Can you afford to retire?

The seven numbers that define affordability

1. Current retirement assets. Include retirement accounts and only the cash or taxable savings intentionally reserved for retirement.
2. Ongoing contributions. Count your contribution and any employer contribution separately from current balances.
3. Planned retirement age. This determines both the accumulation period and when withdrawals may begin.
4. Monthly retirement spending. Include essential, discretionary, housing, and healthcare costs in today’s dollars.
5. Social Security amount and claiming age. The benefit should enter cash flow only when you plan to claim it.
6. Pension and other income. Record the amount, start age, and end age when applicable.
7. Planning age. This is a horizon for testing the plan, not a prediction of lifespan.

What a funded plan should demonstrate

A useful projection should show more than assets at the retirement date. It should show whether annual income covers annual spending, how much the portfolio must supply, whether assets deplete, and what remains at the planning age.

BonusMetric makes the Baseline scenario primary and places Conservative and Favorable results beside it. The range is a sensitivity test—not a probability forecast and not a guarantee that the outcome will fall between those values.

Why Social Security timing changes the answer

Stopping work and claiming Social Security are separate decisions. If you retire at 67 and claim at 70, the portfolio must cover the first three retirement years without that benefit. The Social Security Administration provides personal estimates through an official account; the calculator does not reconstruct benefits from salary or national averages.

Look for the weakest years, not only the final number

Early retirement years may be strained by a healthcare bridge, remaining debt, or delayed benefits. Later years may face growing healthcare costs. A plan that ends with assets remaining can still have a difficult period in between, which is why the annual trajectory matters.

Use What-If changes as decisions, not promises

If the Baseline is underfunded, compare one change at a time. Retiring two years later affects contributions, growth, and the number of retirement years. Saving more affects accumulation. Spending or housing changes affect every modeled retirement year.

If your main concern is running out of money, continue with the guide to retirement savings runway and depletion age.