When Can I Retire? Calculator That Tests Every Age From 55 to 70
A calculator that runs your plan at every retirement age from 55 to 70, plus the ages the law fixes: the rule of 55, 59½, Social Security and Medicare.
Retire at the earliest age at which your plan still succeeds in most market paths. For a 45-year-old with $500,000 saved, adding $20,000 a year and planning to spend $60,000 a year (with $24,000 of Social Security from 67), the earliest age that succeeds in at least 90% of 1,000 market paths to age 95 is 63: 91.9% at 63 against 56.1% at 55 and 99.6% at 70. Enter your own numbers below.
Last updated 2026-11-04. Sources are linked next to each figure and listed at the end.
Test every retirement age from 55 to 70
1,000 market paths at each age, the plan running to age 95. Your Social Security estimate is on your statement at ssa.gov; enter 0 to plan without it.
Want the tax-aware version? A PRO run uses 10,000 Sobol quasi-random paths, taxes every withdrawal, and tests Roth conversions and Social Security claiming ages in the same plan: Personal PRO — Go PRO — $49 once →
Success rate at every retirement age (example household)
| Retire at | Money lasts to 95 | Median balance at 95 |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | 56.1% | $431,972 |
| 56 | 62.7% | $867,258 |
| 57 | 68.9% | $1,227,865 |
| 58 | 73.8% | $1,666,798 |
| 59 | 78.7% | $2,050,039 |
| 60 | 83.5% | $2,486,059 |
| 61 | 86.1% | $2,894,171 |
| 62 | 88.7% | $3,262,281 |
| 63 | 91.9% | $3,645,044 |
| 64 | 94.1% | $4,028,895 |
| 65 | 95.3% | $4,394,871 |
| 66 | 97.4% | $4,752,050 |
| 67 | 98.1% | $5,061,287 |
| 68 | 98.8% | $5,244,400 |
| 69 | 99.2% | $5,460,785 |
| 70 | 99.6% | $5,652,936 |
Each extra working year does three things at once: one more year of contributions, one more year of growth, and one fewer year of withdrawals. That is why the success rate climbs fastest in the early fifties and flattens once most paths already succeed.
What is the best age to retire?
The best age is the earliest one your plan survives at the confidence you want, adjusted for four dates the law fixes:
- 55 — the rule of 55. Leave your employer in or after the year you turn 55 (50 for qualifying public-safety workers) and that employer’s 401(k) pays out without the 10% additional tax (IRS, exceptions to the 10% tax). See the 401(k) withdrawal rules.
- 59½ — every IRA and plan opens. Withdrawals after 59½ owe income tax but no additional tax (IRC §72(t)(2)(A)(i)).
- 62 to 70 — Social Security. Benefits can start at 62, reduced; for anyone born in 1960 or later full retirement age is 67, and each year you wait past it to 70 raises the benefit by delayed retirement credits (42 U.S.C. §416(l); §402(q), (w)). Compare ages on the full retirement age page.
- 65 — Medicare. Part A coverage generally starts the month you turn 65 (Medicare.gov). Retiring earlier means paying for health insurance yourself; see early-retirement healthcare costs.
What this calculator leaves out, so you can judge the result: income tax on withdrawals (spending is what you take out, before tax), healthcare before 65, a pension, and the effect of claiming Social Security earlier or later. The free planner and PRO add each of them.
Ready for the full picture? The free planner adds taxes, Social Security timing and a pension to the same Monte Carlo.
Run the free retirement planner →Common questions
When can I retire?
When your savings, plus Social Security and any pension, can pay your spending to the end of your plan in most market paths. The calculator above tests every age from 55 to 70 and returns the earliest one that reaches the success level you choose; for the example household it is 63.
What is the best age to retire?
The earliest age your plan survives at the confidence you want, checked against four dates fixed by law: 55 (the rule of 55 for a 401(k) you leave), 59½ (no additional tax on any IRA or plan), 62–70 (Social Security; full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later, 42 U.S.C. §416(l)) and 65 (Medicare, Medicare.gov).
What success rate should I aim for?
There is no official threshold. Many planners treat 80–90% as a working range, because a plan that succeeds in 99% of paths usually means working or saving longer than needed, and a plan can be adjusted (spending cut, part-time work) when markets fall early.
Does this include taxes?
No. Spending here is the amount you withdraw, before income tax. The free planner and Personal PRO add federal and state tax on each year’s withdrawals.
Sources
- IRS: Exceptions to tax on early distributions
- 26 U.S.C. §72 (including (p) loans and (t) the 10% additional tax)
- 42 U.S.C. §416(l) (Social Security full retirement age)
- 42 U.S.C. §402(q) and (w) (early reduction, delayed credits)
- Medicare.gov: When does Medicare coverage start?
The success rates are QCMonteCarlo runs (frontend/js/calc/mc-plan.js), the browser copy of the planner’s C engine, held to it path for path; 1,000 paths per age, seed 42. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax, legal, insurance or investment advice.
Related
How long will my money last? → How much do I need to retire? By age → Retirement savings by age → Monte Carlo retirement calculator → Social Security full retirement age → 401(k) withdrawal rules →