Here Is What Retiring With $5 Million at 55 Looks Like | SoFi (2024)

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Here Is What Retiring With $5 Million at 55 Looks Like | SoFi? ›

Depending on your location, this sum could allow you to live on $100,000 annually for all of your post-retirement endeavors. Even if you live another 50 years after retiring, with $5 million as your nest egg, you could still withdraw six figures every year.

Data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, based on the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, reveals that a mere 0.1% of retirees manage to accumulate over $5 million in their retirement accounts, whereas only 3.2% amass over $1 million.

Even if you live another 50 years, $5 million in savings would allow you to live on $100,000 per year. Here are four things to keep in mind as you plan for a $5 million retirement at age 55. A financial advisor can help you manage your assets and plan for retirement.

You can probably retire at 55 if you have $4 million in savings. This amount, according to conventional estimates, can reliably produce enough income to pay for a comfortable retirement.

To be considered wealthy at age 65 or older, you need a household net worth of $3.2 million, according to finance expert Geoffrey Schmidt, CPA, who used data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine the household net worth needed at age 65 or older to determine the various percentiles of wealth in ...

Data from the Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances (2022) indicates the median retirement savings account balance for all U.S. families stands at $87,000.

By age 40, you should have three times your annual salary already saved. By age 50, you should have six times your salary in an account. By age 60, you should have eight times your salary working for you. By age 67, your total savings total goal is 10 times the amount of your current annual salary.

So it's perfectly legal to retire in your mid-50s if that's your goal. But it's important to keep in mind that retiring at 55 isn't the norm for most people. If you're going by the normal retirement age prescribed by Social Security, for example, that usually means waiting until you're 66 or 67.

How much does Suze Orman say you need to retire? ›

"If you don't have at least $5 million or $10 million, don't retire early," Suze asserted. Orman's assertion that individuals need "at least $5 million to retire early" stirred a mix of reactions, with some viewing it as excessively cautious while others validate her perspective.

Yes, this is very doable. If you were to retire at 50, assuming a life expectancy of 90 years, you could guarantee an income of at least $10,417 a month. You could also retire at 40 with at least $8,333 a month or even 30 with at least $6,944 a month.

Types of High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs)

The upper end of HNWI is around $5 million, at which point the client is referred to as a very-HNWI. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are defined as people with investable assets of at least $30 million.

To retire at 55, one thing is for sure—you'll need to have savings and investments outside of your retirement accounts that can sustain your lifestyle until you can access that money with minimal impact to your bottom line.

There are estimated to be a little over 8 million households in the US with a net worth of $3 million or more.

How Much Money Do I Need to Retire at 55? On average, you'll need to have saved $1,051,814 to retire at 55 years old. This is based on the median earnings of Americans according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' October 2023 Current Population Survey in weekly earnings.

For example, you might assume an average 8% annual return on your investments. This is a middle-of-the-road return for a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash. At this rate of return, $5 million will generate $400,000 in the first year. For a spending figure, you can use 4% of the total you have saved up.

According to the Federal Reserve's latest Survey of Consumer Finances, only about 10% of American retirees have managed to save $1 million or more. This leaves a significant 90% who fall short of this milestone.