My Plan to Retire at 60 (Even If It’s Not FIRE)

Have you ever felt the goalposts for retirement keep moving? I certainly have. For years, I chased a moving target. That’s why I created my personal retirement plan at 60. This guide shows you how to retire at 60 with solid financial planning for retirement at 60. We will focus on boosting retirement savings for 60 year olds through smart late career retirement planning. It’s about crafting a comfortable retirement plan without the extremes of FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). This is about sustainable freedom. It is a deliberate choice for a life well-lived.

A Comfortable Retirement Plan at 60

The idea of retiring at 60 used to feel like a fantasy. The news often paints a grim picture. Many people work well into their late 60s. Some never truly retire. The FIRE movement, on the other hand, felt too extreme for me. I love my career. However, I don’t want to work because I have to. I want to work because I want to. Retiring at 60 isn’t about escaping a job I hate. Instead, it’s about gaining control over my most valuable asset: my time.

Why 60? The Magic Number

For me, 60 represents a sweet spot. I will likely still have my health and energy. Consequently, I can pursue travel, hobbies, and new passions with vigor. My children will be fully independent. My mortgage will, with any luck, be a thing of the past. This age also feels achievable. It doesn’t require the punishing savings rates of someone trying to retire at 40. Also, it is a goal that feels grounded in reality, not a lottery win. It is about strategic, focused effort during my peak earning years. This isn’t early retirement in the FIRE sense; it is a timely retirement. It’s a transition planned with purpose.

What is a Comfortable Retirement Plan without FIRE?

Let’s be clear. My plan for retirement without FIRE is not about lavish luxury. I don’t need a yacht or a penthouse in every city. A comfortable retirement for me means:

Financial Security: Covering all my essential bills without stress. This includes housing, utilities, food, and transportation.
Healthcare Confidence: Having a solid plan for health insurance until Medicare kicks in at 65. This is a non-negotiable part of the plan.
Freedom for Fun: Possessing enough discretionary income for my passions. This means travel, dining out with friends, and investing in my hobbies like woodworking and gardening.
Flexibility for the Unexpected: Maintaining a cash cushion for emergencies. Life always throws curveballs, like a leaky roof or a major car repair.
Zero Debt: Entering retirement completely debt-free. No mortgage, no car loans, no credit card balances. This is the ultimate financial peace of mind.

This vision requires a number. A concrete, tangible figure that I can work toward. It’s not about an arbitrary “million-dollar” goal. Instead, it is about funding a specific, desired lifestyle. That is where the real work begins.

Financial Planning for Retirement at 60

A dream without a plan is just a wish. Transforming my vision into a reality required a deep, honest look at my finances. This phase of my financial planning for retirement at 60 was less about excitement and more about spreadsheets and hard truths. But it is the most critical part of the entire process. You cannot reach a destination without first knowing where you are on the map.

Step 1: Define Your ‘Comfortable’ Number

First, I had to figure out how much money my retired self would actually need. This is the cornerstone of any comfortable retirement plan. Many experts suggest you’ll need 80% of your pre-retirement income. I found that rule of thumb too generic. My expenses in retirement will look very different.

For instance, some costs will disappear:

Commuting expenses (gas, public transport).
Work-related clothing and lunches.
Retirement savings contributions themselves!

However, other costs will likely increase:

Healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Travel and hobby-related spending.
Home maintenance (as I’ll be home more).

So, I built a detailed post-retirement budget. I tracked my current spending for three months to get a realistic baseline. Then, I adjusted each category based on my retirement vision.

Sample Post-Retirement Monthly Budget

Expense Category	Current Monthly Spend	Projected Retirement Spend	Notes
Housing (Mortgage/Taxes)	$2,200	$600	Mortgage will be paid off; only taxes/insurance remain.
Utilities	$350	$400	More time at home might increase usage.
Groceries	$600	$700	More home cooking, but also nicer ingredients.
Transportation	$400	$200	No daily commute; car is owned outright.
Healthcare (Premiums)	$250 (Employer)	$1,200	ACA plan until Medicare at 65. This is a huge change.
Dining & Entertainment	$500	$600	A key part of my desired social life.
Travel Fund	$300	$800	A major priority in retirement.
Hobbies & Shopping	$250	$400	More time for woodworking and gardening supplies.
Total Monthly Need	$4,850	$4,900	My monthly need is surprisingly similar!

My projected annual need is $4,900 x 12 = $58,800.

To be safe, I added a 15% buffer for inflation and unexpected costs. This brought my target annual income to roughly $68,000.

Using the 4% Rule (a common guideline suggesting you can safely withdraw 4% of your invested assets each year), I could calculate my total retirement nest egg goal.

Retirement Nest Egg Goal = Annual Income Need / 0.04

$68,000 / 0.04 = $1,700,000

Suddenly, I had my magic number: $1.7 million. It felt huge, but it wasn’t a guess. It was a concrete target based on my own life.

Step 2: A Brutally Honest Net Worth Statement

With my target in sight, I needed to know my starting point. This meant creating a net worth statement. It’s a simple snapshot of what I own (assets) versus what I owe (liabilities). It can be a little scary, but ignorance is not bliss in financial planning.

Assets:

Retirement Accounts: 401(k), Roth IRA, Traditional IRA. I listed the current balance of each.
Taxable Brokerage Account: Stocks, bonds, and ETFs outside of retirement accounts.
Health Savings Account (HSA): This is a powerful, triple-tax-advantaged retirement tool.
Cash Savings: Emergency fund, checking accounts.
Home Equity: The estimated market value of my home minus the remaining mortgage.
Other Major Assets: The value of my car.

Liabilities:

Mortgage Balance: The big one.
Car Loan: The remaining balance.
Credit Card Debt: Any outstanding balances.
Other Loans: Any personal or student loans.

Net Worth = Total Assets – Total Liabilities

This exercise gave me a clear, unflinching number. Let’s say my net worth came out to $850,000 at age 50. My goal is $1.7 million. Therefore, I needed to accumulate another $850,000 over the next 10 years. Now the challenge was defined. This made my late career retirement planning feel like a solvable puzzle, not an impossible mountain.

Step 3: Annihilate High-Interest Debt

Before I could aggressively build wealth, I had to stop the leaks in my financial boat. High-interest debt, especially credit card debt, is an anchor. It actively works against your savings. The interest you pay is a guaranteed negative return. You would never accept a guaranteed -18% return on an investment, so why accept it on debt?

My strategy was simple and focused:

Stop Accumulating New Debt: I committed to living within my means. I used a debit card or paid my credit card bill in full each month.
Attack the Highest Interest Rate First (The Avalanche Method): I listed all my debts from the highest interest rate to the lowest. Then, I made minimum payments on everything except the top one. Every spare dollar went toward destroying that high-interest debt. Once it was gone, I rolled that entire payment amount onto the next debt in line. This created a powerful snowball of payments that accelerated my debt-free journey.

Paying off my car loan and the last of a pesky credit card balance freed up hundreds of dollars a month. That money was immediately rerouted toward my savings goals. Becoming debt-free is a cornerstone of how to retire at 60.

Late Career Retirement Planning in Action

With a clear target and my financial house in order, it was time to go on offense. My 50s are my peak earning years. This is the decade to maximize every possible advantage. This is the core of my late career retirement planning strategy. It is not about penny-pinching. It’s about being incredibly intentional with my money.

Hitting the Max on Tax-Advantaged Accounts

The government provides powerful incentives to save for retirement. I decided to use them to their absolute fullest. These accounts are the bedrock of my retirement savings for 60 year olds plan.

The 401(k) Catch-Up: At age 50, you become eligible for “catch-up contributions.” This allows you to contribute significantly more to your 401(k) or similar workplace plan than younger colleagues. For 2024, the regular limit is $23,000, but the catch-up provision adds an extra $7,500. My top priority became contributing the full $30,500. I automated this through my payroll. The money never even hit my checking account, which made it painless. Plus, every dollar contributed pre-tax lowers my taxable income for the year. That’s an immediate win.
The IRA Catch-Up: The same catch-up rule applies to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The 2024 limit is $7,000, with a $1,000 catch-up for those 50 and over. I contribute the full $8,000 to my Roth IRA. While this contribution doesn’t lower my current taxes, all the growth and future withdrawals in retirement will be completely tax-free. This provides crucial tax diversification for my future self.

The HSA: My Secret Retirement Weapon

The Health Savings Account (HSA) is, in my opinion, the most powerful retirement savings vehicle available. It offers a unique triple tax advantage:

Tax-Deductible Contributions: The money you put in lowers your taxable income for the year.
Tax-Free Growth: Your investments inside the HSA grow without being taxed.
Tax-Free Withdrawals: You can withdraw the money tax-free for qualified medical expenses at any time.

Here’s the kicker: once you turn 65, you can withdraw money from your HSA for any reason, just like a Traditional IRA. You’ll pay income tax on non-medical withdrawals, but the initial tax deduction and tax-free growth make it an incredible deal. My plan is to pay for current medical expenses out-of-pocket as much as possible. This allows my HSA balance to grow untouched, like a supercharged retirement account. It’s a key part of my strategy to cover healthcare costs both before and during retirement.

Beyond Retirement Accounts: The Brokerage Bridge

After maxing out every available tax-advantaged account, I still had some money left to invest. This surplus went into a standard taxable brokerage account. This account serves a critical purpose: it acts as a “bridge.”

Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and Traditional IRAs have penalties for withdrawals before age 59.5. Since I plan to retire at 60, this isn’t a huge issue. However, having a flexible pool of money in a brokerage account provides a buffer. It can cover large expenses in the first few years of retirement without me having to touch my core retirement funds. I invest this money in a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds, just like my retirement accounts.

The Asset Allocation Glide Path

As I get closer to 60, my investment strategy needs to shift slightly. I cannot afford a massive market downturn right before I plan to stop working. This doesn’t mean I’ll sell all my stocks and run for the hills. Instead, I am gradually “de-risking” my portfolio.

My Asset Allocation Shift

Age Range	Stocks %	Bonds & Cash %	Rationale
50-54	80%	20%	Focused on growth while I still have a decade of earning potential.
55-59	70%	30%	Gradually shifting to preserve capital. Introducing more stability.
At Retirement (60)	60%	40%	A balanced approach to provide continued growth to fight inflation, but with a significant safety buffer.

This is not a drastic, all-at-once change. I rebalance my portfolio once a year. This involves selling some of the assets that have performed well (typically stocks) and buying more of the underperforming assets (typically bonds) to get back to my target allocation. This disciplined process forces me to sell high and buy low, which is the heart of smart investing.

The Healthcare Hurdle: A Crucial Part of How to Retire at 60

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room for anyone retiring before 65: healthcare. This is, without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges and expenses. Losing access to an employer-sponsored health plan is a serious financial consideration. My entire plan for how to retire at 60 would collapse without a solid, well-funded strategy for this five-year gap until Medicare eligibility.

Understanding the Options

I have two primary options for health coverage from age 60 to 65. Neither is cheap, but both are viable.

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act): This law allows me to continue my current employer’s health coverage for up to 18 months after leaving my job.
- Pro: I get to keep the exact same insurance plan. My doctors, network, and coverage remain unchanged, providing excellent continuity of care.
- Con: The cost is astronomical. I would be responsible for 100% of the premium, plus a 2% administrative fee. My employer currently pays about 70% of my premium. This means my monthly cost would likely more than triple. COBRA is a great short-term bridge, but it is not a sustainable five-year solution for me.
ACA Marketplace (Affordable Care Act): This is the health insurance exchange where individuals can purchase policies directly.
- Pro: I may be eligible for subsidies. The premium tax credits are based on my Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). By carefully managing my retirement withdrawals, I can potentially control my income level to qualify for significant financial assistance, making my premiums much more affordable.
- Con: The plans can be very different from my employer’s plan. I will need to carefully research networks, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums. It requires more homework, but offers much more long-term cost control.

My Five-Year Healthcare Strategy

My plan is a hybrid approach that leverages my savings and controls my income.

Ages 60-61.5 (First 18 Months): I may initially elect COBRA. This gives me time to transition without the stress of finding a new plan immediately. I have a dedicated “Healthcare Bridge Fund” in cash to cover these high premiums for the first year or so.
Ages 61.5-65: I will switch to an ACA Marketplace plan. This is where controlling my income becomes critical. My goal is to live primarily off my taxable brokerage account and Roth IRA withdrawals during these years. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA are tax-free and do not count toward my MAGI. This strategic withdrawal plan will keep my “official” income low, maximizing my potential ACA premium subsidies. My HSA will be my secret weapon for any high deductibles or out-of-pocket costs.

I have budgeted a conservative $1,200 per month for premiums in my retirement plan. This is a significant expense, but planning for it explicitly removes the fear and uncertainty. Ignoring this cost is one of the biggest mistakes people make when planning an early retirement.

The Lifestyle Transition

If my plan was only about accumulating $1.7 million, it would feel empty. A successful retirement is about more than a bank balance. It is about retiring to something, not just from something. I’ve spent years thinking about what I want my life to look like after I leave my full-time career. This mental and emotional preparation is just as important as the financial planning.

Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck

For decades, my identity has been tied to my profession. My days have a built-in structure. I have colleagues, deadlines, and problems to solve. All of that disappears on day one of retirement. To avoid feeling lost, I am actively building my post-career life now.

Cultivating Hobbies: I am not waiting until I’m 60 to enjoy woodworking. I’m doing it now. I’m taking classes, buying tools, and completing small projects. By the time I retire, it will be a well-established passion, not something I have to learn from scratch.
Volunteering: I’ve started volunteering a few hours a month at a local food bank. It connects me to my community and provides a deep sense of purpose. I plan to increase my involvement once I have more time.
Lifelong Learning: I am excited about taking classes at the local community college—not for a degree, but purely for interest. Maybe a history class, a foreign language, or even pottery. Keeping my mind engaged is a top priority.

Structuring My Time

The thought of a completely empty calendar is daunting. I don’t plan to schedule every minute, but I do want a gentle rhythm to my days. I envision a weekly structure that might look something like this:

Mondays: Home projects and errands.
Tuesdays: Volunteer work.
Wednesdays: Fitness and social lunch with friends.
Thursdays: Dedicated “hobby day” in the workshop or garden.
Fridays: Planning for weekend trips or relaxing.

This provides a framework without being rigid. It ensures I have a reason to get up in the morning and prevents the days from blurring together.

The Phased Retirement or “Part-Time Gig” Idea

I am also open to the idea of not stopping work completely. Perhaps I’ll transition to consulting in my field, working just 10-15 hours a week. This “glide path” approach has several benefits:

Extra Income: It would reduce the withdrawal pressure on my portfolio, especially in the early years.
Social Connection: It keeps me connected to a professional network.
Mental Stimulation: It keeps my professional skills sharp.

This isn’t a requirement for my plan to work. My $1.7 million goal is designed to function without any work income. However, having this option provides an extra layer of security and flexibility. It is part of a comfortable retirement plan that adapts to my needs.

My Timeline: Putting the Plan into Motion

Here is a simplified timeline of my key actions from age 55 to 60. This makes the entire process feel more manageable and less overwhelming.

Age	Financial Focus	Lifestyle Focus
55	– Finalize debt pay-off (mortgage is the last one!).<br>- Continue maxing all retirement accounts.<br>- Begin gradually shifting asset allocation (to 70/30).	– Increase volunteer hours.<br>- Take a “test run” retirement vacation (3 weeks long) to see how it feels.
56	– Build up cash reserves in the “Healthcare Bridge Fund.”<br>- Review Social Security statement and plan claiming strategy (likely delaying to 67 or 70).	– Research and plan a major retirement trip.<br>- Solidify weekly hobby and social routines.
57	– Mortgage paid off! Celebrate this massive milestone.<br>- Redirect entire former mortgage payment into the brokerage account.	– Explore local clubs or groups to join (hiking, book club, etc.).
58	– Continue aggressive saving and investing.<br>- Model different withdrawal strategies (Roth vs. Brokerage) for the pre-Medicare years.	– Start exploring part-time consulting opportunities or passion projects.
59	– Final portfolio review and rebalance to 60/40 target.<br>- Research specific ACA plans and costs.<br>- Meet with a fee-only financial advisor to stress-test the entire plan.	– Set a firm retirement date with my employer.<br>- Begin decluttering and organizing the house for a simpler lifestyle.
60	– Retire!<br>- Roll over 401(k) to an IRA for more control.<br>- Activate healthcare plan (COBRA or ACA).<br>- Execute the first year’s withdrawal strategy.	– Embark on the planned major trip.<br>- Settle into my new daily and weekly rhythm.<br>- Enjoy the freedom!

It’s Your Plan, Your Retirement

This journey to retire at 60 is deeply personal. My number, my hobbies, and my vision for the future are unique to me. Your retirement plan at 60 will and should look different. The key takeaway is not the specific dollar amount but the process itself. It’s about shifting from a passive participant in your financial life to an active, intentional architect of your future.

This path is not about deprivation. It’s about conscious choices. It’s about saying “no” to some things now so I can say a resounding “yes” to freedom and flexibility later. It is a comfortable retirement plan built on discipline, not a lottery ticket. By starting this late career retirement planning process, you empower yourself. You can learn how to retire at 60 by defining your vision, understanding your numbers, and executing a focused savings and investment strategy. The peace of mind that comes from having a plan is the greatest return of all.