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vs1023@reddit

With investments/ 401k more than that, but we're on track to retire hopefully by 62. We're early 50s.

I likely will still work Part time and maybe actually do things I enjoy instead of working behind a desk

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Reno-Raines@reddit

I will retire at 55 when my pension kicks in. 5 more years.

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ARealRain@reddit

DryFoundation2323@reddit

health insurance will be your downfall. waiting til 65 when Medicare kicks in will go along way. I retired at age 54 with around 350k, but I have a traditional pension that provides the same health insurance as I had while working. most don't have this luxury.

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MiddleRecognition969@reddit

What employer provided that? Wow

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DryFoundation2323@reddit

I worked straight out of college for my state. we didn't get paid as much as I would have gotten paid in the private sector but the benefits were great.

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rumblepony247@reddit

58male, single, retired just shy of a year ago with about $1.1M. Most of it is now in stuff with good yields, between blue chip dividend king stocks, dividend-focused ETFs, corporate bonds, HYSA/MMs- my portfolio yield is around 5.5%, so it pays me around $65k/yr

House/car are paid for, zero debt, so I have very low expenses (less than $30k/yr). I live a very simple, frugal life, so the numbers work for me.

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honeybadgerdad@reddit

Not going to travel or anything? Kids? Family?

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IDunnoReallyIDont@reddit

Or emergencies like medical or car breaking down, etc…

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North_Buy2192@reddit

Congrats to you. If you keep your expenses low, that should work.

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c_r_a_s_i_a_n@reddit

gif

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1quirky1@reddit

Awesome! I'm nearing the day when I will do the same.

I know, right?

gif

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IDunnoReallyIDont@reddit

I don’t see how one could reasonably feel even remotely comfortable on that at 55 years old. That’s almost a decade away from being able to have Medicare and just one accident or health issue would zap that 500k in no time.

A lot of folks don’t consider the cost of healthcare when thinking through retirement options. Age makes a huge difference.

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sugarbeet13@reddit

I had to scroll way to far for someone to mention Health Insurance. It's going to be a major cost for at least 7 years. Unless he's ex-military and gets VA.

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Embarrassed-Region29@reddit

Get him not to.

If he's reasonably healthy he's gonna hit 85 or 90 with no luck at all.

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WildUnderstanding919@reddit

That’s a silly statement. Your health has no guarantee tomorrow

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Embarrassed-Region29@reddit

Your health wasn't guaranteed any of the other days of your life and you're still here.

Medicine is so much better now than 40 years it's barely the same science. There are Silent Gen folks pushing 90 trotting around who smoked for decades. It's flat out irresponsible to assume you won't live to be 80+ at this point.

Good for you. Live while you still have life.

My parents retired in their early 50s. Had the bare minimum saved but also had a pension. Spent 20 more years together enjoying life. Dad got sick and was dead in 18 months at age 71. They didn't live rich. They just lived.

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InternationalRule138@reddit

$500k is NOT enough to retire on.

The old adage was $1M and with current healthcare costs even that is not enough.

Sorry to say.

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Eljay60@reddit

Depends on where you live and what you include in that $500k, and your expectations for retirement. $500k in savings with a paid for house in a LCOL area, no plans for extensive or expensive travel or hobbies, working part time - sure. Plans to travel and play 18 holes of golf in every country with a base in NYC - not even close.

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InternationalRule138@reddit

Maybe. In the US, healthcare premiums are astronomical. Unless the OP is planning on having healthcare through a spouses employment (or rolling the dice and not have health insurance) the $500k isn’t going to last long anywhere in the US…

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Eljay60@reddit

Again, it depends. My spouse is a combat vet with a service related disability. Fortunately, the disability is mild but it does qualify him for full VA health benefits. When I retired at 62 3 years ago, the GOP hadn’t gutted the subsidies of the ACA so my cost was less than what I was paying as ‘my part’ of the employer offered insurance. While the subsidies are reduced they are still income based, and with no dependents, OP’s cousin may pick a bronze plan and roll the dice as to whether he will need it. And there are a fair number of people who work part time to qualify to buy employer provided health coverage. Again, my spouse is a school bus driver, with no weekends, evenings or summer work, two weeks off during the holidays; and several of his co-workers use half their paycheck to buy the insurance.

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SnooEpiphanies8097@reddit

Nice. So if I just eat like crap and stop exercising, I can make it work? Sign me up! I could even start smoking again.

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watch-nerd@reddit

Not at 500k, no.

I think the first 18 months living in Spain is probably the hardest, especially since when you first move here it's pretty much career suicide and you have to start all over again. UK and Spain are pretty much opposite of each other and really depends what you want out of life. Good luck with your future.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

Fair. I moved there for a job that already existed and was part of my career plan so my transition was fully funded (house, concierge etc) and even then - as you say - it was really tough. Beautiful place and fantastic, mercurial, passionate people. I also still eldest this cologne even after 10 years back in the Uk!

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Puzzled_Living7919@reddit

This isn’t just as “doable” as you may think or everyone would be “doing” it. Especially these days

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Mysterious_Elk_8972@reddit

Some people are doing it (OP's cousin) and it has been done, therefore, it's doable. It's a fact, not an opinion of what I "may think." Everyone's circumstances are different and it's certainly not doable for everyone. It wouldn't come remotely close to doable for anyone who has kids or parents that they are taking care of.

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Mindless-Ad7209@reddit

My 401k just dropped approx 2000 last week, very time I think "oh maybe I'll retire someday" I'm reminded that none of that is real, and will more likely be gobble snacks for some war long before I can cash out and relax

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elpollodiablox@reddit

You'll make it up and then some if whoever is managing it is moderately competent.

I was flipping out in 2020 when my 401k initially lost about 30%. By the end of the year it had made that up plus about 20%. That was in the final 4-5 months of the year, too.

If you keep contributing you will win in the long term. Don't watch it day to day because it will drive you crazy.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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GenX-ModTeam@reddit

{community rule 7}

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boners_in_space@reddit

Honest question, what is long term? 10 years? 20? If the bottom fell out tomorrow, how long am I working to rebuild?

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EnormousHog69@reddit

Not in the USA. Consider a low cost of living country.

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cocoagiant@reddit

Consider a low cost of living country.

Which can also change immigration rules at any time.

Hablo Espanol?

My brother in law is doing this.

CrankyDoo@reddit

Based on your professional life description, I’m guessing you are about 40? If that is the case, the only (unsolicited) advice I can give is to hold the line and keep doing what you are doing. The difference between my net worth at 40 and my net worth at 56 is enormous. At 40 I did not yet have my mortgage paid off. And my 401k and IRA’s had not yet had an extra 16 years to compound. Sounds to me like you’re doing great.

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MundaneHuckleberry58@reddit

Agree. “Just buy your house early in life” so it’s paid off early. Oh, sure Jan, I’ll just have met my higher-earning spouse 6-8 years before I did.

And thanks to time travel, both of us will also un-get the graduate degrees we earned, seeing as those years were wasted not getting any retirement benefits.

And most importantly I’ll avoid the catastrophic accident that disabled me & permanently derailed my finances.

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Mysterious_Winter164@reddit

Don't forget to make better past food decisions and buy less avocado toast!

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suzygberg79@reddit

No one is mocking people who don't have much money saved.

Most of the comments are just saying - 500k isn't enough to stop working and live on.

The sad reality is many of us didn't have parents who taught us about saving and investing, because that generation mostly could rely on pensions.

Compound that with the astroninal cost of living and we all feel screwed out of ever being able to comfortably retire.

I am in the youngest group of gen-x.. .born in '79. I have worked since I was 14, but didn't have a "real job" that offered 401k until I was 27. I have contributed to an employer matched 401 since then and have about $300k in retirement, along with a little more in other types of investments. It really isn't much money.

I feel like I'm not going to be able to comfortably retire until well into my 60s. If ever.

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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

Many of those folks have pensions or other defined benefits. A smaller percentage have brokerage (post tax accounts) with large balances because they did not have good access to good 401. Another small cohort are folks that will inherit significant ($250-500k wealth).

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"not enough" is the western curse. No one knows when to stop accumulating.

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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

Don't venture into r/financialindependence

The view there is anything under $2m is high risk.

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PsychologicalRip6998@reddit

Sigh.

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Available_Leather_10@reddit

But you can’t extrapolate from the median like that.

The mean retirement savings is over $500k. That of course includes Thiel’s reported $5 billion, but you can’t extrapolate assume a normal curve.

He pays $75 a pay period for his contribution to his employer plan.

That's because his employer is paying for most of it, not because that's what it actually costs. The actual cost is a whole lot more. His employer also has lower premiums because they sort of get a "bulk" rate for insuring a large number of people. That has nothing to do with your state, by the way. So many people think, "Oh, my insurance only costs $300 a month." No, it doesn't. Your insurance probably costs closer to $900 a month - your employer is just covering the rest of the cost. I work in HR and administer these insurance programs, and I think people would be shocked to know how much money employers spend on them. The cost has also gone up substantially in the last 1-2 years. We're evaluating plans right now, and many have gone up 50%-60%.

What state sponsored plans are available do vary by state. However, thanks to the current administration and cuts, plans through the marketplace have also gone up as much as 40% - and that's for shitty coverage, so you'll still be spending a bunch of money out of pocket.

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SparksWood71@reddit

I think we all understand how health insurance works in this country today.

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Solid-Wish-1724@reddit

Yeah and pray you don't get a life threatening illness. My cancer hormone treatment was $4k a shot every month alone, not to mention three surgeries and endless tests, thank the lord our insurance is v good.

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notevenapro@reddit

On top of the 10k a month you have to figure in at least a 4k per year, per person deductible cost just in case. I have hit my deductible every year for the last ten years. And in 10 years my additional costs were about 55K

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202reno@reddit

I pay $11k a year and rage. Then I hear people who pay twice, 3x that and feel even more rage for them. And then any out of normal visit is going to cost you some absurd amount.

dalisair@reddit

2 years ago is the key there.

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Roboticus_Aquarius@reddit

Likewise. I have retired because I hit my limit, but my wife still works and we are well funded.

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Wanderingirl17@reddit

I recently read the average retiree spends $170,000 on healthcare during retirement.

It is entirely based on your spending. Includes health insurance, debt payments, property tax, etc in your expenses.

For some 500k will be enough and others (inconceivably) 7M will be too little.

I am holding out to 60 to ensure my youngest gets health care and provide a bit more spending in retirement, but I am so ready to retire.

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FallAspenLeaves@reddit

I think they say this so the older folks will just work till they die. These numbers being thrown around are ridiculous, IMO.

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Anxious-Bicycle-5707@reddit

Retired at 55. Two govt pensions worth abt $10k a month. $450k in IRA and $59k in checking. Subsidized health care then tricare at 60.
Will claim SSec at 62 at about $2.5k

It could be pretty easy. I have no idea why people think they need millions. At $500k you could invest and get 5% return and that is way low. That would be about $2k a month.

If you get social security if even half the high that’s about another $2k a month

This gives you $4k a month and here is the kicker

No fed tax
No state tax
No Medicare
No social security
If done correctly all this goes away.

Now, imagine you do not have any payments like car or house

Now you have $4k a month without any high bills.

Medical is normally the killer. But if you want to bet on nothing happening major you don’t really need it. He’ll even if something does like you get cancer you file for bankruptcy and get on with it.

I know there will be some comments arguing this but I can back all this up with facts as my sister has done just this.

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xangkory@reddit

5% will barely cover cover inflation and 5% isn’t really low when you need to maintain your principal balance through recessions.

That strategy might work if you retire in your 70’s but it won’t work if you want to retire when you are younger than that. If you did retire with that amount when you were 60 by the time you are in your 80’s you would only be getting the equivalent of $1,200-1,300 current value each month after inflation is accounted for.

Second, you are depending on receiving the full value of social security. At a minimum, that $2,000 monthly payment will drop to $1,500 dollars in less than a decade and while there will be annual cost of living increases they will barely cover the actual inflation you experience because of the screwed up manner in which the increases is calculated hasn’t changed in 60 years and doesn’t accurately reflect the cost increases that most people experience.

Good luck to your sister but this not a strategy I would recommend to anyone who wants to retire in the US. Albania maybe, but not here.

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S0biepan@reddit

What are you talking about? 5% of 500k is 25k if you have no billls you are not living like a king but you can do it and in some states pretty easy.

Social Security adjusts benefits through the annual COLA. The increase is based on inflation data from the Consumer Price Index (specifically CPI-W).

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SolomonGrumpy@reddit

🤷‍♂️

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c_r_a_s_i_a_n@reddit

Real talk:

those of you that have sustaining investments, 1 million in the bank, no mortgage ….

Do you have legacy wealth?

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InternationalRule138@reddit

Real talk…

Hard, stressful work and never elevated our living to match our income.

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MedsNotIncluded@reddit

Not necessarily required, there’s a huge income gap in the US.. further exacerbated by compounding and/or early adapter advantages..

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eist5579@reddit

4% of 500k would be $20k a year. With potentially up to $20-30k from social security at 62, I guess that’s barely enough for a single person.

But damn, healthcare unknowns etc. not much margin for emergencies.

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_Losing_Generation_@reddit

No. There's also social security which he can start at 62. Guessing he would probably get somewhere in the range of $30k per year. Sounds to me like they could live pretty nice on that plus their retirement.

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texasdiver@reddit

What seems odd? Goals other than retiring?

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comp21@reddit

In the US? No.

In the Philippines, thailand, Cambodia etc?

Yeah that's definitely possible.

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whistlepig4life@reddit

The standard for retirement is $1.4m. Now that doesn’t have to be all in cash. It could be in assets like a paid off house that you intend to sell and down size.

Our friends and former neighbors chatted with their financial guy about 10 years ago now. They asked if it was feasible for them to retire right then. His answer was "In the US? Not too comfortably, but there are several countries where you absolutely could."

They moved to the Dominican Republic shortly thereafter.

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WyoBuckeye@reddit

I have toyed with similar ideas. But I don’t want to move to a country where I don’t know a single soul, don’t speak the language, and have no concept of the culture just so I can live on the cheap.

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monkeyboogers1@reddit

You can “make it” but that sounds like lots of coupon clipping and sitting around the library and seniors center for free stuff. Keep working till 59, this person is crazy to not just let coumpoubding and additional savings take effect and still get out by 60

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Mission_Doughnut4664@reddit

Get an RV, live frugally, use food banks and hopefully you’re not on expensive meds. I think it can be done. Invest some of it in precious metals get it out of dollars.

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Mysterious_Winter164@reddit

Get an RV, live frugally

Since I retired early the, biggest question was medical insurance. ACA is based on your anticipated earnings for the year. Since I'll be withdrawing my living expenses from non taxable accounts for the next couple of years, my income this year prior to retiring was only $30k. ACA said I didn't make enough, so they kicked me to Medi-Cal who just approved me and my son. He keeps his normal doctor, but I had to pick a new one that's only a mile a way. We're healthy so don't expect to use it much

I'll probably start withdrawing from my 401k in a couple of years so, my MAGI might move me to an ACA plan for a couple of years, but I'll still qualify for full subsidies which for a single person is under $62k per year for 2026. Then from there switch to Medicare when it's time

Based on Boldin's (retirement software) estimates, I have between a 91% and 93% chance of my money lasting till I die depending on when I take social security which will be between $34k and $43k per year. I'll supplement the rest from the 401k.

Just to add, the house has about $500k in equity, so if something catastrophic happened or if I decided to relocate, I could always sell, but the equity isn't included in the retirement planning numbers.

Bottom line is it's totally doable depending on how you want to live. I would highly recommend going over everything 10x then doing it again to be sure. Also, if you have a brokerage like Fidelity, you can get a free appointment with them and have your plan reviewed to see what they say. My person initially talked in terms of spending $10k - $15k per month (that's what she spent), and asked a out travel and stuff like that. She kinda laughed when I told her my plan, but agreed it was feasible based on my numbers. I did all my traveling and adventures while I was working and have no desire to do it now. I just want some peace and quiet and to tinker around and do my projects without having to deal with the soul sucking corporate environment anymore and get that feeling of dread on Sunday evenings.

Best decision ever.

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ITSMYSFWACCOUNT@reddit

My wife and I have been obsessively gaming out retirement scenarios in Bolden.

It's cool but also it feels like that's the only thing we talk about lately. We're planning on have anywhere from 3 years when she turns 57 (this is my probably very unrealistic dream btw) to 10 years until retirement.

Depends. Do they have a pension or some sort of income? How close to getting SS are they? What’s their living situation? Do they plan to fully retire? Or more like barista fire doing a different job or odd jobs here and there?

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' "He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. 'I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

Suffice it to say, no, I will not have $500K in my bank account unless there is some sort of huge banking error in my favor.

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Sintered_Monkey@reddit

As someone who used to work for Disney for many years, I'm kind of enamored with the idea of Disneyland burning down now.

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death_hen@reddit

This was one of the best ones 🤣❤️

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Sintered_Monkey@reddit

It can be done. There is no set number that applies to everyone. There are some youtubers who are doing it: Happy on Monday, Retire This Way with 500k, Azul, a few others. They go over their exact figures: how much they have in various assets, how much they spend, and their lifestyles on that sum. It all depends on how much it costs you to live, and your expectations for retirement. One of them is up front and says that her family doesn't have a history of long longevity, and so she doesn't expect to die very old herself. Be aware that retiring with $500k probably does not mean a lavish retirement full of caviar and Ferraris, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

They leave the ability for success up to the person not .gov so you end up with with more ultra rich and more poor as well.

Easier to become a millionaire in the US than any other country. (Still)

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Timely-Ad3828@reddit

Hmm, not sure I would put it that way. I’m not “poor” because I’m a failure as a person (or as a worker), and loads of rich people have never worked a day in their lives. “The ability for success” has 100% to do with .gov in the US, where the rich get rich and stay rich due to generational wealth, tax breaks for the wealthy, etc. Very few hardworking regular folk have “the ability for success” as they are used and abused by employers for decades (no 401k, no health insurance, no pension, low salary). We have like 40 million “working poor” in the US.

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simulated_copy@reddit

False.

85% of all millionaires in the US are 1st gen meaning they created their wealth not inherited not given and over 40% of all millionaires live in the US.

Even in countries with free healthcare (or close to it) 500k would not be even close at 55.

I still write, albeit with dictation software laying in bed. But I haven't been able to do much else since about 2018 and it drives me crazy. I have a good affordable housing deal so I can live on SS disability if I must but it's extremely boring for a person who usually had at least 2-3 jobs going from an early age.

I was completely energized and on the go working all the time for years. Now a trip to the grocery store is a major thing and it just exhausts me.

I wanted to work, for myself, till I dropped. Retirement was never my personal goal in life. I saw that with my parents and I was like UGH!

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InevitableCodeRedo@reddit

I'm 60. Take very good care of myself and no plans to retire until my 70's, if I'm lucky enough to make it that far. There is zero way I'm going into assisted living should the time come. Zero.

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I’m looking into this now. Alzheimers runs in my family. I will not live like a vegetable and bankrupt my husband. I am going to have papers, and my wishes drawn up by an attorney and also look into Death Doulas. My spouse and children completely support me on this.

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LibrarianPhysical580@reddit

I work in assisted living. It's full of people who swore they would never live in a facility and whose families would never put them there.

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StrangeAssonance@reddit

Most people on this sub are not going to have 1mil to 2mil. That is an insane amount for people that make less than 100k a year and have other expenses or have gone through a divorce etc. The reality is, a lot of Gen X will have to have support from their kids, work until they can't, or decrease the lifestyle they have gotten used to.

I plan to decrease my lifestyle and work until I can't.

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hapalove@reddit

I have no kids nor siblings. Unless I win the lottery, I’ll never have 1mil. Gonna work until I die, I guess… if I can even find a fucking job.

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SparksWood71@reddit

I made this choice. I could have kept the same high stress decent salaried corporate IT management job and grind my soul down another 15 years. Instead I decided to sell my house in a HCOL area, downsize my life, and move to a LCOL area to live with my BFF and help him out.

Meridian122@reddit

Maybe people want to stay close to their family and friends even though it’s in a HCOL area?

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BigRefrigerator9783@reddit

"better life" is highly subjective

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SparksWood71@reddit

And? If you can't be satisfied unless you retire in the HCOL area you're living in now that's your problem pal.

Nervous-Till4096@reddit

Thank God my Dad had a pension… now my Mom is living off survivor benefits. As long as the government doesn’t collapse.

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chipinserted@reddit

Amen

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CrankyCrabbyCrunchy@reddit

Depends how it’s invested and if they have alternate plans if things don’t work out.

Biggest cost will be health insurance for the 10 years before Medicare eligible. Are they able to latch onto a spouse’s work plan?

Social security benefits are based on your highest 40 quarters so this person would have many $0 added to that work income history which would reduce payout.

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Ok-Limit-9726@reddit

‘Semi retire’

Get a job you really like, even if its 2 days a week, work from home, even if the pay is shit, keep busy, keep active, stay in your community, even volunteer part time,

Anything but fully ‘retire’

Its to young, just take those ‘longer vacations’ or long weekends

In Australia we get 4 weeks in holidays, 2 weeks public holidays on average with many long weekends,

1quirky1@reddit

Two things conspire to keeps me from working through to the other side. A.I. crashing my career field and my health shortening my runway.

I work in tech and have dodged two rounds of layoffs within the last year. The workload has been dumped on us that remain. If/When laid off it will be difficult to get a new job. That job will pay much less and will be harder.

The career was a good run, but "I'm tired, boss"... literally.

I'm running out of fight in me after four decades with a chronic neurological disorder triggered by autoimmunity attacks. That and natural aging are exacerbating brain fog. The layoff-driven workload increase is not helping.

I grew up poor, which drove me to live frugally and save aggressively ever since. It has been a long road. Saving a lot has given me a shot at a much needed early retirement.

I lack the energy needed to work through to the other side of the next crash, especially if it involves a new job. I'm done working on 2027-09-27 or when I'm laid off, whichever comes first. That date is when I hit the "four year cliff" where the company reduces my compensation by 33% by choosing to not replace compensation granted at hire that was doled out over four years. They're not replacing it for anybody because it is an employer's job market right now.

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That’s way less than what I would need for the retirement I want. I will probably have $2-2.5 million and a paid off house at 60, and that will support a $100k withdrawal every year. That would be about right for me because I want to travel a lot while I still can.

Hate to say this but that is a wish not a certainty. There are a meriad of things that can happen in life that will cause you to retire before you planned.

1quirky1@reddit

I did the math. My family of four could live indefinitely in the Philippines with what we have now.

My spouse lost Philippine citizenship when naturalized in the United States as a child. Laws changed and Philippine citizenship was restored by simply taking an oath. That citizenship was then conferred to our kids who were under 18 at the time.

I agree. 9 years before I reach FRT with SS, house IS paid off, but my expected budget this year is $42k without anything major happening or vacation.

Rocketjen@reddit

My kids are going to be in 11th and 12th next year. Just bought them each a car. College is coming up quick and the 529s since they were little won’t cover much with today’s tuitions. If it were just us and the house was paid off, we could maybe retire in 2 years (depending on healthcare costs). Given college fees and healthcare, we probably won’t retire for 10-12 years.

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wallix@reddit

Same! One new freshman and one going into 7th.

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Buttchugger-2020@reddit

1972 here, Got one starting 1st grade and the other starting TK

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bytor1066@reddit

One in third grade and one in first. I'm going to retire when I drop. Kids=Awesome>working forever 🤷

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mookiexpt2@reddit

1 finishing third grade. I also switched careers from banking to law in my mid-30s and had to take out some debt for law school.

I’m going to retire when someone notices me quietly decomposing in my office.

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The amount of people in here ignoring OP's question and using this thread as an opportunity to brag about how much money they have is a testament to our cultural rot.

The non Americans in here have got to be shaking their heads.

So much for being the best generation.

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JessicaWakefield666@reddit

It happens every single time with retirement threads. Suddenly the same people who think it's so cool to respond with "whatever" to any other topic are chomping at the bit to showcase their financials and let you know how the OPs and everyone else have fucked themselves and show no awareness or empathy for what would affect other people's financial planning.

It's pathetic boomer behavior and embarrassing for the generation.

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I could do that now if I wanted too, but I need a plan for what to do after I retire. I figure I’ll work until the middle of next year or so.

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1quirky1@reddit

Me too. I have a widget on my phone's home screen that shows 1y4m7d right now.

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I retired 6 years ago at 53 but I had quite a bit more money than that. I followed the 4% rule and wanted to generate at least $100K my first year (you can do the math if you want).

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Imagirl48@reddit

Yes. That’s definitely been a factor. But things today are a little unsettling. A year ago, even when my financial advisor thought things would remain good for awhile (and she was right) I was still nervous, so I lowered my risk. Future concerns are why I’ve prepared an ADU for renting if things go a little more dire.

simulated_copy@reddit

It works, but you are right even the creator said the number is closer to 4.7%

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FallAspenLeaves@reddit

I mean 5% or 6%. The market returns about 10% on average.

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Bjorn_Nittmo@reddit

Today's Shiller P/E Ratio (CAPE) sitting around 40 means the S&P 500 is currently crazy expensive by historical standards.

Taking that into account, even a 4% withdrawl rate seems aggressive.

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simulated_copy@reddit

Guardrails

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skronk14@reddit

It is dated. It's 4.7% now.

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thrwaway75132@reddit

People retire with less than a million at retirement age with social security and Medicare.

Will depend on the lifestyle you expect, the housing situation, and your overall health. Retiring at 50 and getting to 70 is 20yrs. And that means 25k a year. Even with no inflation (impossible scenario), that number would only work if someone owns their home and has little to no housing expenses.

Most of us (hopefully) see 70 as a minimum age, and aim to live longer. To live to 80, that's 16.7k a year which is just slightly above minimum wage in the lowest paying states. Add in health insurance which is 6-8k a year for a somewhat reasonable plan, so 10k is meant to cover everything else: food, utilities, and taxes/fees, gas + car. It's not a lot of room for error, and any medical issue will result in being in the hole.

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My3rdTesticle@reddit

This. It's all about lifestyle & expenses. OP isn't going to pull this off with car loans, a mortgage, travel, or restaurant visits. But if they live very frugally, have low property taxes & insurance costs,, and have a decent amount of Social Security built up, it's maybe within the realm of possibility. The catch is, we don't know what inflation, the future of SSI benefits, or investment performances will look like, not to mention future health issues or knowing our expiration date.

They'll likely need to replace a car and a roof at some point. Not to mention other unforseen issues. These things need to be accounted for.

I'm in a similar situation as OP and I think I can maybe pull it off with a part time job to help supplement savings/investments, but I fully recognize that I'm rolling the dice. I'll note that I live in a house that most would consider too small, I avoid using heat or AC as much as bearable, I live in a place with (relative) low costs of living, I eat out maybe once every three months, I don't have cable TV, streaming services, or GB Internet, and I drive an old car that I do my own maintenance on.

Going from a position of being able to save up ~500k to living on $15k/yr is pretty drastic and demands sacrifices. It's all about what OP puts value on and the risk their willing to take with the unknown. If I had kids or a spouse relying on me financially I wouldn't even consider rolling the dice. 5 years ago the proposition of retiring at my age with my savings would be absurd, but life happens and situations change

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daveescaped@reddit

Just curious; are you saying 70 is the retirement ago for most of us?

I ask because I don’t see anyone in my industry making it that are unless you are CEO. Either people are paid to retire (nice option) or pushed aside in other ways (not nice option).

Most people I know retire around 60 plus. So if they are 62 and the company offers a buyout they take it. The laterite would be to stay on and be laid off and be no better off financially.

Just saying; I’m mid level at my company any haven’t seen any peers make it to 70. Although I’d sure like to try.

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FourEyedFreak21@reddit

In my industry, I have a lot of coworkers still in their 60s and 70s.

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daveescaped@reddit

I feel like we used to but I don’t see them anymore.

Haha! Too true.

My plan is this: Stop work when ai can get a pension. Use the money I have to live life. End it when it runs out. Simples.

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No-Consideration-858@reddit

An earlier comment emphasized having enough for when you are "infirm".

Hell to the no.

There is no scenario where I'm willing to work longer to pay for diaper changes, bland food and bed sores.

If things go well, I will still have money left at the end. It will go to (non-human) animal charities where it can make a positive impact.

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Stigger32@reddit

The end being the key imo.

I am not worried about it ending. At least this life. So there’s that.

I firmly believe we hold onto life here even after it has lost all purpose or worth.

And then you die the day before you retire. Fun.

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simulated_copy@reddit

Define all these people?

Median 50% is 364-512

75th% is this and that is 18 month old data (a Source Kiplinger)

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kittyshakedown@reddit

I may be dumb but I have no idea what your point is here?

My mom retired at 70 with $250k in IRA and not invested in the market—it’s all in CD. She owns her home outright with no additional debt.

She turns 80 this year and hasn’t touched her principal. She’s just managed to live off her SS and taken the growth as RMD withdrawals because she’s required to.

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brongchong@reddit

Using the 4% rule, that would only give you $20,000 a year. That’s not very much.

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supenguin@reddit

You'd have to have super low expenses to make that work. Look up Lean FIRE. FIRE = Financially Independent/Retired Early.

I personally am looking into CoastFI - save up enough that it will grow to be enough to retire once I hit retirement age, and then try to find less stressful work between then and retirement age. There's some online calculators to figure out how many this would take.

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SnarkHabit@reddit

A lot of opinions here.

This guy is making it work and what makes this channel good is he goes through his actual monthly finances.

One question you have to ask yourself is are you willing to completely reconfigure your life to a low-consumption, low-cost lifestyle. I think most people aren't.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2025-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2024-overall-financial-well-being.htm

74% of Americans report "doing okay or living comfortably in 2024, and this is neither at all time highs, or lows. People with bachelor's degrees or better are at 87%, while people with less than a high school degree are at 47%.

The Fed also does a "Survey of Consumer Finances" every three years. The 2025 one appears to be unfinished. I can't find it anyway.

But from 2022 results, released in October of 2023:

Median net worth of respondents 65-74 was ~$410,000 (Average was ~$1,795,000).
Median retirement savings of respondents 65-74 was ~$200,000 (Average was $609,000.

Does satisfaction and median retirement savings connect in a straight line? I imagine statistics experts would point out a lot of problems drawing that line. However, it does suggest that, quite possibly, a lot of the hype from people like Suze Orman (who calls a $2 million retirement nest egg "chump change") may be a bunch of hooey, although in her famous case, she's talking about inflation and the wildly irresponsible management of our currency here in the US...currently.

*

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19Bronco93@reddit

I’ll die at 60, we’ll see if I get in the red by then.

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Didthatyesterday2@reddit

None of the boomers I know actually retired. They all work part time. That's my plan. The wife and I are planning for 1.25 mil and working part time to pay for medical insurance. House is paid and taxes are low.

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doglady1342@reddit

That is nowhere near enough to retire on unless you're close to death. I'm assuming that since you are posting and then GenX sub, that you are 62 or younger.

At $500,000, you basically just have to exist. And, if you ever got sick or needed surgery or needed to go into Elder Care, that money would be gone almost immediately. For example, my husband had a medical emergency (ruptured colon) about 2.5 years ago. The first surgery and 11 day hospital stay was over $100,000. Thankfully we have good insurance. The second surgery wasn't quite as much...only about $60k IIRC. The third surgery, to fix the hernia and other issues caused by the first two surgeries, resulted in a 5-day Hospital stay. That was also close to $100,000.

Agreed.

Yep.

‘Drop dead at work’ is my retirement plan.

Purchasing a bronze plan on the marketplace in a state that offers it, with an income of 25k a year is less than $100 a month in most places. This is less than a lot of people with jobs are paying for their contribution to their employers plan.

I saw all of that to say 500k would be tight and figuring out healthcare is the big concern.

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PC_Friar@reddit

If my healthcare was paid I’d be done by now too.

You absolutely do care that people know what your numbers are because not only have you shared them with thousands of complete strangers on the internet, here you are defining it.

Nope. I am aiming for 62 and I have a pension and other income, in addition to retirement savings (more than 500k) and SS. I may kick SS down the road to 65 and work very part time 62-65.

Being a Neil Young & Crazy Horse fan, I have to ask if you shot your baby.

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BlacksmithThink9494@reddit

gif

Yep. Better in all ways. I'd never want to move back to the US.

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SparksWood71@reddit

This is going to make peoples heads explode here.

Congratulations man, I retired at 50.

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wanderingdev@reddit

Yup. People vastly over estimate what they need because they listen to what they've been told vs doing the math for their personal situation.

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CatStretchPics@reddit

I’m 56, with 1.5M in 401k, and 600K in non retirement, no mortgage, no debt. I don’t think I can retire yet. I do live in the US in a MCOL area

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wanderingdev@reddit

What do your numbers say for your spend? I chose to retire outside the US rather than work for extra years for money I don't need elsewhere while having a better life.

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AssistantAcademic@reddit

At 49 im targeting $2m but will realistically be comfortable at 1.5m

I base planning off a 4% rule. At $2m I can safely draw $80k/yr.

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idio242@reddit

A safe withdrawal rate is 4%.

If you want $100k a year, then you need 2.5m.

You spend $400k a year?

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jasno-@reddit

I have kids, and yeah, that's expensive. Definitely spending well over $200k right now all in. And that will continue until kids are out of the house, which ain't for another decade.

After that, I want enough money to handle future inflation and still be able to make payments on my house (I got 20 years left @ $7800 a month), travel, and afford medical.

So yeah, $10M is the goal, and retire by 60, live off interest. Hopefully it happens sooner.

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idio242@reddit

I mean, I hope you are using the word interest as a catch all.

I’ve got double that stashed. I’m holding out until 62, going to find a low stress job with medical for 62-65 and then retire. 🤞

So 9.5 years left of stress job. If I’m lucky. I just want to get my kids through college and house paid off. We were almost there with the house, then found a whole bunch of 💩. Latest round was today. Front wall is buckling because the builder didn’t run the subfloor on the second story all the way out to the rim joist in the front. Like 2.5” off. We’re going to have to have false walls set up basement to attic next week, tear up the drywall in the ceiling and have 10-15’ of the front of the house reframed first and second story.

You could possibly barista fire on that, though. If you could find a lower wage job that has benefits in this economy.

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Jayeemare@reddit

We all hope we're going to live healthy lives, and just drop dead one day. Realistically, we need to consider the unexpected...not living in our home in our later years. A private room in an independent living facility could cost up to 8K per month. My mother thought she'd have more years in her home, and in her mid 80's, after a health setback, had to move into a care facility. She's recovering well, but not well enough to live alone at home. And she's well enough that she'll be living in this facility for a long time. At least for her, she can afford it.

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Astronaut6735@reddit

And in 10+ years start drawing social security (if they have it) would help.

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simulated_copy@reddit

Most likely a big no-

How will you pay for health insurance?

500k supports 4-4.7% withdrawal for 30 years, so 20k-23.5k a year under 2k a month (before taxes).

buuttt more than likely these are 401k funds, so your 500k is less since you have to paybm tax on the withdrawals even if the penalty no longer applies

If y

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redraidr@reddit

Taxes on $25k are tiny, and it’s not income, so less.

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simulated_copy@reddit

If you can live on less than 2k a month and will risk the no healthcare piece go for it.

Sounds crazy to me unless leaving the USA

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Jenshark86@reddit

It’s plenty in Canada with a paid off house. Free healthcare and nursing homes are subsidized.

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seemsright_41@reddit

500K will allow him about 20K a year using the 4% rule. Taking in account his lifestyle and taking SS at 62 He most likely will be okay. IF he keeps his lifestyle so simple and has no health scares.

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BuDu1013@reddit

Yes! tattoos are a no no. But if you're low key and basically want to live a normal life it looks very welcoming... To Me.

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey! Thank you for the funny memories!

Hopefully the money is parked somewhere making some super nice returns.

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talon167@reddit

Net worth? If you have a nice house fully paid off in a tax favorable retirement state + no other debt (car paid for not leased, kids not being support/not in college), $500k is okay IF you are old enough to collect social security and full Medicare benefits. If you have to foot your own health insurance until your Medicare eligible that will be rough and rolling the dice. Also pension?

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InebriousBarman@reddit

Yeah.

I have $500k in my 401k, my wife has about $300k.

We owe $400k on a $800k house in a high tax area, and have elementary age children.

No where close to retirement. I'm 51. (Wife is 47.)

Maybe 10 years. Probably 12.

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mmrocker13@reddit

I guess it depends on the person. And your situation. And if you had anything else like a pension. Me personally? No

I am hoping to retire by 57 to 60, and I wouldn't do that without at least three and a half to four million. That would give me 100% income replacement, which I would hope would cover healthcare costs until Medicare kicks it.

I make an okay wage but I live a very very Spartan lifestyle because I am break even right now. So I'm honestly not sure what's going to happen or if I ever actually will retire haha. I just got divorced which puts a major cramp in yield lifestyle and yield retirement plans

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talon167@reddit

Health insurance is a critical if not among the most important factors for when you can retire (e.g. Medicare eligibility).

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whyyoutwofour@reddit

Your cousin is gonna be calling you in five years to borrow money.

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FormerCollegeDJ@reddit

For me personally, $500K wouldn’t be nearly enough for me to retire, even if I could carry my health insurance into retirement (can potentially do so at age 57 in my current job) or receive my full, non-penalized pension (can do so at age 60 in my current job, with some enhancement if I go until age 62).

I’m all better now. Zero regrets. Financially, I spent way more during the first year of retirement than I had planned. It’s okay, I can live simply and figure it out. Free time is priceless. My time being unhealthy was better than how I was feeling at work.

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missmoo@reddit

What happened to you if I may ask?

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EuphoricMoose@reddit

This seems morbid but I’ll likely retire at the later of Medicare age (if that still exists in the future) or when my parents die. There’s no way I’m going to save enough to retire otherwise. My house will be paid off by then but I’m hoping to live in it. At least I won’t have a mortgage and will just be paying property taxes by then.

I’m really hoping to retire by 62 so I can raise guide dogs.

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AshDenver@reddit

Retiring at $500k would’ve meant 5y ago at only 50 and that amount would only last if I moved into a cardboard box.

My FiL retired with only $30k and he’s doing fine. Granted, he owns his house. You have so many more options if you’ve got housing covered. I legitimately don’t know how our gen is going to handle fixed income retirement when rents can go up 5% a year and occasionally (looking at you 2020) far more.

Heard a new term called Phone Retirement where you just scroll Facebook all day because you can’t afford anything else and honestly that’s probably a lot of future retirees’ fates.

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Theodoxus@reddit

See it all over my city... folks camping on the sidewalks, doom scrolling on their Obama phones. Or wandering the streets as fentanyl zombies... rarely both.

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iknowyouneedahugRN@reddit

If you're in the US, what are you planning for healthcare?

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RedQueenWhiteQueen@reddit

ACA/Affordable Care Act, for most early retirees. It's not useful if you're planning to spend $200K/year (and I see people complaining about this), but a reasonable option for someone whose entire nest egg is $500K and thus generating at most $20K-$30K taxable income per year at a safe withdrawal rate.

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Eazy12345678@reddit

eat health and work out is most americans healthcare plan

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jjschoon@reddit

My wife and I are both 53. We have $1.9 .million in retirement savings. I can retire at 57 and keep my health insurance until I turn 65. We will both get pensions. She says that she will probably work until 60.

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Plastic-Sentence9429@reddit

Yeah, we've got about $1.2M, with great diversity, at 55 and 54. I've got incredible health insurance, but need to keep working to keep it, and having been self-employed as recently as 3 years ago, am loathe to give that up. Shit was EXPENSIVE. We saved like $ 16k a year when I got it.

If I retire at 65 and SS still exists, I’ll be looking at about 5k a month combined income. If it doesn’t exist or benefits are cut, that’s okay.

We will have a house paid for, and should be able to live off of the minimum yearly withdrawal from the retirement funds. We probably won’t spend 550k on a home, so we will have some funds from that as well.

I THINK we will be okay.

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Impressive_Pear2711@reddit

How old are you?

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Whatever21703@reddit

55, turn 56 in August. Wife is 52, will retire two years after I do.

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https://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/rrsp-rrif/rrsp-rrif-withdrawal-calculator.htm

So...lets say retirement is at 55 with $500K and assuming 8% annual TR/compounding growth in whatever the investments are. Your investment return per year is about $40K. As long as you take LESS than that amount, let's say $35K for arguments sake....you'll have about $651K at the age of 70.

Play with the calculator and it's pretty good for finding out when you'd run out of money.

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lottadot@reddit

Use this for the math; rich broke or dead fire Calc

Use the faq at r/financialindependence for ideas.

Generally $500k liquid would give you $20k/yr gross income.

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Sudden_Fix_1144@reddit

At least this is a realistic bunch of responses. If you look at the finance subreddits you’d think you need 4 million to retire otherwise your eating dog food

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SparksWood71@reddit

So true. I would imagine a lot of people in this sub are making good money and the vast majority of them are spending every penny of it on maintaining their lifestyle and debt loads.

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Old_Instrument_Guy@reddit

I'm on the doorstep of Gen x born in 1965. I'm currently 60 years old and had to rebuild everything started from scratch when I was 50. I live in a very expensive area of South Florida.

I'm not planning on retiring for another 10 years at age 70. I'm tracking my 401k and continued growth, I should have about two and a half million dollars saved.

At this time I should have the house paid for. My wife is older than I am and is going to start collecting SS this year.

She plans to keep working another 3 years so all of that is going into a Roth IRA. This should add another 130k before she wants to start working part time. So we can use the income from that account to offset her working part time.

My investments are currently tracking %2 per month growth.

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jackandcherrycoke@reddit

You could probably find a way to live ok with $500k, but the wildcard is health. It's a true gamble and coverage costs are crazy high, if you can even find a decent plan.

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Chipsandadrink115@reddit

I had savings! But then a plumbing leak. O well

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janebenn333@reddit

Do you have a home and no mortgage?

imk@reddit

Do you speak Tagalog? How is your Spanish?

I don't want much, just a solid group around in the end. That's reasonable cash, depending where you are and what your assets are besides this. You can't live on that for long though .,well maybe if you plan on living off the land in the woods somewhere like a cast member of Alone.

It depends on what you want to do in retirement, where you live, how healthy you are, etc. Also depends if you have debts (credit card, house, car) and whether you want/need to travel. You also didn't mention when you'd take social security.

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PapslappyMcfee@reddit

I plan on retiring with 750k to 1 million and definitely not in the US. I want to enjoy retirement! Kudos to those that can for less!

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Cool_Addendum_1348@reddit

QQQI ...SPYI pay really good monthly dividends. SPYI better tax rate. You can get health insurance through the marketplace. Take SS at 62.

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HHSquad@reddit

Contributing to SCHD isn't the worst thing ever either.

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SparksWood71@reddit

This right here. Especially the marketplace. Your investments are not counted for that, only your yearly income. If the yearly income is going to 25k a year, depending on the state, you pay very little for health insurance that is about as crappy as what most people get at work these days.

If you can work a part time job and delay SS, etc etc.

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BubbleThinker@reddit

gif

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tharesabeveragehere@reddit

That's plenty of money to retire to Walmart greeter status.

The conventional wisdom is the 4% rule. That is, if you take out 4% of your savings per year, that will last you 30 years.

(And that assumes some continued growth of the principle.)

$ 500,000 * 0.04 = $ 20,000.

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imk@reddit

Do you speak Spanish? How is your Tagalog?

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not a chance at that number.

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Wraisted@reddit

Talk to a financial advisor.

I'd say you could probably pull it off if you have a home in excellent condition, fully paid off, and your employer gives you retiree healthcare. You'd also want a new car unless your area has excellent mass transit.

Even then, it's going to be a stretch. You're going to make almost all your meals at home. You won't have any travel or entertainment budget. You won't have any left for any major household repairs. You won't have any left to buy a new phone when yours dies. All your clothes will come from thrift stores. Your budget is going to be slashed to the bone.

30 years ago we said you could get a million in savings and retire off the interest. That was technically correct but now you're talking about half that, and that's just not rational.

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swbradshaw@reddit

There are many things to consider, and if you only have 500k at 55, you need to consider keep working, imo. That won't go very far.

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Throttlechopper@reddit

My financial advisor has our goal at $1.3M, we’ve only got another $400k to go, lol I will have my medical expenses covered thanks to the VA, but living in an HCOL area really slows progress and the goal is save enough by age 65.

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auscadtravel@reddit

If you leave the US for cheaper places then yes, otherwise depending on what state you are in maybe,but it will be tight.

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If anyone has, and there’s no asterisks like “I also have a pension” or I have rental properties but I don’t consider that work,” I’d love to hear how they’re doing it.

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I don’t think I could…

My current plan will double that and I plan on going into retirement with zero debt.

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