Q&A: When to Retire, Specific Date, Age & Required Money!

When to retire? This is one of the most asked questions in retirement planning. I remember an old quote about retirement age. Let e share it to you. The author said “it’s not the age, it’s at what income”. So the right question should not be “when to retire“. The right question is “how much money do I need to retire?”.

The money you want to earned or save is the basis of retirement age. Let me tell you some good ideas here;

Assuming John Doe is a 30 years old wants to retire at 65  with half million dollars in his retirement account. John Doe has 35 years of preparation to acquire half million dollars. If John Doe only wants half million dollars and get it after 25 years instead of 35 years, he will retire at 55.

Related Post: How to Retire Early?

When to Retire? Ask Yourself the Exact Amount

I know many of us wants to retire early. But, as I mentioned to my previous articles, people don’t know exactly what they want. They just want early retirement. But, have no concrete plans how to achieve it. First, they are not sure how much money to have to retire comfortable. Second, they are not sure how much money is required to save every month to get the exact amount of retirement funds.

The amount of money you want will help you think when to retire. Just like in our example above, John Doe only want half million dollars. If in his retirement plan, he wants to get that amount after 35 years, but, got it after 10 years, he can retire early.

Note: We are not talking about time and date here. The topic “when to retire” is about the right retirement age. We are not talking about the month or year. However, sometimes knowing the exact month and year will help you achieve your retirement goals. If this year is 2016 and I want to retire after 21 years, I should retire in year 2037. My plan is to retire during my birthday, October 2037.

When to Retire Simply Means when to Stop Working

if you can’t afford to lose your job because you are worrying about money, don’t retire yet. The idea is simple, just ask yourself when do you want to stop working?

You can only stop working if you have enough earning asset that earns equivalent to your annual income. What do I mean by that? If you are earning $20,000 per year, you should have $200,000 that earns 10% per year to earn $20,000.

See? Have you use your retirement planning IQ with the example? Now, when do you want to stop working? When is your plan to obtain the amount of money you want as your retirement earning asset. The question is, do you know how much money you should need to retire? if not, you will have no idea when to retire.

To learn more, you can use the sample computation when a person wants to retire at 55.

Conclusion

• Don’t just ask yourself when to retire. Ask yourself about the exact amount of money you really need.
• You should have a earning asset that can earn the equivalent of your current income or more.
• Asking retirement planners regarding this matter will help you save time and money.

Retirement Quote of the Day

Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

What about you? Did you know exactly the date or age when to retire? Let me know your comments, thoughts and opinions about this topic. Leave a comment. Share this page with your friends in Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Thank you.