Want $1 Million in Retirement? 11 Simple Index Funds to Buy and Hold for Decades.

If you're not saving and investing for retirement while following a solid retirement plan, you probably should be. Simply relying on Social Security is not likely to get you very far. After all, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was just $2,013 as of November. That's only about $24,000 for the year!

So be sure to be socking away many of your hard-earned dollars into some retirement accounts for your future. Here are some solid index funds to consider -- all of them in exchange-traded fund (ETF) form. (An ETF is a mutual-fund-like security that trades like a stock.)

Image source: Getty Images.

How your money can grow

Before we explore some good index funds, let's examine how your money can grow, as this may inform some of your investing decisions.

The table shows how money can grow over time. I used an 8% growth rate because the overall stock market has averaged annual gains of close to 10% over long periods -- and it might average less (or more!) than that over your particular investing period.

Data source: Calculations by author, via Investor.gov.

If you're aiming to amass $1 million, you can see in the table that it's very achievable, but it might take a few decades. Of course, there are ways to get there faster, such as by plowing more money into your retirement accounts and earning a higher average annual return than 8%.

Consider, too, whether a $1 million goal is the right one for you. If you're still youngish, there's a good chance that $1 million won't be enough. Per the flawed-but-still-useful 4% rule, you'd be withdrawing 4% of that $1 million in your first year of retirement, adjusting subsequent withdrawals for inflation. So that's a $40,000 withdrawal to begin with.

If your retirement is still, say, 25 years away, $40,000 won't likely go that far. It might even have the purchasing power of $20,000 or so, due to inflation.

11 index funds to consider

Of the 11 ETFs listed below, nine appear promising for holding over a period of five years or more.

Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Jan. 5, 2026.

Each of these funds tracks a different index. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, for example, tracks the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), which comprises 500 of America's biggest companies. The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index.

Here's how I organized the ETFs:

• The first three offer exposure to broad swaths of the U.S. or world stock markets.
• The next two offer fairly hefty dividend yields, but much more modest growth, as they're focused on, respectively, preferred stock and bonds.
• The two after those, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF and the Fidelity High Dividend ETF, offer significant income while also delivering on growth.
• The last four are growth-oriented, with impressive track records, but meager dividend yields.

Which ETFs are best?

So which one(s) should you consider investing in? Well, it all depends on what you're looking for and your risk tolerance. Maximum returns are what we'd all love, of course, but they're not guaranteed. Remember that when the market pulls back, as it sometimes does, growth stocks tend to fall more significantly than the overall market.

Thus, you might be best off investing in several of these funds, spreading your dollars across a few that offer what you're looking for. Before deciding, though, take a closer look at any of interest.

Selena Maranjian has positions in Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Growth ETF, and iShares Trust - iShares Semiconductor ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Growth ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, and iShares Trust - iShares Semiconductor ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.