This common retirement mistake keeps one Citibank exec up at night — how to power up your portfolio

What keeps him up at night is whether clients are ready for a retirement that could last decades.

“We’re living longer, healthier lives, which means your retirement savings may need to support decades of living expenses, healthcare costs and the lifestyle you’ve worked hard to build,” Poole told MarketWatch.

Here’s how to avoid common retirement mistakes and follow Poole’s advice.

Most Americans aren’t saving enough

More Americans are living longer. But, with the average age of retirement around 64 years for men and 62 for women — and with some Americans retiring earlier — your retirement savings may have to last 30 years or more.

On average, Americans believe they’ll need about $1.46 million to retire comfortably, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study. That’s up more than 15% — or $200,000 — than the previous year.

But nearly half (48%) of Americans believe it’s somewhat or very likely they’ll outlive their savings, according to the study.

“The new ‘magic number’ reflects a convergence of factors — from persistent inflation and longer life expectancies to uncertainty about the future of Social Security,” John Roberts, chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual, said in a press release.

And, while the study found that 46% of Americans don’t expect to be financially prepared when it comes time to retire, 36% haven’t actually taken any steps to address this. On average, U.S. adults start saving for retirement at age 31 and aim to retire at age 65.

But the earlier you start saving, the more you’ll benefit from the power of compounding, in which your investments generate earnings from both the principal and accumulated interest. This creates a snowball effect of exponential growth.

And that could be just as valuable as the amount you save, Poole told MarketWatch. “For every 10 years you delay before starting to save for retirement, you may need to save three times as much each month to catch up because you lose years of compound growth,” he said.

That’s generally a better strategy than trying to time the market or make up for lost time later in life. But if you’re not 25 anymore, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

It’s never too late to start saving

The median savings for someone aged 55 to 64 is just $185,000, while those aged 65 to 74 have $200,000, according to the Fed’s most recent Survey of Consumer Finances.

That’s not even close to the $1.46 million most people think they’ll need. But, as Poole and other financial professionals point out, there’s no magic number for retirement that works for everyone.

“The idea that everyone should have the same percentage of income or retire at the same age is becoming less relevant,” Poole told MarketWatch. Rather, he says a better approach is to build a personalized financial plan based on your goals and timelines.

To determine how much you’ll need to save to meet your goals, there are several rules of thumb — but keep in mind these are guidelines rather than hard-and-fast rules.

The 25x rule recommends saving about 25 times your expected annual spending in retirement, while the 80% rule suggests saving so that your retirement income will be 80% of your pre-retirement income. Fidelity recommends saving three times your pre-retirement salary by age 40, six times by age 50, eight times by age 60 and 10 times by age 67.

It could be helpful to work with a financial advisor to model various scenarios and come up with a personalized strategy, based on your current savings, goals and timelines.

Powering up your portfolio

To boost your savings, consider automating contributions to retirement savings plans and increase those contributions as your income increases. Take advantage of employer matches and don’t leave money on the table by not contributing enough to receive your full match.

Once you turn 50, you can also make catch-up contributions to further boost your savings. In 2026, you can make a catch-up contribution of up to $8,000 to your 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan (or $11,250 for those ages 60-63). For individual retirement accounts (IRAs), you can top up the standard contribution limit of $7,500 with an extra $1,100.