Jan 2, 2026
Rosie has managed to save $2.5 million, an amount that many Americans would feel comfortable retiring on.
In fact, she has more: according to a 2025 study, Americans said they believe they would need $1.26 million to retire comfortably (1).
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However, there’s a catch. Rosie is only 35, and so her millions will have to last for several decades.
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When to retire is one of the most debated questions in the personal finance world. No matter what your age or level of savings, there are a number of things to consider before taking the leap into retirement.
So, should Rosie retire?
Is it a good idea to retire in your 30s?
Rosie’s situation is obviously not the norm. But, in part due to the popularity of the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early), some Americans may find themselves wondering if they can start their golden years decades earlier than most.
Rosie found early success as an entrepreneur. She started her own business in her early 20s, and also has been saving aggressively since she finished school. When an offer came along to buy her business for $3 million, she took the payout.
While she doesn’t plan to spend the rest of her days sitting on a beach somewhere, Rosie felt ready to step back from the gruelling schedule and constant stress of her business. She thinks that she would like to devote her time to volunteering and mentoring young women in business.
She has purchased a rental property that nets her about $3,000 a month after expenses and maintenance. She doesn’t plan to live lavishly, but she’s also not sure if her $2.5 million nest egg, combined with the rental income, is enough to last the rest of her life.
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Drawing down your retirement savings
One method of drawing down your retirement savings is the “4% rule.” This involves withdrawing 4% of your savings per year of retirement, adjusting for inflation. The rule is based on sustaining retirees for a 30-year retirement.
For Rosie, a 30-year time frame will of course not be sufficient. Rosie needs to plan for savings that will last 50 years or more (the lifespan of a woman who is 65 today is, on average, about 87, and this could increase in the future). If she draws down her savings at 4% starting now, she will likely run out of money around age 70 — just when her golden years will be in full swing.
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Rosie also needs to consider that her Social Security benefits will be seriously impacted by such an early retirement. Benefits are calculated on the 35 highest-earning years, and Rosie will only have about 15 working years if she retires now.
An approach to drawing down her savings that might work better for Rosie is the “multiply by” rule. By deciding the yearly income that will work for you, then multiplying by the number of years you expect your retirement to be, you can arrive at how much you need saved.
If Rosie assumes a 50-year retirement, she could make annual withdrawals of $50,000. Adding her rental income would mean $86,000 per year.
For a retirement with such a long time frame, Rosie should consider consulting a financial planner to ensure that different scenarios are covered by her retirement savings plan. She also needs to consider the tax implications of drawing down her savings and/or selling her investments.
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A financial planner can help Rosie develop an investment plan with a portfolio balance that makes sense for her long-term plans. For those around Rosie’s age, you can typically afford to have a higher ratio of stocks versus bonds in your portfolio, because the investments have time to weather market ups and downs.
However, Rosie may decide on a more conservative approach if she is drawing down her savings. She will have to decide what her risk tolerance is, and what mix of assets is right for her.
She also needs to plan for unexpected expenses, such as the possibility of her rental property needing a major repair, a period of time where she does not have tenants, or health care costs in the future.
If Rosie feels certain that her working days are definitely behind her, she needs to have a well-balanced plan to make sure her savings last.
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Northwestern Mutual (1).
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
