Start with the monthly gap
List the spending your household expects after work income ends, then subtract dependable income such as Social Security, pensions, or part-time work. The remaining gap is the amount savings may need to support.
A useful retirement answer starts with a comparison, not a guess. Look at retiring now and working longer using the same assumptions, then review how income, withdrawals, and downside risk change.
Stop guessing: You do not need a promise about the future. You need a way to replace the vague fear of being wrong with a clear comparison of your real choices.
Use one consistent set of assumptions for each scenario. That makes the difference easier to understand and gives you a clearer starting point for an important conversation.
Retirement can feel like a one-way door, which makes it easy to postpone the decision or search for a single magic number. A side-by-side plan gives you a calmer next step: see what changes if you retire now versus later, then decide what deserves a closer conversation.
List the spending your household expects after work income ends, then subtract dependable income such as Social Security, pensions, or part-time work. The remaining gap is the amount savings may need to support.
Use the same spending, investment, inflation, and longevity assumptions in both scenarios. Change the retirement date first so the difference is about timing rather than a moving set of inputs.
A useful comparison also shows the bridge years before benefits begin, the range of ending balances, and what changes under higher inflation or an early market decline.
There is no universal number. The useful starting point is your expected spending gap, the years the portfolio may need to support, and the resilience of the plan under less favorable conditions.
Yes, but keep them as separate choices. Retiring and claiming Social Security can happen at different times, which can create a bridge period funded by earnings, benefits, or savings.
Test a later retirement date, a lower spending target, or a different claiming date one at a time. This makes it easier to see which decision creates meaningful room.
Understand this planning tradeoff before you run your own comparison.
Understand this planning tradeoff before you run your own comparison.
Understand this planning tradeoff before you run your own comparison.
Build a private plan, compare two dates side by side, and review the assumptions behind the result.