Are you in America’s top 10%?

Happy weekend. A few of the numbers most Americans are planning around have shifted significantly in the past few years. Today’s issue is about where they actually stand and what the gap means before your next move.

On the money today:

Let's get into it.

In 2019, a household needed $1.3 million in net worth to crack the top 10% of American households. By 2024 that bar had moved significantly, and most financial plans are still calibrated to where it was five years ago. Read the full breakdown to see what it actually takes to be in the top 10% heading into 2027 and whether you’re still in the picture.

Do you feel more or less financially secure than you did five years ago? Hit reply and tell us where you stand. Your story may be featured in a future issue.

The 2027 COLA announcement is in, and most retirees are treating it like a win. The raise is real, but the same two policies pushing that number higher are still working against the money in your account. What to do about it is what most people haven't thought through yet.

Why it matters: Social Security's purchasing power has already fallen 13.7% since 2016, and a 3.5% bump won't reverse that slide. A raise driven by inflation isn't the same as money that goes further.

The retirement "magic number" keeps climbing, now at $1.46 million per Northwestern Mutual. But the median 60-something entering retirement has saved less than half that. The gap between the benchmark and what it actually takes to cover your bills is narrower than the surveys suggest.

Why it matters: Social Security's average monthly benefit just hit $2,087. For most retirees, that plus modest savings gets the job done, especially since expenses tend to drop once work stops. The number keeping people up at night may not be the one that actually matters.

The US added 440,000 new millionaires last year, roughly 1,200 a day. That pace has quietly pushed the definition of "affluent" well past the seven-figure mark. The actual threshold for the top 10% has shifted significantly in just five years, and it varies more by location than most people expect.

Why it matters: In 2019, $1.3 million got you into the top 10%. That bar has jumped significantly in just five years — and most retirement plans still haven't caught up. Where you rank also depends heavily on where you live.

The correct answer is D) Tariffs and fuel prices from the Strait of Hormuz closure. Two Trump policies are directly behind the 2027 bump: tariffs, which drove up prices across 67 categories of consumer goods, and the Iran war, which pushed diesel to a record $6 a gallon. The same forces giving retirees a bigger check are still driving the inflation that offsets it.