I’m 45, make $52K/year, have $120K in savings and contribute $6K annually to my 403(b) — Can I retire at 67?

March 1, 2025

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I’m 45, single, earn $52K/year with $120K in retirement savings and my house will be paid off in 9 years. I contribute $6K annually to my 403(b). Is that enough to retire comfortably at 67?

You may have fewer years to save for retirement than you did earlier in your career, but you still have time to build your nest egg.

Ideally, by the time you’re 45, you should have saved around three to four times your current income toward a comfortable retirement. So you’re just a little behind where you need to be if you earn $52,000 and you have $120,000 put away.

Still, you’ve saved twice as much as many of your peers. Among 45- to 54-year-olds, the median 401(k) balance in Vanguard defined benefit plans is $60,763.

And the $6,000 you invest annually in your 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plan will help to grow your nest egg, as will compound growth, which happens when the returns on your $120,000 are reinvested to increase your principal and help you earn even higher future returns.

The good news is with those ongoing investments in your 403(b), you’re on track to have around $825,682.64 in your account in 22 years, assuming a 7% average annual return. But will that be enough?

There are several ways to calculate how big your retirement nest egg must be, but one of the simplest is to assume you’ll need 10 times your final salary.

Assuming a 2% annual raise, if you’re making $52,000 a year now, your final salary at the age of 67 will be around $80,000. Multiply that by 10, and you would need $800,000 to retire comfortably — a reasonable goal given your current savings plan.

Read more: Home prices in America could fly through the roof in 2025 — here’s the big reason why and how to take full advantage (with as little as $10)

As a retiree, your $825,682.64 nest egg would produce $33,027.31 in annual income, assuming you follow the 4% rule. Experts suggest a 4% withdrawal rate to prevent running out of money over a 30-year retirement period if you cap withdrawals at 4% of your balance in year one and adjust up for inflation each year.

Combine that with $33,027.31 with Social Security benefits, designed to 40% of your earnings, and you should have a retirement income of approximately $56,273 — a full 80% of your final salary.

You’re doing well, given experts suggest you need a minimum of 70% of your pre-retirement earnings to live on.