A professional advisor, after listening to your goals and dreams, can build a plan and use a retirement income calculator to come up with “your number”. “Your number” is that amount of financial assets needed to fund the retirement that you want.
Most experts say you should plan on funding 70%-80% of your pre-retirement income while in retirement. That’s very subjective and depends on your particular circumstances and goals. For retirees who plan to travel extensively in the early years of retirement, that percentage may be insufficient.
The same holds true if your goal is to build your dream house on a lake or buy a second home. Spending on travel, eating out and “stuff” may decline in later retirement, but medical expenses are usually higher. All that needs to be taken into account. Make sure your advisor “back-tests” your financial plan against the possibility of declining markets.