Can I Retire at 60 With $300,000?

While it is possible to retire at 60 with just $300,000, you’ll need to accept a modest standard of living. To understand what a 60-year-old with $300,000 might face, consider their income before and after Social Security, along with post-retirement expenses. Your own prospects in this kind of situation will vary, but by doing the sorts of calculations and estimates below, you’ll have a reasonable idea of what it will take for you to retire at 60 with $300,000.

Consider working with a financial advisor as you explore your prospects for retiring early.

Income After Retirement: Social Security

A good place to start your assessment of whether you can retire at 60 with $300,000 is by looking at sources of income, including Social Security. The program is reverse-means tested, meaning that the less money you made during your working years the less generous your benefits in retirement. Earnings scale up to the maximum Social Security income, after which additional earnings no longer add to your lifetime benefits.

The maximum taxable income changes each year based on inflation. In 2025, the Social Security earnings cap is $176,100. You earn the most credits by reaching—but not exceeding—this amount. If you earn less, you will collect fewer benefits when you retire. However, you won’t add to your benefit if you earn above this limit.

When you retire affects the size of your benefits. You receive the smallest amount of money if you file at age 62, scaling up each month that you wait until a maximum benefit payment at age 70. The standard set of benefits is paid at full retirement age — either 66 or 67 for most people.

Finally, Social Security benefits change each year as the Social Security Administration and Congress adjust this payment for inflation.

In February 2025, the average retired worker benefit was approximately $1,981 per month. For the purposes of this article we will assume a retiree who begins collecting benefits at full retirement age receives the average payment. You can calculate your own estimated benefits at the Social Security Administration’s website.

Income After Retirement: Investments and Savings

Vanguard’s “How America Saves 2024” report shows that the average 401(k) balance among its participants reached $134,128 in 2023. That marks an increase of roughly 19% from the previous year, when the average stood at $112,572. As of December 2023, participants saw an average five-year return of 9.7%.

However a 10% average annual return may be higher than a 60-year-old can reasonably expect over their retirement. For simplicity, we’ll use a more conservative long-term rate of return: 5%. With a retirement account of $300,000, this means an average return of about $15,000 per year. Withdrawing only investment returns allows you to preserve your $300,000 principal.

Let’s assume you have no other income sources besides this $300,000 retirement account and average Social Security benefits. In this situation, your income in 2025 would be around $38,772 ($15,000 + $23,772).

Income Before Social Security

The first two, six or eight years, depending on when you decide to start taking Social Security, will be the most financially challenging.

For example, if you begin collecting benefits at age 62 (the earliest you can do so), you cut your lifetime benefits by up to 30%. In the case of an average Social Security benefit, this means that you reduce your Social Security benefits to $1,387 monthly or $16,644 annually and cut your total annual income (Social Security plus investment income) down to $31,644, or $2,637 per month.

In most cases, you will have to wait until age 67 to collect your full retirement benefit. If you want to retire early, you will have to find a way to replace your income during that seven-year period. In most cases, $300,000 is not enough to fund early retirement.. If you retire at age 60, you will have to live on your $15,000 in withdrawals and nothing more. This is under the $15,650 federal poverty line for an individual ($15,650) and translates to a monthly income of just $1,250 per month.

Potential Pitfalls

It may be tempting to dip into your principal, but doing so can shorten the life of your savings. Consider the consequences of not resisting. To match the estimated $38,772 per year budget, you would need to withdraw $23,772 from your principal in 2025, in addition to withdrawing all of its average returns, so nothing will replace those withdrawals.

Over a seven-year period this would reduce your retirement account to $106,448 from $300,000. And as your withdrawals shrink your nest egg’s balance, that balance would produce less and less income. By the time you begin collecting Social Security, relatively little would be left of your original $300,000.

With $300,000 in savings, you’ll likely need to wait until full retirement age to begin collecting Social Security. Collecting Social Security early reduces your benefits for each month you start before full retirement age. If you begin collecting benefits at age 62 (the earliest you can do so), you cut your lifetime benefits to 70% of full value.

Retirement Expenses: Taxes

You may need to account for income taxes in retirement, depending on how your savings are structured and how much income you generate. Withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs are typically subject to ordinary income tax, while withdrawals from Roth IRAs are generally tax-free. The government may tax your Social Security benefits, but whether they are depends on your total income in retirement.

The IRS uses a formula called provisional income to determine if your Social Security benefits are taxable. To calculate it, take half of your annual Social Security benefits and add that to your other income sources, including taxable withdrawals and investment earnings. If the total exceeds certain thresholds, the IRS may tax part of your benefits. For individuals, benefits may be taxed if provisional income exceeds $25,000; for married couples filing jointly, the threshold is $32,000.

Not all retirees owe taxes on Social Security, especially those with lower overall income or who rely more heavily on Roth accounts or other tax-free sources. Keep in mind that some states also tax Social Security, while others do not. Personal circumstances and the mix of income sources can have a significant impact on your tax liability in retirement.

Retirement Expenses: Annual Cost of Living

With $300,000 and Social Security, you can expect to collect just under $39,000 per year. On a monthly basis, that works out to about $3,231 per month. Is that enough to live on? It depends on numerous variables:

Do you pay a mortgage or rent?
Groceries
Utilities
What are your taxes (property, state and federal)?
What are your insurance (auto, life, medical, long-term care) expenses?

The list above leaves out discretionary and luxury expenses like travel and vacations. Even more critically, the above-listed expenses will rise yearly due to inflation.

In general, a retirement income of $39,000 is not entirely unrealistic. However, much of that depends on where you choose to live. Taking a retirement account like this to Kalamazoo, Michigan will be far more practical than trying to live in Chicago.

Reasons for Optimism

When trying to estimate your own lifestyle needs, most experts recommend estimating between two-thirds and three-quarters of your pre-retirement income. While working, you’ll have expenses that you won’t carry into retirement. In turn, you’ll also have more flexibility to move somewhere less expensive. You may need less money than you did while working, though costs can still add up.

In the case of a $38,772 retirement income, this estimate puts us around a pre-retirement income of $50,000 per year. If you earned around $50,000 per year before retirement, a $300,000 retirement account and Social Security benefits may allow you to continue enjoying your same lifestyle.

Bottom Line

For a majority of people, early retirement is probably off the table. But if you’re willing to budget and keep an eye — a very close eye — on your expenses, it is possible. Just remember that the years between age 60 and whenever you begin getting Social Security will be the most challenging.

Tips on Retirement

You can do some learning about retiring on $300,000, but a financial advisor may have more insight into planning for this than you do. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
It pays to get a good estimate of whether you’re financially ready for retirement. Use SmartAsset’s free retirement calculator to begin.