This is how long $1 million will last in retirement 9:11 AM ET Wed, 24 Jan 2018 | 01:20

When it comes to retirement dreams, most people envision a house by the beach or golf course, quality time with family and friends and a chance to see the world.

But all of that requires the kind of nest egg many Americans just don't have.

The majority of those polled said they would like to save $100,000 to $250,000 by the time they reach retirement, according to a new GoBankingRates report. The personal finance site surveyed more than 1,000 people in September. The survey has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

"That seems like a lot of money but if you think how long retirement is — we're talking two decades for many people — $100,000 is not going go very far," said Cameron Huddleston, a life and money columnist for GOBankingRates.

Forty-one percent of workers said they hoped their savings would afford them a vacation home, and a little more than a third said they would like to spend their time with loved ones in their golden years, followed by traveling the world.

However, in reality, more than half of Americans, or 57 percent, have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, according to a separate GOBankingRates survey.

Another report by the Stanford Center on Longevity found that nearly one-third of baby boomers had no money saved in retirement plans in 2014, when they were on average 58 years old.

Among boomers with positive balances, the median savings was around $200,000.

Experts have said people may need a nest egg of more than $1 million to carry them through a 30-year retirement.

And even that may not be enough.