When to Retire: A Quick and Easy Planning Guide

Introduction

How many times have you wondered, "When will I be able to retire?" Maybe you're early in your career and you haven't thought about retirement much, or maybe retirement is right around the corner and you're simply waiting for the right time to take the next step. No matter your age or where you are in your career, the time to think about your retirement is now.

How much money do you need to retire? $1,000,000? Can you retire at 55? Or will you need to work until you're 75? How much cash flow will you need from your portfolio once you retire? These are all important considerations as you plan for retirement.

To determine when you're prepared to retire, we believe it's helpful to start by asking the question: What will my retirement look like? Specifically, think about your goals and objectives in retirement. Then you can ask: What will my retirement cost and how will I pay for it? For example, if you want to maintain your current standard of living in retirement, you may need a larger nest egg. Or, if you plan to spend less in retirement and your investment time horizon is shorter, you may have less need to save and might be ready sooner. It is essential to consider your projected income and expenses. Next, ask: How should I invest for retirement? Based on your goals and situation, you can determine an appropriate asset allocation, portfolio benchmark and level of cash flow your portfolio might be able to support. Once you answer these initial questions, you should be better prepared to answer the question: When can I retire? This guide is designed to help you answer these questions and develop a basic plan to help you achieve your retirement goals.

What will my retirement look like?

Goals and Objectives

The first step to determine when you can retire is identifying your goals. From a financial perspective, we've found many investors preparing for retirement aim to achieve one (or more) of the following goals:

Avoid running out of money:

For many, their number one retirement fear is running out of money and their number one goal is to avoid that painful situation. Being forced to ask your children for help—or go back to work—is not what most retirees hope for. Many people think the key to not running out of money is low-volatility investments, such as US Treasury bonds. But such investments may not be consistent with your long-term investing goals.

Maintain or improve your lifestyle:

Most people have worked hard for their retirement and want to enjoy it. As such, a common goal for many of our clients is to maintain—or even improve—their lifestyle during retirement. This involves growing retirement income at or above the rate of inflation to maintain purchasing power over time.

Increase your wealth:

Some people are able to enjoy the retirement lifestyle of their choice with no fear of running out of money. These fortunate individuals may seek to grow their wealth over the longer term, typically for legacy—whether for children, grandchildren or charity. Unsurprisingly, many people with this goal take a growth-oriented approach to investing.

Spend every cent:

This isn't a typical goal among our clients, but there are some people who think success is spending all of their money before they die. This can be a risky proposition: There's no way to know exactly how long your retirement will last, and people who attempt this may find themselves out of money sooner than they think.

Sample Goals and Objectives

Time Horizon

Next, you'll need to think about your time horizon—that is, how long you need your money to work for you. Your time horizon is a major determinant of your total retirement cost and it's often overlooked or underestimated. Fact is, most folks will live longer than they think they will.

The following chart shows total life expectancies for Americans, based on current age. We believe these projections likely underestimate how long people will actually live, given ongoing medical advancements. These are also projections of average life expectancy—planning for the average may not be sufficient since many people in each bracket will live even longer. Factors such as current health and heredity can also cause individual life expectancies to vary widely.

Average Life Expectancy

Current Age vs. Total Life Expectancy

Source: Social Security, as of 8/15/2025. Period Life Table, 2019, as used in the 2022 Trustees Report. Life expectancy rounded to nearest year.

Your time horizon may be much longer than you realize. Prepare to live longer than you expect and make sure you have enough money to maintain your desired lifestyle.