Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure . Do you need to be a millionaire to retire? Experts weigh in on the 15% rule. Ivana Pino Senior Writer Wed, September 9, 2026 at 8:03 AM PDT 6 min read With so many guidelines around saving for retirement best practices, where to put your savings, and how much to save it can be difficult to know which path to take. The advice usually goes something like this: Save a certain percentage of your income throughout your career, and your retirement fund could be somewhere in the millions. T. Rowe Price and Fidelity both recommend that retirement savers put away at least 15% of their income, while Vanguard recommends 12% to 15%. This all sounds great in theory, but if you're earning an average salary, it could feel like a reach. However, experts say it may not be. How much do you need to earn to retire as a millionaire? Last year on Instagram, multimillionaire investor and entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary shared the advice he gives his children to keep them on track toward a healthy nest egg. The rule: Take 15% of every dollar you receive, whether it's from your paychecks, side hustles, or birthday money from grandma, and put it directly into the market. "If you make $68,000 a year, the average salary, and you do this your entire life, just 15% of your paycheck, you'll end up a millionaire in retirement at 65," O'Leary said in his Instagram reel . The 15% rule can be a useful starting point, but it may not work for everyone. "The 15% rule is a good benchmark, but you should also consider factors like how long until you plan to retire," said Jeffrey Goodrich, a wealth advisor and professor at UCLA. "The timing of funds in the retirement account matters, as the longer the time, the greater the potential for compounding returns." Using O'Leary's example, a worker making $68,000 per year would save about $10,200 per year. If that money is invested and generates an average return of 7%, you could be looking at about $2.2 million in your portfolio by the time you retire. However, when setting a retirement savings goal, there are several other factors to consider besides how much you're earning with each paycheck. Is a million-dollar goal realistic for the average American? There is no one-size-fits-all number for retirement. Instead, Goodrich recommends calculating the income you'll need to maintain the lifestyle you want. "For many, retirement is the long-awaited culmination of a successful career and diligent saving," Goodrich said. "Many people mistakenly believe they need to accumulate a small fortune to retire. "To plan for retirement, first determine what a retiree's actual standard of living may be. Start with the amount the retiree currently brings home." Say you earn the average salary of $68,000 per year: That boils down to...
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