Many people dream of retiring early and getting to enjoy the freedom that comes with it. But an early retirement isn't something to just dive into. Rather, it requires a fair amount of planning. If these signs apply to you, however, it's a good indication that you may be able to pull off an early workforce exit.
1. You're consistently saving a good 20% of your income or more
Many seniors worry about outliving their savings. And the longer your retirement, the more of a concern that becomes.
That's why retiring early hinges on socking away a nice amount of money in a retirement savings plan. But if you've been consistently saving 20% of your income or more, it means you could very well be on track to wrap up your career early and have plenty of cash reserves to tap once you stop collecting a paycheck from a job.
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2. You're not counting too heavily on Social Security to cover your retirement expenses
Despite what you might have heard, Social Security is not on the verge of bankruptcy. But even so, benefit cuts could be on the table. And even if benefits aren't slashed, in a best-case scenario, they'll replace about 40% of your preretirement wages if you're an average earner, and even less if you're an above-average earner. So all told, it's important to have plenty of income outside of Social Security.
Aside from that, the earliest age you can sign up for Social Security is 62. Now, early retirement can mean different things to different people. But if, in your world, it means retiring in your late 50s or very early 60s, you'll need to make sure you're not too reliant on Social Security, since you may not be eligible to claim benefits at the time your career comes to an end.
3. You have money set aside to cover your healthcare needs
Healthcare tends to be a huge expense for retirees. But if you kick off retirement early, you might run into a situation where you're no longer on an employer's health plan, but you're also too young for Medicare, since you can't get that coverage until you turn 65.
That's why it's so important to make sure you're saving specifically for healthcare. You might have to bear the cost of a marketplace insurance plan and a host of out-of-pocket expenses under that plan.
But if you've been setting funds aside for healthcare -- perhaps in an HSA (health savings account) -- you may be in great shape to tackle the medical bills that arise once your career ends. And in that case, there's no reason not to move forward with early retirement.
Early retirement isn't for everyone -- either because it's not the right fit, or because it's just not doable financially. But if these signs apply to you, it means you're in pretty good shape to wrap up your career earlier than most people and start embracing the opportunity to spend your days doing the things you love.
