Is $500,000 enough to retire at 60?
With $500,000 invested at age 60, you could safely spend about $26,000 a year in today's dollars through age 95 in a typical market — roughly $19,000 if markets are weak in your early retirement years, and up to about $34,000 if they're strong. That's before Social Security, which adds to what you can spend. So $500,000 is enough to retire at 60 if your target budget sits at or below the lower end of that range; above it, you'd be leaning on good market luck.
What's behind these numbers
Most retirement rules of thumb compress your plan into one average-return figure. This one runs the same year-by-year projection the live calculator uses, across three market paths — a weak start (bear), a typical market (base), and a strong one (bull) — because the order and spread of returns in your first retirement years decides outcomes far more than the long-run average does. Every figure above assumes:
- Spending is in today's dollars and lasts through age 95.
- Portfolio-only — Social Security is excluded (it only lowers the requirement).
- Savings split ~65% pre-tax (401k/IRA), 20% Roth, 15% taxable; federal taxes and RMDs applied.
- Allocation glides from 60% stocks at retirement to 30% by age 95.
- Bear / base / bull are the ~10th / 50th / 90th-percentile return paths from history, not a forecast.
Common questions
What yearly budget does $500,000 support?
About $26,000 a year in a typical market, holding up across a full retirement to age 95. Plan nearer $19,000 to stay safe through a weak-market start; a strong market could support $34,000 or more. All before Social Security.
What assumptions produced this?
Your savings are placed across a 401(k), Roth and taxable account in a representative mix and glide from 60% stocks at retirement down to 30% by age 95. The model applies federal taxes on withdrawals, required minimum distributions from 73, and a rising healthcare cost — then checks the money lasts every year.