Mar 7, 2025
Starting over after divorce can be really difficult — especially if your marriage ends as you near retirement.
Divorce is costly and you may have lost significant assets in the process. That means you’re not just rebuilding your life but your retirement nest egg, too.
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With a $59,000 salary, $1,900/month rent and $70,000 in savings, the truth is that you'll need to turbocharge your savings in the next 12 years to retire at 67.
You may need to adjust your current and future lifestyle as well as your retirement date.
How much you need to save each year
Investor.gov has a helpful calculator you can use to see exactly how much to invest each month to reach your $600,000 investment goal at 67.
Starting with $70,000 in savings and assuming an 8% return, you’d need to invest $22,320 a year ($1,860.70 per month) on top of the $29,000 you pay in rent. With your $59,000 salary, that leaves you just $13,880 to cover every other expense all year long.
That means realistically, it's nearly impossible for you to save $600,000 by the time you’re 67. You need to explore other ways to ensure you're ready to quit working. Here are some options.
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How to catch up on retirement investing
Reduce housing costs.
One option is to reduce your rental costs by finding a roommate or moving to a less expensive home. Ideally, you should keep your housing expenses to no more than 25% of income — in your case, $17,500 per year.
Increase your income.
You could also aim to increase your income, making it easier to afford your current rent and helping you hit your savings targets. Working overtime, developing new skills to earn a promotion, finding a side gig or seeking a higher-paying job are all options available to you.
Push back your retirement age.
If you can't cut spending or boost income, your only choice may be to push off your retirement to 70. This would allow you to save a more realistic $1,159.97 per month. You could also postpone claiming Social Security benefits and then collect higher benefits for life thanks to delayed retirement credits.
Even if you take this approach, finding a lower-priced rental could give you wiggle room in your budget — not only now but in retirement when you'll have to cover rent with your investment account withdrawals.
Cutting one fixed expense like this can be more sustainable than decades of sacrifice scrimping on everything else you buy.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
