Ridiculous. Just because someone who is 50 now, making $400,000, does not mean they need $3.12m saved right now.
I guess the assumption is that you would continue to live the same lifestyle after retirement (and also only live the average number of years).
Now, a 40-year old making $0 per year is in great shape... no matter what the multiplier is he would still only need $0 in savings!
I retired six years ago. DW is retiring next year.
I don’t think the table takes into account pensions and SS payments. It hard to tell from just the table.
1. If you are fortunate enough to have both, you can capitalize the expected payments and substantially reduce the amount you need to personally have.
2. From the position of been there, done that, I can tell you that the more invested savings you have, the better when you retire. DW and I lived well below our means, enduring the derision of relatives, and ex-spouses. Now that we are retired, the peace of mind that we have is well worth the sacrifices we made.