I’m 50, making $60K with just $100K in retirement after paying for my kids’ college — can I still retire by 65?

Christy Bieber

Thu, Mar 6, 2025, 6:05 AM 5 min read

By the clip you crook 50, ideally, you’d person astir six times your household income saved.

But, let’s accidental you deed that milestone day with importantly little successful your status account. While you had a coagulated fiscal program astatine the commencement of your career, things came up. An costly divorcement acceptable you back, and past some your kids needed assistance paying for assemblage — to the tune of $180,000.

• I'm 49 years aged and person thing saved for status — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you tin drawback up (and fast)

• Home prices successful America could alert done the extortion successful 2025 — here’s the large crushed wherefore and however to instrumentality afloat vantage (with arsenic small arsenic $10)

• Americans with upside-down car loans beryllium much wealth than ever earlier — and drivers can’t support up. Here are 3 ways to chopped your monthly costs ASAP

Now, with a wage of $60,000, you should person $360,000 invested. Instead, you person conscionable $100,000. You’re a small spot down wherever you request to be.

So, the large question is, tin you inactive discontinue comfortably astatine property 65 portion maintaining your existent manner — contempt the information that you whitethorn not person rather arsenic overmuch invested arsenic you should astatine this signifier of life? Here's however you tin find out.

If you're hoping to discontinue astatine 65 and you’re lone 50 close now, the bully quality is that you person immoderate clip to drawback up. To bash that, you’ll privation to commencement by seeing however overmuch you indispensable put truthful you'll person capable wealth to halt moving astatine your people status age.

Ideally, you’ll extremity up with a nest ovum worthy 10 times your last salary. If you’re making $60,000 present and presume astir a 2% mean yearly wage summation until status age, your last wage would beryllium astir $80,752.10. So, you’d privation to sprout for a nest ovum of $807,521.

If you’re starting with $100,000 and you gain an 8% mean yearly return, you’d request to put $1,504.81 per period to deed your goal. Investing $18,057.72 per twelvemonth would mean you're contributing astir 30% of your income. That’s a lot. Even with taxation breaks and leader matching contributions (if available) it mightiness beryllium hard to propulsion off. In different words, you mightiness beryllium capable to acceptable yourself up for a comfy retirement, but you’re looking astatine a beauteous austere 15 years.

Unless you’re consenting to marque immoderate precise large sacrifices, putting disconnected status for a fewer years could beryllium precise helpful. That's particularly existent since retiring astatine 65 would mean retiring before your afloat status property for Social Security, which volition beryllium 67 based connected your commencement year. Retiring aboriginal results successful a reduced benefit.