Retiring early
We map your bridge years: the money you can reach, and the coverage you'll need.
Retiring early isn't just retiring sooner. You have to cover years before Social Security and Medicare, often with money that's partly locked in retirement accounts. Your Checkup maps those years from your own accounts, ages and household.
What your Checkup looks at
The money you can reach now
We sort your savings into what you can use right away, what you can reach without penalty under special rules, and what has to wait.
Health coverage before 65
We look at your options in your situation, including a spouse's job if they're still working, COBRA, and Marketplace plans, where your household income decides how much help you get.
Your Social Security
We check your work credits and show what stopping work early could mean for your benefit.
A countdown timed to you
Your action plan is built around how many years you have until you stop working, with the decisions that matter at each stage.
What you’d see · Sample
Your bridge years
Priya, 48, and Daniel, 50, in Colorado. About $1.4 million saved; both plan to stop working in 2027.
Of your $1.4 million, about $380,000 is in a regular brokerage account you can use any time, $120,000 is money you put into Roth IRAs (which you can take back without tax or penalty), and $900,000 is in workplace plans and IRAs that you generally can't reach without a penalty until 59½. That gives you about $500,000 for the nine years until Daniel turns 59½.
At $60,000 a year, those funds carry you to Daniel's 59th birthday with a small cushion. If you spend more, a set schedule of IRA withdrawals that avoids the early-withdrawal penalty could fill the gap; it's worth discussing with a planner before you rely on it.
For health coverage, only the gains you realize count as income for Marketplace premium help, not everything you withdraw. Drawing mostly from your brokerage account and Roth contributions could keep your income in the range where you'd qualify. At $120,000 of income, you wouldn't.
From a sample Checkup for a fictional household. Your Checkup is written from your own answers.
How it ties into the rest of your plan
- If your answers say you'll keep working but you also plan to retire soon, we point out the conflict so the forecast follows your real plan.
- Your forecast tests a long retirement, including a market downturn right at the start.
Want a quick first look? Try the free calculator: Investment growth →
Background reading
- When to start Social SecurityHow the age you start changes your check for life, how spousal and survivor benefits work, and why the higher earner's choice matters most for couples.
- Medicare at 65: the deadlines that matterWhen to sign up, why COBRA doesn't count, the penalties that last for life, and the one-time window for buying a supplement without health questions.
- Health insurance if you retire before 65A spouse's plan, COBRA, the Marketplace and retiree coverage: how each works, and why the income you choose to draw can change what you pay.