing challenges associated with retirement planning, the research shows that 31% of Dallas residents surveyed believe they could live to be 100 – almost 5% more than the national average, and 41% think they could outlive their savings.
Taxes are an afterthought
30% of Dallas residents have a plan to minimize the taxes they pay on their retirement savings, which aligns with the national average. Among them, the top 10 strategies employed by local residents include:
- Making withdrawals strategically from traditional and Roth accounts to remain in a lower tax bracket (31%)
- Using a Health Savings Account (HSA) or other tax-advantaged healthcare account (17%)
- Using a mix of traditional and Roth retirement accounts (37%)
- Making strategic charitable donations (20%)
- Making Roth conversions prior to taking RMDs or Social Security (17%)
- Using products like permanent life insurance or annuities for the tax benefits (17%)
- Using qualified charitable distributions from an IRA (15%)
- Using the basis paid into the cash value of permanent life insurance to remain in a lower tax bracket (18%)
- Taking advantage of a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) to set aside funds for later in retirement (12%)
- Making contributions to other tax-advantaged accounts like a 529 (18%)
In forthcoming data sets, the 2024 Planning & Progress Study will explore wide-ranging issues facing Americans spanning savings and debt, retirement income, emerging technology, professional help and more.
About The 2024 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study
The 2024 Planning & Progress Study was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual among 4,588 U.S. adults aged 18 or older. The survey was conducted online between January 3 and January 17, 2024. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and propensity to be online to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. A complete survey methodology is available.