Oct 30, 2024
To retire early, or not to retire early? It’s a common conundrum for many Americans as they start to approach retirement age.
But before retiring, it's critical to make sure your money will last through your golden years — and you may need more than you’d originally thought.
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In fact, research from GoBanking Rates found that a nest egg of $1 million would only last roughly 15 years in some of the more expensive states, like Hawaii and New York.
According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning & Progress study, the average American needs $1.46 million to retire comfortably — a whopping 53% increase from 2020.
So, let’s say you’re 59 years old and have $700,000 shored up in savings and you’re considering an early retirement — although that’s a healthy nest egg, you'd still be well below the $1.46 million threshold.
So, before taking the leap, you’ll have to consider the pros, cons, and long-term financial implications.
What to consider before retiring early
When you're evaluating whether your money will last if you opt for an early retirement, it's important to realize there are many additional costs that need to be factored into the decision.
For starters, the earliest you can start claiming Social Security is age 62, so you'd have to live off only your savings for a few years.
However, if you do decide to start claiming Social Security at 62 — years ahead of your full retirement age of 67 (if you were born after 1959) — you can expect a reduction of 30% in your monthly benefits.
Shrinking your Social Security benefits means you'll have to rely more on savings later on.
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You'd also have medical insurance costs to think about, as you wouldn’t qualify for Medicare until age 65.
COBRA allows you to stay on your employer's insurance plan for 18 months after leaving the workforce, but once you're retired you'd get stuck with all the premiums.
When COBRA runs out, you'd have to buy individual coverage which can prove costly and not as comprehensive.
There’s also the simple issue of running out of money in general. The longer the retirement, the more you risk depleting your nest egg.
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How to make an early retirement work for you
If you're ready to retire, or health is impacting your experiences in the workforce, you may be a lot happier if you quit. However, that happiness won't last if you're broke in your 80s.
The best way to figure out if your early retirement plan is even viable is to look at how much money you'd be able to withdraw from your accounts and see if you can live on it.
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For example, if you’re mortgage-free and have no outstanding debts, you may only have minimal expenses, which will make retiring with a $700,000 nest egg more plausible.
However, if you apply the 4% rule for managing your nest egg, you may find yourself pulling roughly $28,000 annually.
Some experts suggest being even more conservative than the 4% rule, given the current state of the economy and the fact that people are living longer.
Therefore, it might be worth your while to consider working part-time to bring in some additional income. According to a report from T. Rowe Price, 20% of current retirees work in some capacity, including side hustles.
If you don’t have an emergency fund already, consider setting aside some money in your annual budget to account for an unexpected expenses, such as a medical emergency or a leaky roof. This will help you avoid having to dip into any savings or investments in your golden years.
Finally, you may want to sit down with a financial adviser to help you map out whether or not an early retirement could work for you and your lifestyle.
If you believe you can stick to a strict budget and make $28,000 a year work for the foreseeable future, then perhaps you could move forward with leaving the workforce early.
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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.
