Can I Afford to Retire at 60? Social Security and Medicare Gaps

Short answer: to see whether you can afford to retire at 60, find the portfolio that bridges the years before Social Security starts and then supports the rest of retirement. For $60,000 of yearly spending and an assumed 5% return after inflation, claiming at 62 needs about $1,033,243 at 60, claiming at 67 needs about $933,087 and claiming at 70 needs about $874,462, because a bigger benefit later means a smaller draw. Add about $45,000 for the five years before Medicare at 65.

Key takeaways

• Retiring at 60 leaves gaps: two to ten years before Social Security and five before Medicare.
• Claiming later raises the benefit (30% lower at 62 than at 67, and 24% higher at 70), but you must fund more bridge years.
• In the example, waiting to 70 lowers the portfolio needed at 60, even after a ten-year bridge.
• Health cover before 65 is a separate cost. Plan about $9,000 a year in the example.

How does the claiming age change the portfolio needed?

Assume $60,000 of yearly spending in today's dollars, a full retirement benefit of $28,000 at 67, a 5% return after inflation, and the 25-times rule for the period after you claim. The bridge years are funded from the portfolio, with withdrawals at the start of each year.

The "needed at the claim date" figure is 25 times the part of spending the benefit does not cover. Discounting it back to age 60 and adding the bridge gives the total. Waiting is cheaper in this example because the extra benefit for life is worth more than the extra bridge years cost. That depends on the numbers and on how long you live, so it is not a rule. See when to claim Social Security.

What about health cover before Medicare?

In the United States, Medicare starts at 65. A 60-year-old retiree needs private cover for five years. At $9,000 a year that is $45,000, which belongs in the plan on top of the table above, or inside your yearly spending figure. Prices vary by plan, state and health, so get real quotes. See can I afford to quit my job for how health cover affects a gap.

What else needs checking?

1. Access to accounts. At 59 and a half most penalties on retirement account withdrawals end, so 60 is clear. Check your plans' rules.
2. Taxes. Withdrawals from traditional accounts are taxed, so you need to withdraw more than you spend.
3. Your spending. Use real numbers. See how much do I need to retire.
4. A cash buffer of one to two years of spending against a poor start. See sequence-of-returns risk explained.
5. Debt. Entering retirement without a mortgage lowers your spending.
6. Longevity. Plan to 90 or 95.

What if the numbers do not work?

• Work part-time for a few years, which cuts the bridge cost and the healthcare gap.
• Retire at 62 or 63 instead, with fewer bridge years.
• Reduce spending, which lowers every row of the table.
• Save more now. See the retirement calculator guide.
• Check your pace. See am I on track for retirement.

Test the plan against a poor first few years. See will my money last in retirement.

What mistakes make retiring at 60 harder than expected?

Each of these is easy to fix before you retire, and costly to fix after.

• Forgetting health cover before Medicare, which can be a large yearly cost.
• Claiming Social Security at 62 by default, without comparing the lifetime effect.
• Planning to spend from retirement accounts without allowing for tax.
• Keeping no cash buffer, which exposes the first years to a market fall.
• Underestimating spending, especially travel and healthcare in the early years.

How do you rehearse retirement?

A rehearsal turns assumptions into facts, and often reveals that spending is either lower or higher than expected. Either way, it is far better to learn that at 59 than at 61.

• Live on your planned retirement budget for three to six months while still working, and bank the difference.
• Use that time to find which costs you underestimated.
• Test your health cover quotes and your withdrawal order with a professional.
• Decide how you will spend your time, which affects both cost and satisfaction.

Keep the plan flexible. Many people who retire at 60 earn something in the first years, through part-time work or consulting, and this lowers the bridge cost and the risk from an early market fall. Others delay by a year or two and find the numbers improve a great deal, since another year adds savings, shortens the bridge and raises the eventual benefit. Rerun the figures yearly as your balance, spending and health insurance quotes change.

Sources and further reading: the IRS explains withdrawal rules, SEC Investor.gov has retirement planning tools, and the Social Security Administration publishes benefit estimates.

General education, not financial or investment advice. Reviewed October 2026. Benefits are illustrations ($28,000 at 67, 70% of it at 62, 124% at 70). A 5% real return is not guaranteed, and healthcare costs vary widely.

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