Want To Retire at 60? See if You Can Answer These 5 Questions

A retired couple of about 60 years old walks on the beach with their dog.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Many Americans retire at 60 or even earlier. For some, they have no choice due to health issues, job loss or a change in their family situation. For others, they are done working and are ready to start their next chapter.

Either way, it's not uncommon to retire before Social Security and Medicare kick in, even if it's not the average.

“A lot of people, the goal of retiring before they collect Social Security and Medicare stems from thinking they have to work longer and realizing they don’t,” says Cassandra Rupp, a senior wealth advisor at Vanguard. “It opens up the conversation.”

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When it comes to retiring at 60, there are two considerations: financial and emotional. Can you afford it, and will you be happy?

Not sure? If you can answer these five questions, you may be on your way to retiring at 60.

1. Do you have a handle on your expenses?

Retiring at 60 sounds like what dreams are made of, but to make it a reality, you have to afford it. After all, you're adding a few more years of retirement expenses to the mix.

The only way you’ll know the answer is if you know how much you’ll spend in retirement. “That will drive whether or not you can retire early,” says Nick Nefouse, global head of retirement solutions and head of LifePath at BlackRock.

This leads to the question most people ask first: How much savings do you realistically need to retire at age 60? The answer depends entirely on your burn rate.

Let’s say you have $1 million saved and expect to spend about $50,000 a year. Not factoring in inflation, you will have spent $350,000 of that balance by age 67, when your full Social Security benefits kick in. That leaves you with about $650,000.

That may be a green light for you to retire at 60, or a signal to work more, but if you didn't know what your expenses were, you couldn't make the right choice.

Unless you are a widow or widower, you can’t begin claiming Social Security until 62, and ideally, you want to wait until your full retirement age to start receiving your benefits. If you collect early, you’ll see a 30% reduction in your payout.

During the period you're not collecting Social Security, you’ll have to bankroll your retirement from other sources, whether it's your retirement savings, passive income from a real estate investment, or a side gig.

“You have to rely on your own portfolio for those years,” says Sharon Carson, executive director of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “Do you have adequate resources to do that?”

If you are going to need Social Security early, how will it impact the quality of your retirement over the long haul? Will that 30% reduction in your Social Security benefits for twenty-plus years hurt you?

Retiring early requires a little give and take. Sure, you are tapping your tax-advantaged accounts, like a 401(k) or IRA, early during those gap years, but that guarantees you are giving yourself a bigger Social Security check for your lifetime.

When you consider that Social Security is adjusted for inflation, waiting until at least your full retirement age is the best hedge against longevity risk. “People with healthy habits live a lot longer, and if you are going to live a lot longer, it pays more to wait,” says Carson.

3. How will you pay for health care?

Health care is a big cost in retirement. According to Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old retiring in 2025 should expect to spend an average of $172,500 in health care and medical expenses. In general, the average cost of health care is soaring.

Sure, Medicare covers 80% of your health care costs, but it doesn’t kick in until you are 65. If you retire at 60, you'll have five years to self-fund your health care. You won’t have your company’s subsidized insurance to rely on either.

There's the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, which enables you to continue your employer-provided health insurance for a period of time, typically 18 to 36 months, but it tends to be expensive.

You could join your spouse’s insurance plan if he or she is still working, but if you are both retiring or you are single, you'll have to find health insurance on your own.

“A lot of couples retire at the same time,” says Carson. “If there isn’t a spousal plan, go on the government website or go on the Kaiser Family Foundation health insurance marketplace calculator and see what subsidies you qualify for.” Keep in mind that premiums have risen sharply in 2026, after Congress allowed premium subsidies to lapse.

If you have a Health Savings Account, you can use those tax-free dollars to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, deductibles and even COBRA premiums during that coverage gap.

When determining if you can afford to retire at 60, make sure to factor health care into your annual budget and what impact it will have on your retirement savings over those five years before Medicare kicks in.

Remember, it is not static. Total health care costs in the U.S. are projected to reach $8.6 trillion in 2033, growing 54% from $5. 6 trillion in 2025.

4. What will you do with your free time?

The idea of sleeping in, kicking back and strolling on the beach may seem extremely appealing, but is it enough to keep you happy and busy for the next twenty-plus years? Probably not.

People who tend to be happy in retirement are those with a purpose. Before you retire, make sure you know how you’ll spend your time, especially in that critical first year.

“Think about what I'm going to do that gives me purpose, gives me reason to get up in the morning," says Carson. “It doesn’t have to be a ‘save the world’ purpose. It could be I’ll do something with my neighbors, see my grandkids or socialize with others.”

We spend so much time saving and planning for how we will cover our expenses in retirement, but give little thought to what we will do with our newfound time.

Will it be spent traveling, pursuing a hobby, starting a new career, volunteering, or is it all about quality time with family? And how will you pay for those pursuits without the help of Social Security or a full-time job? With extra retirement time to fill, it's even more important to plan for what you'll do with your freedom.

5. Are you getting professional help?

Retiring at 60 is a big deal. Once you leave the workforce, it's hard to go back, which is why you have to think long and hard before you make the move.

That’s why it’s one of those decisions in which it pays to seek professional help from a financial adviser. A trusted adviser can test out different scenarios to see if you can make retirement at 60 work.

Not sure if you should wait beyond 62 to collect Social Security and draw from your 401(k), a financial adviser can help you figure that out. Confused about how your asset allocation should be since you are retiring five to seven years earlier? A financial adviser can help with that, too.

“It doesn’t stop at retirement,” says Rupp. “There are further strategies to implement.”

It doesn’t have to be a dream

Retiring at 60 may seem like a pipe dream, but it's far from impossible.

“You have to prepare ahead of time. You can’t decide at age 59, you want to retire at 60,” says Rupp. “You need at least a couple of years to prepare.”

That lead time is crucial for stress-testing your math. But if you plan intentionally—mapping out how you’ll bridge the gap to the day when you take Social Security, navigating the pre-Medicare health care maze and ensuring your nest egg can go the distance, you can turn that early retirement dream into a reality.

Donna Fuscaldo is the retirement writer at Kiplinger.com. A writer and editor focused on retirement savings, planning, travel and lifestyle, Donna brings over two decades of experience working with publications including AARP, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investopedia and HerMoney.