Retiring by 55 is something we all look forward to but that often seems like a tunnel dream. Today, with the population growing ever older, it’s becoming increasingly important to plan for the possibility of a long life. If you can enjoy later life without having to work, so much the better. But how is that achieved? How can you retire at 55?
Start Young
It’s a fact that many people today, through no fault of their own, cannot afford to retire at the age of 65, let alone a decade earlier. There are many reasons for this. In some cases, it might be poor planning, but in many others it’s because they’ve lived on a tight budget all their lives and have barely had money to put aside. The eligible age for receiving a state pension creeps ever upwards, while the standard of living it affords goes down.
To achieve your goal of retiring early, ideally you need to be young enough to put a plan into action and see it through. If you’re 30 or younger, so much the better. Get rid of any high-interest debt and get into a money-saving habit even if the amounts you save are modest.
“You’ll need to save 15% of your annual wage to retire at 55 if you start at 20, so younger is better.”
Not So Young
Even if you’re not in the first flush of youth and are well into middle age, retiring early may be a possibility if you get into a savings and investment mindset. Let’s say you save £10, £50 or £100 a month: that’s still better than nothing. All the money you put aside will help you when you get to 55 and beyond. If that only means semi-retirement or a bit less pressure at 55, you’ll still have achieved something.
You might be one of the many people that enjoys working, but you could buy yourself a little breathing space by acting now.
