Retiring Soon With $800,000? Smart Moves to Make Right Now

"The biggest consideration here is that you have to think about how to manage this money to be sustainable over a potential 30-year retirement. The alternative is potentially running out of your money in your 70s, and it's all going to come down to the decisions you make right now. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, how much you can safely withdraw, what your living costs will be, and how to structure assets so market volatility doesn't derail your plans."

"If you are on track to retire with $800,000, the first thing you need to do is get a firm handle on how much annual income $800,000 can realistically produce. Using the beloved 4% rule that currently dominates retirement planning, you're looking at around $32,000 per year before taxes. What you have to think about is that this is basically the baseline number you have to work with over the next 30+ years, which is how long the 4% rule is designed to last."

Approaching retirement with $800,000 requires a strategic shift toward sustainability over a potential 30-year retirement. Safe withdrawal-rate choices largely determine annual income: the 4% rule yields about $32,000 per year before taxes, a 3.5% rate would produce roughly $28,000, and a 5% rate increases early-year income to about $40,000 but risks depleting the portfolio before age 85. Retirement planning must account for living costs, asset allocation to reduce volatility risk, and other income sources such as Social Security and home equity to avoid running out of money in later decades.

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