Can You Retire at 60 with $1 Million Saved? Ep #165

“I’m 60 years old and have $1 million saved. Do I have enough to retire?” 

I had a conversation with someone who had saved over $1 million and had been told he could retire. So he did retire—and completely regretted it. He wishes someone had told him to wait longer. Sadly, $1 million doesn’t go that far anymore. 

Too many people answering this question neglect to address all of the factors that influence whether or not you’ve saved enough to retire. In this episode of the Retirement Made Easy podcast, I’ll dive into some of the factors you need to consider in three different scenarios. Because you have to take into account far more than what you have saved. 

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…

  • [3:49] Scenario #1: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved
  • [7:41] Scenario #2: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved
  • [12:53] Scenario #3: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved
  • [17:00] Why the answer is never as simple as yes or no

Scenario #1: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved

The first couple we’ll talk about just turned 60 and have saved $1 million. The wife worked for the Federal government, so she can carry health insurance for herself and her husband until they’re 65. She’ll start collecting her pension immediately at 60. They’re completely debt-free. They have no children and a modest lifestyle.

What’s the one downside? If they both retire, the husband will have to wait a couple of years to collect Social Security. Aside from that, all of their boxes are checked. The chances of them retiring successfully at 60 is quite high. But is it enough?

Scenario #2: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved

This couple is invested conservatively. They don’t want to invest in the stock market because they have been burned before. They were okay accepting a lower rate of return on their $1 million. Additionally, they have $200,000 left on their mortgage. They plan on staying there for the foreseeable future.

But they want to send their three granddaughters to college. They don’t want their granddaughters graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. 

The husband’s pension maxes out at 65. If he retires at 60, his pension is severely reduced and he is deeply penalized. It would be far better if he waited until 65 to retire. What do you think? Do they have enough to retire? 

Scenario #3: Retiring at 60 with $1 million saved

Couple #3 has worked hard, they’re burned out, and they want to retire. They originally told us they didn’t have any debt. But when we looked at their 401Ks, we saw that they had loans against them, totaling $80,000. These loans have to be paid back in a short amount of time after retiring. 

What happened? They’d loaned their son some money. They also co-signed on their son’s mortgage. He’s recovering from a substance abuse problem. They didn’t realize they were responsible for all of that debt. 

Neither of them has a pension (which is common). The couple was expecting a sizable inheritance from the wife’s family ($500,000). They had an average lifestyle. The wife also wanted to work part-time in retirement working 20–25 hours a week (a hybrid retirement). Do you think they can retire?

The answer is never as simple as yes or no. There are far more details that need to be considered to determine if you’re ready and able to retire. Listen to the whole episode to hear whether or not each couple was ready to retire (and find out if your guesses were right!).

 

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