I’m 52 with $4 million saved – but I’m worried about the years before I start Social Security and I don’t want to tap into my savings

1 hour ago 2

Joey Frenette

Mon, December 22, 2025 astatine 10:10 AM CST 4 min read

Personal Finance

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  • A 52-year-old with $4M nett worthy and nary owe feels uncertain astir retiring aboriginal contempt appearing financially prepared.

  • The idiosyncratic earned $500K annually but maintained comparatively humble spending with each large expenses covered.

  • Gradual status starting astatine 55 would let investigating of currency travel sustainability earlier afloat retirement.

  • If you’re reasoning astir retiring oregon cognize idiosyncratic who is, determination are 3 speedy questions causing galore Americans to recognize they tin discontinue earlier than expected. instrumentality 5 minutes to learn much here

Some folks don't consciousness affluent capable oregon prepared for retirement, adjacent with respective millions saved up. Indeed, it tin beryllium beauteous hard to gully a enactment successful the soil and say, "What I person is enough." Indeed, the past fewer years of ostentation person galore questioning whether it's a bully clip to discontinue oregon to pad one's nest ovum further truthful that 1 tin consciousness richer.

In this piece, we'll excavation further into a lawsuit that involves a 52-year-old with a nett worthy of astir $4 cardinal who's inactive feeling conscionable a spot insecure and uncertain astir the fiscal consequences of retiring galore years (they're shooting to easiness into status by "slow things down" astatine astir 55) earlier they're eligible to person societal information benefits (62 years of age).

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Undoubtedly, retiring aboriginal tin travel with its just stock of fiscal anxieties, careless of however overmuch 1 has saved up. This is lone natural, particularly for idiosyncratic who's been financially savvy for galore decades. After all, you don't get to a nett worthy of $4 cardinal without being bully with wealth and making shrewd decisions. Indeed, galore readers whitethorn find that this idiosyncratic who took to Reddit for varied viewpoints has thing to fearfulness but fearfulness itself arsenic helium eases into an aboriginal retirement.

Even if you've got millions banked, it won't mean overmuch if your monthly fund is supra and beyond that of the mean person. For the idiosyncratic who claims to person made a whopping fractional a cardinal per twelvemonth successful income, 1 has to deliberation that there's immoderate signifier of "lifestyle creep" — higher expenses successful effect to higher levels of income coming successful — that's crept up connected them implicit the years.

Indeed, if you're making a bigger salary, it lone makes consciousness to walk much of it. In immoderate case, the 52-year-old sounded precise financially responsible, adjacent a spot frugal comparative to the income they're pulling in. So, I don't deliberation the idiosyncratic volition tally retired of wealth successful retirement, and surely not earlier they're eligible to cod societal information benefits.


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