Can you retire at age 55? Sure, if you’re 25 years old and contemplating retirement 30 years away, an age 55 retirement is possible – if you start planning now. Put away at least $350 per month and plan on increasing that amount of savings each year.
However, if you’re approaching age 40 (or older) and you’d like to retire by 55, it may be a bit more challenging. It may still be possible – if you’re willing to commit to the changes needed to make it happen.
Of course, there is a third option that doesn’t get considered as often as it should. Find work you love, so work doesn’t feel like work. Granted, that is not really “retirement,” but who cares, if you’re happy?
Let’s explore these options; both the financial part (how much does it take) and the soul-searching part (what will make you happy).
much does it take) and the soul-searching part (what will make you happy).
The Financial Side
First, I want to cover three financial considerations that you must plan for if you want to retire at 55.
1. We’re living longer than our grandparents and parents
If you retire at 55, assuming you have an average life expectancy, your assets must produce income for a longer period than someone who retires later.
The Social Security Administration provides a handy tool to guesstimate your life expectancy. But that is just a starting place of statistics that include the entire population. White-collar, college-educated folks have longer life expectancies than average. Depending on your demographics, you may need to add four or five years to your life-expectancy estimate.
Knowing your statistical life expectancy, based on your gender and birth date, can help you estimate how much you will need in retirement. Start by making a projection of what you think you will spend each year (remember
to account for inflation). Then, compare that to the sources of retirement income you’ll have available to you (such as Social Security, rental income or pensions).
Calculate the difference between what’s going out and what’s coming in from non-financial sources to see how much you’ll have to withdraw from savings each year. Total up all withdrawals over your expected life-time and see how that compares to your current assets. If you have more assets than future withdrawals, you’re in good shape. If you don’t, you’ll have to calculate the rate of return your assets would have to earn in order to sustain your withdrawals. If your required rate of return ends up being north of 5%, you may want to re-evaluate your spending and find a lower-cost retirement lifestyle or work longer.
If you’re willing to develop a low-cost lifestyle, such as the RV lifestyle, or living overseas, you can make your money stretch. This lower-cost lifestyle may not have to be permanent. Meaning you could have a less expensive lifestyle from age 55 to 65, then at age 66 settle down in a house with a more traditional lifestyle again. These varying expenses can be projected in a retirement income plan so you can see how you would pay for things in which phases of retirement.
2. Access to Retirement Money
It is difficult to access retirement account money before age 59½ without paying penalties. In general, if you retire at fifty-five, you will probably need other sources of money you can tap into, at least for a few years.
If you do the planning, there are some options to tap retirement accounts early. One option: you might be able to use 72(t) payments to withdraw from an IRA at an early age. A 72(t) payment allows you to take money out of an IRA before age 59 ½ and avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax. However, there are strict rules you must follow.
Another option may be available if you have a 401k plan and left your employer no earlier than the year you reach age 55. I spell out these rules in another article on 401k withdrawals and age-related rules.
And what about Social Security? It doesn’t start until age sixty-two, at the earliest. And even though you can start Social Security at 62, there are many reasons to wait and take benefits at a later age. The longer you wait (the maximum is age 70), the higher your monthly benefit will be.
Overall, to retire early, you’ll need to have plenty of savings that are not inside of retirement accounts to tide you over until you are old enough to access your retirement money.
3. Healthcare insurance costs
Medicare coverage doesn’t begin until age 65. If you have to pay for your own health insurance from age 55 to 65, it can be expensive.
If you currently have insurance through your employer, keep in mind, your employer may be subsidizing 75% or more of the cost of health insurance. That entire cost will shift to you when you retire.
Many early-retiree-hopefuls are shocked at the cost of purchasing their coverage, which can be in the approximate range of $400 to $1,500 a month depending on the type of plan you choose. If you can qualify for a health care tax credit by keeping your Adjusted Gross Income low, that can help reduce your premiums until you reach Medicare coverage.
How do you qualify for a health care tax credit? Your income has to be low enough. In many cases qualifying for a tax credit is about planning. We’ve had many households with financial assets north of a million who qualified for the health care tax credit because we were able to specify which accounts they draw from in order to keep their income at the required qualifying-levels. In one case this reduced a couple’s premiums by over $20,000 in a single tax year.
Again, as with your retirement income projections, plan ahead and estimate how much purchasing your healthcare insurance will cost so you can objectively weigh the pros and cons of retiring early.
The Soul-Searching Side
Fifty percent of U.S. workers are dissatisfied with their current job. If you don’t like your job, you probably picture retirement as an escape hatch from the drudgery of a situation you feel trapped in.
I’m a firm believer that what we pay attention to grows and magnifies in our life. If you focus on all the things you don’t like, then those undesirable characteristics begin to loom larger than life. Now, I’m not saying the right thing to do is spend 40 hours a week in an unhealthy job situation or in a place that doesn’t suit your talents. What I am saying is, if you’re miserable, explore other options. Retirement isn’t the only solution to work you don’t enjoy.
Moreover, while sleeping in every day sounds nice, many find the post-work experience not as fulfilling as they thought it would be. In reality, retirement is not an extended vacation, especially if financial circumstances require you to curb your lifestyle. If you are hell-bent on retiring early but don’t have the resources to travel, golf, take classes, etc., you may soon regret your decision.
When thinking about early retirement, give careful thought as to what…