How to retire at 45, 50, 55 or 60

Whether it’s trekking through Africa on walking safaris, volunteering at your local animal rescue centre, taking up tai chi, or just spending time with the grandkids, pretty much all of us will have some inkling of how we’d like to fill our days after retirement.

But how early you can stop working and start living your best retirement life depends on a range of factors, including how much you've already saved, how much you can afford to invest, your lifestyle expectations post-work, and how long your money needs to last.

To explore what's possible, we've created a four-part series looking at what it could take to retire at 45, 50, 55 or 60. Using a consistent set of assumptions, we modelled how much savers starting at different ages may need to put aside to achieve a moderate retirement lifestyle and avoid running out of money.

While every person's circumstances are different, the results reveal some important lessons about the power of starting early and giving your investments time to grow.

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How to retire at 45

Retiring at 45 is an ambitious goal. It means stopping work more than two decades before many people are likely to receive their State Pension and potentially funding a retirement that could last for half a century or longer. For many people stopping work at this age, their retirement could last much longer than their career.

Our modelling suggests that achieving this may require very high contribution rates, substantial ISA savings and decades of disciplined investing. Sacrifices will need to be made - but it is possible, particularly if you start young.

• Read our guide: How to retire at 45

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How to retire at 50

Retiring at 50 may feel more attainable, but it still requires significant planning.

The challenge is balancing the desire to leave work early with the need to build enough savings to support yourself for potentially 40 years or more. While the savings targets are generally lower than for someone aiming to retire at 45, they remain demanding.

When retiring at 45 and 50, you also need to be mindful of how you’ll bridge the gap until you can access your pension (currently age 55, rising to 57 in 2028). This gap is where ISA savings become particularly important.

• Read our guide: How to retire at 50

How to retire at 55

For many savers, 55 represents a middle ground between retiring very early and continuing to work until traditional retirement age.

Our modelling suggests that retiring at 55 may be considerably more achievable than retiring at 45 or 50, particularly for those who start saving early and invest consistently throughout their careers.

• Read our guide: How to retire at 55

How to retire at 60

Retiring at 60 remains an ambitious goal, but it may be within reach for far more people.

By this stage, there are fewer years of retirement to fund before State Pension payments begin and more time for investments to benefit from long-term growth. As a result, the savings requirements can be significantly lower than for those targeting retirement in their 40s or early 50s.

Under current rules, most people should also be able to access their pension money by age 60 - reducing the need for ISA wealth to bridge that gap. Although, remember, pension access ages can go up.

• Read our guide: How to retire at 60

Retirement planning is about more than a target age

While it's natural to focus on the age you'd like to retire, successful retirement planning involves much more than choosing a date.

Some of the key questions to consider include:

• How will you actually fill your days in retirement?
• How much income will you need?
• Are you on track to qualify for the full State Pension?
• How much have you already built up in pensions, ISAs and other investments?
• When will you be able to access your pension savings?
• How much investment risk are you comfortable taking?
• Have you factored in major expenses such as housing costs, care fees, or helping family members financially?
• What would happen if investment returns are lower than expected? Or if inflation is higher than expected?

Creating a clear retirement plan can help answer these questions and give you a better understanding of whether your goals are realistic.

Build your retirement plan

If you're not sure where to start, our guide to creating a retirement plan walks through the key steps, from estimating your retirement income needs and reviewing your pension savings to understanding your State Pension entitlement and planning how you'll take an income in retirement.

• Read: How to create a retirement plan in 15 steps

One key thing if you’re retiring early is to make sure your investments reflect your target retirement date. Most workplace pensions will invest your money based on an assumed retirement age (often sometime in your mid to late 60s). They will usually take more risk early in the hope of better returns and dial down risk as you approach retirement age. If you have not updated your target retirement date on your pension, you could well be invested in a way that is unsuitable for you.

You should also remember that retirement does not have to be a hard stop like it is in these assumptions. You will find you don’t need quite so large a pot to retire if you’re happy to continue working part-time, perhaps in a job that you enjoy more.

Ultimately, the most important lesson from our early-retirement series is simple: time matters. Whether your goal is to retire at 45, 50, 55 or 60, starting early gives your money more time to grow and gives you more options when the day comes to stop working.

Got a burning question you want to ask? Why not drop us a line. Click here to ask your question.

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Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Withdrawals from a pension product will not be possible until you reach age 55 (57 from 2028). This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.