Can You Retire Early on $750,000? The Real Answer

Retiring early with a $750,000 nest egg? For some, it can work—with careful planning, clear expectations, and a willingness to keep your spending within real-world limits. 

🎯As I shared with Investopedia, early retirement at age 60 with this amount is “doable for some—but only with strong planning, modest spending, and healthy doses of realism.” The wild cards? Lifestyle, healthcare, inflation, and where you plan to call home.

Lifestyle, in fact, is the biggest swing factor. If you’re comfortable living on $30,000 to $35,000 a year, $750k could be enough. But if visions of globe-trotting or generous family gifts are in the cards, you’ll need a larger cushion. Healthcare looms even larger: without Medicare until age 65, private or ACA insurance for a couple can easily top $10,000–$20,000 a year—often becoming the single biggest unpredictable expense during those gap years. Add in where you live (high-cost cities can devour a modest nest egg) and what happens with inflation (even a one percent difference compounds over decades), and the “magic number” starts to look a lot less universal.

One essential: stress-test your plan for a longer time horizon. The “4% rule” is a classic benchmark, but for early retirees, advisors are now recommending lower withdrawal rates—3% to 3.5%—to help your savings last for a retirement that could stretch 35 or 40 years. Social Security also requires smart timing: if you claim benefits at 62, you’ll get less, but it can help bridge the income gap; waiting longer can boost your monthly payout substantially, but means leaning more heavily on your investments to fill the void in the meantime.

Bottom line: Early retirement with $750,000 isn’t impossible, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all plan. You'll need sharp budgeting, careful healthcare strategizing, and constant vigilance as reality—be it inflation, market swings, or health shocks—inevitably alters the landscape. Plan for less than perfect years and review your spending annually. And if the numbers seem tight, remember: tweaking your location, delaying retirement just a few years, or finding creative ways to supplement income can make all the difference. No matter how big your nest egg, the smartest move is to treat your plan as a living document—one that adapts long after your last day of work.