This Is Why Most People Don’t Retire Millionaires, According to George Kamel
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Who wants to be a millionaire when they retire? The short answer is probably everyone, yet the reality is that very few people end up having a $1 million or more to their name by the time they have retired. Perhaps the better question is: Who wouldn’t want to be a millionaire?
Financial influencer George Kamel recently released a YouTube video breaking down why so few people are millionaires when they retire.
Retirement Savings Are Low
Kamel started off by citing a 2022 Federal Reserve statistic: only 3% of adults in the United States have $1 million in retirement savings — a figure that’s relatively low. He placed that side by side with a Ramsey Solutions study from 2019 that found nearly 48% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement — this figure shockingly high.
The last percentage Kamel highlighted was again from the Federal Reserve’s data, which found that 26% of Americans have nothing saved for retirement. A 2024 GOBankingRates study found that over a third of Americans expect to have $100,000 or less in their 401(k) plans by retirement age.
While many might think that inflation and low wages are the main culprits behind these findings, Kamel said it does not take a lot of money to start and continually contribute to a 401(k), Roth IRA or other retirement savings account.
“Yes, having a large income would certainly help you save for retirement,” Kamel explained, “but we all know it’s more about what you do with the income you have versus the income itself.”
It Comes Down to Priorities and Lifestyle
For Kamel, it boils down to how you spend when it comes to your priorities and lifestyle. He said the reason most people do not have enough or any money saved for retirement is due to “lack of intentionality with money.”
He added, “If you start investing early and consistently, there’s no reason you shouldn’t retire as a millionaire.”
Of course, retirement could cost more than $1 million — or less. Kamel broke down how to calculate much you will need to live based upon what your expenses will be. On average, he said $1 million in an IRA will grow by 10% each year, resulting in $100,000 in growth each year, but that number will fluctuate through the years.
“You want a nest egg that’s large enough that you can live off the growth it creates each year without dwindling down the principle,” he said.
That means making sure your savings is fully stacked prior to retirement, so it can increase over the years.
How To Retire a Millionaire
This all begs the question: How much do you need to invest each month to retire a millionaire? According to Kamel, it depends on your age. The earlier you start, the more time you have to make contributions and benefit from the compound interest growth of your nest egg. The later you start, the more you have to add into your savings each month, but it is possible to reach a $1 million, even if you might be playing catch up.
You can use a retirement calculator to determine the savings you need.
Kamel also recommended that those who start investing late take advantage of catch-up contributions.
For 2025, the 401(k) contribution limit is $23,500, and the limit for IRA contributions is $7,000. However, those over age 50 can contribute an additional $7,500 to their employer-sponsored plans — and that increases to $11,250 for employees aged 60 to 63 — and those 50 and over can contribute an additional $1,000 to their IRAs.
Retirement and a $1 million might seem like a long way away, but starting now can get you there with extra money to spare.
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