Retirement scenarios

Each scenario takes one household and puts its plan through every test Plan Mirror runs, then explains what the results mean and what they leave out.

• 72(t) vs the rule of 55: one couple at 55, three ways into the 401(k)
  A couple leaving work at 55 with most of their savings in a 401(k), run through the rule of 55, a 72(t) schedule after a rollover, and paying the 10% penalty, with steady returns, a century of market history and 1,000 random futures.
• Can I retire at 47 with $2.1 million?
  A $2.1 million plan for retiring at 47, run through steady returns, a century of market history and 1,000 random futures, and a test of paying the 10% penalty against a 72(t) schedule.
• Can I retire at 55 with $2 million?
  Retiring at 55 with $2 million and $80,000 a year of spending, tested against steady returns, every historical start date since 1926 and 1,000 random futures.
• Does a cash buffer make retirement at 55 safer?
  One couple retiring at 55 with $2 million, run four ways: fixed spending, spending guardrails, a cash buffer and postponed bills. What closes the gap, and what each one costs.
• The ACA subsidy cliff at 58: one IRA-heavy couple, three plans
  A couple retiring at 58 on mostly IRA money: what three withdrawal plans do to their ACA premium tax credit, from below the floor to over the cliff.
• Can I retire at 60 with $1 million?
  Retiring at 60 with $1 million on $40,000 a year: how Social Security changes the math, and what history and 1,000 random futures say about the seven years before it starts.