Can I Retire on 4 Million Dollars?

• Your retirement savings plan needs to take into account your life expectancy, inflation, and expected returns.
• The amount of savings you will need to retire comfortably depends on many factors, including where you live, your life expectancy, and what you expect your lifestyle to be.
• To calculate how much you would need to save in order to retire comfortably, you must consider such factors as your age, lifestyle, and where you live.

The amount of money you would need saved in order to retire comfortably is a question that is often asked. The answer depends on many factors including your age, where you live, and what you expect your lifestyle to be.

Financial Independence

Financial independence is when a person has saved enough money to cover their lifetime expenses. For Americans, this number varies, but 4 million dollars would cover about 25 years.
While 4 million dollars should cover 25 years, it is still a tall order for many people to save in that time. However, if you start saving at a young age, it is possible. For example, if you start saving at age 25, you should be able to reach financial independence by age 65.
Retire on 4 Million Dollars: Problematic
While saving 4 million dollars in 25 years is doable, many people have trouble saving even half of that. It is much tougher for people to save when they are older and facing higher living expenses.
If you retire on 4 million dollars, you will have to worry about living off of your savings, which means your cost of living will be much lower. This can be an issue because many people enjoy spending money on things they enjoy, such as eating out and traveling.

4 Million Dollars, 30 Years

The 4% rule (or "safe withdrawal rate") states that a retiree can safely withdraw 4% of his or her portfolio each year. The 4% rule has been the standard for retirement planning for a long time. However, many financial planners agree that this rule is too conservative, especially given the recent bull market.

4 Million Dollars, 45 Years

Assume you retire at 65 and choose to live on $80,000 a year.
Your initial investment of $4 million would compound at 11% for 40 years, so you would have $22.4 million.
Your investments would also be taxed at a rate of 35%.
After 40 years, you would have $24.7 million.
You would then withdraw $80,000 a year, which would leave $20.8 million.
Your final 10 years would be taxed at 15%, leaving you with $19.6 million.
You would then receive $2.2 million from Social Security, leaving you with $17.4 million.
Finally, you would need to spend $80,000 a year, leaving you with $16.6 million.
Your total net worth would be $17.4 million, which you can withdraw.

4 Million Dollars, 60 Years

Assuming a 3% withdrawal rate, with inflation, this nest egg could support a retiree for 60 years. However, assuming a 3% withdrawal rate, an 80-year-old could live on $1,500 a month. Depending on lifestyle, $1,500 a month could support an 80-year-old for anywhere from 15 to 20 years.

4 Million Dollars, 70 Years

After 30 years, a 4 million dollar nest egg would be worth 2.1 million dollars. After 40 years, it would be worth 1.5 million dollars. After 50 years, it would be worth 1.1 million dollars.
After 70 years, it would be worth 1.0 million dollars. After 80 years, it would be worth 925,000 dollars. After 90 years, it would be worth 745,000 dollars.

Gold IRA: Should You Open One To Save For Retirement?

The Bottom Line

4 million dollars is a lot of green, but it's not an unrealistic figure for retirement. You would be looking at an inflation-adjusted income of $30,000 a year, which is considerably higher than the current median household income of $51,939.