Can I Retire at 62 With $2 Million?

Afterwork Plan · October 27, 2026 · 5 minute read

For a single person at 62 with $2,000,000, our test says yes: $7,100 a month after tax, on top of health insurance until 65, and that amount never fell short in any stretch of US market history from 1928 through 2025. That works out to $85,200 a year, and if you're willing to trim spending in rough years it rises to $7,790 a month.

Those are monthly figures after tax. They come from a made-up household (the numbers in this post describe examples, not anyone real), so think of them as a starting point. You'd replace them with your own.

How did you test this?

We ran the plan through every stretch of history. Each stretch starts in one calendar year (1928, then the next year, and so on) and runs to age 95. There's one stretch per starting year, never one per month.

The number we report is the highest monthly spending that never ran short in any of those stretches. That includes the ones that start right before the Great Depression and the ones that start into the high inflation of the postwar decades. So the $7,100 is set by the worst start in the record, not the average one. If you want the details, they're on our method page.

The example household assumes:

Those are assumptions for the example, not a suggestion about how anyone should hold their money.

HouseholdSavedSocial Security from 67Most it pays each monthWith a trim rule
Single$2,000,000$2,500$7,100$7,790
Married, 62 and 60$2,000,000$2,800 + $1,600$8,610$9,430
The most each household could spend every month from 62 to 95, after federal and state tax and adjusted for inflation, without falling short in any stretch of market history since 1928. Health insurance until 65 is paid on top: $1,439 a month for one person, $2,878 for two.
Never trimmingWith a trim rule
Single, no Social SecuritySingle, no Social Security: $5,370 a month$5,370Single, no Social Security: $5,850 a month$5,850SingleSingle: $7,100 a month$7,100Single: $7,790 a month$7,790Married, 62 and 60Married, 62 and 60: $8,610 a month$8,610Married, 62 and 60: $9,430 a month$9,430
Single, no Social SecuritySingle, no Social Security: $5,370 a month$5,370Single, no Social Security: $5,850 a month$5,850SingleSingle: $7,100 a month$7,100Single: $7,790 a month$7,790Married, 62 and 60Married, 62 and 60: $8,610 a month$8,610Married, 62 and 60: $9,430 a month$9,430
The most each made-up household with $2,000,000 at 62 could spend every month to 95, after tax, in every stretch of market history since 1928, on top of health insurance until 65. The trim rule spends 10% less whenever savings are 20% below where they started.

What if I'm married?

The example couple, 62 and 60, with the same $2,000,000, comes out at $8,610 a month, or $103,320 a year. Trim spending in bad years and it's $9,430.

You might expect a couple to get close to double. They don't. They get $1,510 more than the single person. Two things explain most of that. The couple pays two health insurance premiums until the older spouse turns 65, and the second Social Security check ($1,600) is smaller than the first ($2,800). The savings are the same $2,000,000, so they're paying for more with the same pot.

We think this is the most useful surprise in the whole table. A couple can end up with less to spend per person than a single person with the same savings, and the reason is mostly health insurance.

How much does Social Security add?

In the example, the single person collects $2,500 a month starting at 67. Run the same plan with no Social Security and the answer drops to $5,370 a month. So Social Security adds $1,730 a month to what the plan can pay.

That's less than the $2,500 check, and the gap makes sense when you walk through it. The check doesn't start until 67, so savings carry the full load for the first five years. Spending stays level the whole way, so the plan has to pull harder on savings early and lean on the check later.

The no-Social-Security figure is also worth knowing for its own sake. It's what $2,000,000 supports alone. If you're not sure how much weight you'd like to put on future benefits, that's the floor to look at.

What about health insurance before 65?

Retire at 62 and Medicare is three years away. The example budgets $1,439 a month for one person and $2,878 for a couple until 65. That cost comes off the top: the $7,100 is what's left to spend after health insurance, not before.

This is the main cost of retiring before 65 that people underestimate, in our opinion. It doesn't last forever, but it lands in exactly the years when the plan is most exposed to a bad market early on. That timing problem has a name, and we cover it in sequence of returns risk.

Do early withdrawal penalties apply at 62?

No. The 10% penalty on pre-tax withdrawals applies before 59 and a half, and both people in the example are past that. So in this plan there are zero penalty years, and the 70% sitting in pre-tax accounts is available from day one, taxed as income but without the penalty.

That's one of the quiet advantages of 62 over retiring in your mid-fifties. Retire earlier and the plan has to fund the gap from cash, brokerage and Roth until 59 and a half, which usually pulls the number down.

What's the trim rule?

The higher figures ($7,790 single, $9,430 married) assume you're willing to cut spending somewhat after a rough stretch in the market, instead of holding it flat no matter what. In this example that flexibility is worth $690 a month for a single person and $820 for a couple.

Whether that's worth it is a personal call. Some people would gladly spend more now and accept the occasional leaner year. Others want one number they can count on and never touch. The strict figure is for the second group, which is why we lead with it.

Guaranteed incomeFrom savingsWhat they need
$0$2,500$5,000$7,500$10,000Age 62: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 63: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 64: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 65: $7,790 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 66: $7,011 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 67: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 68: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 69: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 70: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 71: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 72: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 73: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 74: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 75: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 76: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 77: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 78: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 79: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 80: $7,790 a month, $2,101 of it guaranteedAge 81: $7,790 a month, $2,102 of it guaranteedAge 82: $7,790 a month, $2,117 of it guaranteedAge 83: $7,790 a month, $2,074 of it guaranteedAge 84: $7,790 a month, $2,066 of it guaranteedAge 85: $7,790 a month, $2,061 of it guaranteedAge 86: $7,790 a month, $2,030 of it guaranteedAge 87: $7,790 a month, $2,043 of it guaranteedAge 88: $7,790 a month, $2,022 of it guaranteedAge 89: $7,790 a month, $2,006 of it guaranteedAge 90: $7,790 a month, $2,000 of it guaranteedAge 91: $7,790 a month, $2,022 of it guaranteedAge 92: $7,790 a month, $2,007 of it guaranteedAge 93: $7,790 a month, $2,008 of it guaranteedAge 94: $7,790 a month, $2,045 of it guaranteed62677277828792Age
$0$2,500$5,000$7,500$10,000Age 62: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 63: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 64: $9,229 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 65: $7,790 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 66: $7,011 a month, $0 of it guaranteedAge 67: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 68: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 69: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 70: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 71: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 72: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 73: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 74: $7,011 a month, $2,175 of it guaranteedAge 75: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 76: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 77: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 78: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 79: $7,790 a month, $2,133 of it guaranteedAge 80: $7,790 a month, $2,101 of it guaranteedAge 81: $7,790 a month, $2,102 of it guaranteedAge 82: $7,790 a month, $2,117 of it guaranteedAge 83: $7,790 a month, $2,074 of it guaranteedAge 84: $7,790 a month, $2,066 of it guaranteedAge 85: $7,790 a month, $2,061 of it guaranteedAge 86: $7,790 a month, $2,030 of it guaranteedAge 87: $7,790 a month, $2,043 of it guaranteedAge 88: $7,790 a month, $2,022 of it guaranteedAge 89: $7,790 a month, $2,006 of it guaranteedAge 90: $7,790 a month, $2,000 of it guaranteedAge 91: $7,790 a month, $2,022 of it guaranteedAge 92: $7,790 a month, $2,007 of it guaranteedAge 93: $7,790 a month, $2,008 of it guaranteedAge 94: $7,790 a month, $2,045 of it guaranteed6269768390Age
The single 62-year-old's monthly paycheck in a typical stretch of history (markets as they ran from 1938), after tax and adjusted for inflation. Green is Social Security, amber is what savings add, and the dark line is what they need each month, including health insurance until 65. The dips are years the trim rule is on.
Middle 80% of stretchesTypical stretchWorst stretch
$0$2M$4M$6M$8M TypicalWorst 62677277828792Age
$0$2M$4M$6M$8M 6269768390Age
The single 62-year-old's savings, all accounts together and adjusted for inflation, across every stretch of history since 1928. The shaded band covers 8 in 10 stretches; the lines are the typical and the worst one.

What would change these numbers?

Just about every input in the example. A different stock share, state tax, account split or withdrawal order changes how much tax gets paid and how the plan holds up in bad stretches. A different Social Security amount or claiming age changes the later years. Retiring a year later or earlier changes both how long the savings have to last and how many years of pre-65 health insurance there are.

And the record itself has limits. History since 1928 includes some very bad decades, but it isn't a promise, and future markets can be worse than anything in it. The test tells you what would have held up, not what will.

If you want your own version, the plan runs the same test with your numbers and shows the earliest month you could stop working and what it would pay each month.

Run your own numbers

Afterwork Plan uses your real savings, spending, Social Security, pension and taxes, tests them against every stretch of history since 1928, and shows the earliest month you can stop. The answer is free.

Get my answer

How we calculated this. Made-up households, run through the Afterwork Plan engine. Age 62 (the married spouse is 60), stopping work now, planning to 95. Savings are 70% pre-tax, 10% Roth, 15% in a brokerage account and 5% cash, invested 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds. Social Security starts at 67 for each person. Federal tax uses 2026 law, including tax on Social Security and required withdrawals from 75, with a 4% state tax. Health insurance before 65 is the 2026 KFF benchmark silver premium for each person's age, counted for both until the older spouse turns 65. Market history is the S&P 500 with dividends, 10-year Treasuries, Treasury bills and inflation from 1928 to 2025, compiled by Aswath Damodaran at NYU Stern. "Most it pays" is the highest monthly spending that never fell short in any full stretch of that history. This is history, and future markets can be worse. Educational only, not investment advice. How Afterwork Plan works.