Retirement Age Guide
How much you need · The 25× rule · Social Security impact · Retire earlier strategies · Age milestones
“How much do I need to retire?” is the most common retirement question — and the good news is it has a surprisingly straightforward framework. The harder question is “how do I get there faster?” This guide walks through the math behind your retirement number, what changes it, and concrete actions that can move your retirement date forward.
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Enter your savings, contributions, and spending to find when you can retire.
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Core conceptYour Retirement Number
Your “retirement number” is the total portfolio size that can safely fund your spending for the rest of your life. The formula:
The safe withdrawal rate is typically 4% for 30-year retirements, 3.5% for 35+ year retirements, or 3% for very early retirement or extreme longevity planning. Estimate a starting withdrawal rate using your own portfolio and time horizon.
RuleThe 25× Rule
The 25× rule is the inverse of the 4% safe withdrawal rate: save 25 times your annual spending. It's a useful quick estimate, but most people shouldn't use it in isolation because it ignores guaranteed income sources.
| Annual spending | 25× target (ignoring SS) | Adjusted for $2k/mo SS |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,250,000 | $650,000 |
| $70,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,150,000 |
| $90,000 | $2,250,000 | $1,650,000 |
| $120,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,400,000 |
SS ImpactHow Social Security Changes Your Retirement Age
Claiming Social Security earlier reduces your benefit permanently — but it also means you don't need to wait as long to have “enough” in your portfolio to retire. The interaction between your claiming age and retirement age is complex:
- Retire early (before 62) — No SS yet; your entire spending must come from the portfolio. Requires a very large portfolio or very low spending.
- Retire at 62 — SS available (at 75–80% of FRA benefit). Reduces portfolio need but locks in a permanently lower monthly benefit.
- Retire at 65–67 — SS at FRA or approaches it. Best balance of benefit size and portfolio need for most people.
- Retire at 70 — Maximum SS benefit. Portfolio need is lowest, but you trade years of retirement for a higher guaranteed floor.
Key Retirement Age Milestones
Age 50 — Catch-up contributions begin
You can contribute an extra $8,000 to your 401(k) and $1,100 extra to your IRA annually (2026). If you're behind on savings, this is the most important financial moment before retirement.
Age 55 — Penalty-free 401(k) access (Rule of 55)
If you leave your employer at 55 or older, you can access that employer's 401(k) without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. Does NOT apply to IRAs.
Age 59½ — Penalty-free IRA/401(k) withdrawals
The 10% early withdrawal penalty ends. You can freely access all retirement accounts. Many early retirees bridge to this age using a Roth conversion ladder or taxable brokerage accounts.
Age 62 — Earliest Social Security claiming age
You can begin SS at 62, but at a permanent reduction. For those born in 1960+, claiming at 62 gives you 70% of your full benefit.
Age 65 — Medicare eligibility
Medicare Part A and B become available. Retiring before 65 means you must cover health insurance from a private plan or marketplace — often the biggest expense obstacle to early retirement.
Age 67 — Full Retirement Age (1960+ birth years)
You receive 100% of your earned Social Security benefit. Also the normal Medicare claiming age for most people.
Age 70 — Maximum Social Security benefit
Delaying past 67 earns 8%/year in Delayed Retirement Credits. Age 70 is the last date to increase your SS benefit. Your monthly payment at 70 is 24% higher than at 67 (for 1960+ birth years).
Age 73 — RMDs begin (75 if born in 1960 or later)
Required Minimum Distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s begin. RMDs increase your taxable income and can affect SS taxation and Medicare IRMAA surcharges. Plan with the RMD calculator →
Strategies to Retire Earlier
Strategy 1Increase Savings Rate
The single biggest lever is your savings rate. Moving from 10% to 15% of income can accelerate retirement by 3–5 years. Moving from 15% to 25% can be transformative — the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community demonstrates this at scale.
Strategy 2Reduce the Spending Target
Reducing planned retirement spending by $10,000/year decreases the required portfolio by $250,000 (at 4% SWR). Identifying lifestyle expenses you can trim during retirement — rather than reducing pre-retirement spending — can be a powerful alternative.
Strategy 3Work Part-Time in Early Retirement (Semi-Retirement)
Earning $20,000–$30,000/year in early retirement dramatically reduces the portfolio needed and allows it to keep growing. Many people find this more satisfying than full stop retirement, and the social and cognitive benefits are well-documented.
Strategy 4Maximize Tax-Advantaged Contributions
In 2026, you can contribute $24,500 to a 401(k) + $7,500 to an IRA in tax-advantaged savings. At age 50+, catch-up contributions raise that to $32,500 + $8,600. The tax savings alone can be worth several thousand dollars a year depending on your bracket.
Examples: Who Can Retire When?
These profiles are illustrative only. The estimated ages below are rough ranges — the exact answer is sensitive to your assumed return and, in particular, your inflation assumption (which inflates the target while the portfolio is projected in nominal dollars). Run your own numbers in the Retirement Age Calculator for a figure you can rely on.
| Profile | Current age / savings | Monthly savings | Spending target | Estimated retirement age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High earner, high saver | 35, $400,000 | $4,000 | $80,000/yr | Age 48–50 |
| Average saver, starting late | 45, $150,000 | $2,000 | $60,000/yr | Age 64–67 |
| Median income, consistent saver | 35, $100,000 | $1,500 | $55,000/yr | Age 57–60 |
| FIRE aspirant, aggressive saver | 30, $80,000 | $3,500 | $40,000/yr | Late 30s |
Ranges above are the Retirement Age Calculator's earliest-retirement age for each profile, computed at a 7% nominal return, a 4% withdrawal rate, $2,000/month Social Security (today's dollars), and 2.5–3% inflation. The inflation assumption matters a lot: at 3% the four ages come out around 49, 65, 59, and 37; drop inflation to 0% and they fall to roughly 45, 59, 51, and 36. The model also nets Social Security out of the spending gap at every age, so the pre-62 figures (the FIRE and high-earner cases) are optimistic — a real early-retirement plan has to bridge the years before benefits start. Run your own numbers in the calculator.