How Many Retirees Actually Have $1 Million? Federal Reserve Data

About one in twelve households aged 65 to 74 has $1 million in retirement accounts. Count the house, and more than one in four are millionaires. Here is the whole ladder, from $0 to $2 million, counted from the Federal Reserve's own survey file, and what each rung actually pays in 2026. In my last video I said fewer than one in four retirees have $500,000. That was a ceiling, not a count. So I opened the Federal Reserve's raw Survey of Consumer Finances file and counted. The real number is 14.8%, about one in seven. In this video: • How many households aged 65 to 74 have $100K, $250K, $500K, $1M and $2M in retirement accounts • Where your balance ranks: $100K is ahead of about 2 in 3, $500K is ahead of about 85% • What each rung pays a married couple with two average Social Security checks, and the federal tax on it • Why 28.5% are "millionaires" once you count the house, and 20.4% without it • Couples vs. singles: $1M is about 1 in 7 for couples and fewer than 1 in 30 for singles • How the numbers change from 55 to 75+ CHAPTERS 0:00 How many retirees have $1 million? 1:30 The ground floor: 49% have nothing 2:28 $100,000: ahead of 2 in 3 2:43 What each rung pays (2026) 3:27 $250,000: fewer than 1 in 4 4:11 $500,000: the real number 5:12 $1 million: about 1 in 12 5:27 $2 million and the first real tax bill 5:52 What $1 million actually pays 6:36 How the ladder changes with age 7:20 Count the house: 28.5% are millionaires 9:01 Couples vs. singles 10:23 The whole ladder SOURCES Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2022 (every percentage in this video was counted from the public summary extract file): https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm Data file used: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/files/scfp2022excel.zip Federal Reserve SCF interactive charts (published medians and means, used to check the count): https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scf/dataviz/scf/chart/ Social Security Administration, 2026 COLA fact sheet ($2,071 average monthly retirement benefit): https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/cola/factsheets/2026.html IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 tax year adjustments: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf How the counts were made: households whose head is 65 to 74, weighted with the survey's own weights. "Retirement accounts" means IRAs and employer plans such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Pensions, Social Security and home equity are not included unless stated. Amounts are in 2022 dollars, from the latest published survey. "Couples" means married or living together. Every published figure I checked (51% with an account, $200,000 median, $609,200 average, $410,000 median net worth) matched the Federal Reserve's own numbers. Payout examples: a married couple, both 65 or older, withdrawing 4% a year plus two average Social Security checks, 2026 federal income tax only. Your state has its own rules. This channel is educational only and is not financial, tax or investment advice. Old Man Miller is a fictional animated narrator, not a financial advisor. Research and script by the channel's creator. Next: the house, and the ways it turns into money. #retirement #retirementsavings #socialsecurity