10/27/2026
Retiring at 58 instead of 65 can cost you $4,000 a year in "safe" income for every $1 million you've saved.
Here's the math. Morningstar's safe starting withdrawal rate is 3.9% for a 30-year retirement. Stretch the retirement to 35 years and Morningstar's figure drops to 3.5%. (Sources: Morningstar)
On $1 million, that's $39,000 versus $35,000. Every year. For the rest of your life.
Most rules of thumb were built for a 30-year retirement.
Many of the executives and business owners I work with are planning for 35 or more. And for a married couple, the horizon that matters isn't the average of you two. It's the spouse who lives longest.
Early retirement adds other hurdles too. Before age 59 1/2, the IRS generally applies a 10% additional tax to retirement account withdrawals unless an exception applies. (Source: IRS Topic 558)
None of this means you can't retire early. It means you need a plan built for YOUR finish line, not someone else's.
So let me ask: Is your plan built for 30 years or 35?
And has anyone ever shown you the difference in dollars?
Picture this instead: you hand in your badge at 58, you walk to the car, and neither of you is doing math in your head on the drive home.
Because the math is already done, to the year, for both of you.
That's what we build. It's all we build.