Can I retire at 68 with $2.5 million?

The short answer

$2.5 million at age 68 supports about $93,750 per year before tax, $7,813 a month, using a 3.75% withdrawal rate across a 27-year retirement through age 95.

Check it against your actual spending

The number above assumes average behaviour. Yours is the one that matters.

That is a 0.00% withdrawal rate on $2.5 million.

At 3.0% (conservative) $75,000/yr
At 3.5% $87,500/yr
At 4.0% (the "4% rule") $100,000/yr

Verdict

Workable

$93,750 a year of headroom.

Sustainable $93,750/yr
You want $0/yr
Portfolio needed $0

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What actually decides it at 68

The withdrawal rate is the easy part. These are the constraints specific to retiring at this age.

Your Social Security decision is mostly settled

At 68 you are at or past full retirement age, so you can claim your full benefit. Delaying toward 70 still adds roughly 8% per year, which is a strong guaranteed real return if your portfolio can carry the gap.

Timing your claim

A 27-year retirement changes the math

Planning through 95 means this portfolio has to last 27 years. The 4% rule was built on 30-year horizons, so we use 3.75% here instead. That single adjustment is the difference between $100,000 and $93,750 of sustainable annual spending, and it is why generic 4% answers mislead people retiring early.

How the rate is derived

Common questions

Can you retire at 68 with $2.5 million?

$2.5 million at age 68 supports roughly $93,750 per year before tax, using a 3.75% withdrawal rate over a 27-year retirement. Whether that is enough depends on your actual spending, and on how you sequence withdrawals against Social Security.

How much can you withdraw per year from $2.5 million?

At a 3.75% rate, $2.5 million produces about $93,750 a year, or $7,813 a month. At a flat 4% it would be $100,000, and at a conservative 3% it would be $75,000. The rate matters more than most people expect over a 27-year horizon.

What order should you withdraw from at 68?

At 68 the 10% early-withdrawal penalty no longer applies, so the question becomes tax efficiency: generally taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred, then Roth, while watching for the bracket and IRMAA thresholds that a large traditional balance can push you into.

Assumptions on this page. Spending figures are pre-tax and in today's dollars, modelled through age 95 (27 years). The 3.75% rate is scaled to that horizon rather than fixed at 4%, because the 4% rule was derived from 30-year retirements. Social Security, pensions and other income are excluded, including them raises what this portfolio can support. Healthcare before Medicare is estimated at $9,000 per person per year. These are planning estimates, not advice; run your own numbers and read the model's limitations.

Related: Retirement Number Calculator, 4% Rule, When can I retire?, All scenarios.