The Bottom Line. Retiring at 55 is something of a lofty goal but it's achievable with the right financial plan in place. When considering early retirement, remember that it can affect how much you need to save and where you'll need to keep those savings.
You might be ready to retire at age 55 with a seven-figure nest egg. Depending on your expenses and retirement plans, you may find that the amount is enough to support your lifestyle. For those with higher costs of living, the amount might not carry you through the following decades.
On average, you'll need to have saved $1,051,814 to retire at 55 years old. This is based on the median earnings of Americans according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' October 2023 Current Population Survey in weekly earnings.
Fidelity estimated that those saving for retirement should have a minimum of seven times their salary by age 55. That means that if your annual salary is currently $70,000, you will want to plan on saving at least $490,000 saved.
Because penalty-free withdrawals from your IRA don't start until age 59 ½ and Social Security is off limits until age 62, you'll need a way to generate income until then. If you don't have cash that's easily accessible, you may want to wait a little longer to retire.
Retiring at an age as young as 55 is a dream of many Americans. However, turning this vision into reality involves some significant financial planning and maneuvering. For example, you'll need to build significant savings, invest your money, account for early withdrawal taxes and take a lot more into consideration.
You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time before your full retirement age. However your benefits will be reduced if you earn more than the yearly earnings limits.
Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.
The rule of 55 allows penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) and 403(b) if you leave a job during or after the calendar year you turn age 55. This is an exception to the IRS rule that levies a 10% penalty on withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement plans before age 59½.
If you have multiple income streams, a detailed spending plan and keep extra expenses to a minimum, you can retire at 55 on $2 million. However, because each retiree's circumstances are unique, it's essential to define your income and expenses, then run the numbers to ensure retiring at 55 is realistic.
As we have established, retiring on $500k is entirely feasible. With the addition of Social Security benefits, the possibility of retiring with $500k becomes even more possible. In retirement, Social Security benefits can provide an additional $1,800 per month, on average.
63% of Americans retire between the ages of 61-69. In a quest to live a better-than-average life, it's logical to conclude the ideal retirement age should at least be below 61-65, the majority age range of when Americans retire.
What Is the Rule of 55? Under the terms of this rule, you can withdraw funds from your current job's 401(k) or 403(b) plan with no 10% tax penalty if you leave that job in or after the year you turn 55. (Qualified public safety workers can start even earlier, at 50.)
Right now, the average age for men to retire is 65 while the average age for women to retire is 63. While many people say they will work for as long as they can, others retire earlier than expected.
So it's perfectly legal and possible to retire in your mid-50s if that's your goal. But it's important to keep in mind that retiring at 55 isn't the norm for most people. If you're going by the normal retirement age prescribed by Social Security, for example, that usually means waiting until you're 66 or 67.
Following the 4% rule, $600k could provide for at least 25 years in retirement, with an annual spending of around $24,000. However, the actual duration will be influenced by your age at retirement and your monthly spending plans.
If you have $400,000 in the bank you can retire early at age 62, but it will be tight. The good news is that if you can keep working for just five more years, you are on track for a potentially quite comfortable retirement by full retirement age.
If you have more than $1 million saved in retirement accounts, you are in the top 3% of retirees. According to EBRI estimates based on the latest Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 3.2% of retirees have over $1 million in their retirement accounts, while just 0.1% have $5 million or more.
By age 50, you would be considered on track if you have three to six times your preretirement gross income saved. And by age 60, you should have 5.5 to 11 times your salary saved in order to be considered on track for retirement.
The rule of 55 is an IRS provision that allows workers who leave their job for any reason to start taking penalty-free distributions from their current employer's retirement plan in or after the year they reach age 55.
If you retire with no money, you'll have to consider ways to create income to pay your living expenses. That might include applying for Social Security retirement benefits, getting a reverse mortgage if you own a home, or starting a side hustle or part-time job to generate a steady paycheck.
This brings us to the question -- can a retired person live on $4,000 a month? The answer is yes, almost 1 in 3 retirees today are spending between $2,000 and $3,999 per month, implying that $4,000 is a good monthly income for a retiree.