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GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services – our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines<\/a> and our products and services review methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n 20 Years Trusted by There are many things to consider when you decide to retire. It\u2019s not always about the numbers. For social and emotional reasons, you\u2019ll need an activity plan in place to utilize all that sweet free time you\u2019ve earned.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n However, whether you plan to travel the world or never leave your home, you\u2019ll first need to address your finances to see if you\u2019re ready to retire<\/a>. Aside from the obvious arguments (no savings, too much debt), there are less noticeable warning signs that you may not be financially prepared to retire. These are the kind that most people don\u2019t notice until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Also see eight key signs you\u2019re ready to retire early<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1. You\u2019re Struggling With Current Expenses<\/p>\n It might not be a good idea for you to retire if you can\u2019t easily pay your expenses with your existing salary. When you retire, some costs, like transportation to and from work, might go down. Others, like entertainment, health and travel, might go up. <\/p>\n Additionally, there isn\u2019t much room for saving and investing if you\u2019re already having trouble keeping up with cost-of-living expenses<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Your Mortgage Isn\u2019t Paid Off<\/p>\n Your housing costs should decrease when you retire, but if you plan on having mortgage<\/a> payments, you\u2019ll need to withdraw more from your fixed retirement accounts or investment portfolio. <\/p>\n \u201cPaying off your mortgage can eliminate a major\u00a0monthly expense, save money on interest, improve your cash flow and reduce\u00a0financial stress,\u201d Stephanie Ford, a financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement Group, told AARP<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. You\u2019re Not Taking Healthcare Costs Seriously<\/p>\n You might be the picture of health now, but banking on this continuing throughout your golden years is asking for trouble. <\/p>\n Additionally, many retirees minimize potential costs. \u201cNearly two-thirds of pre-retired investors surveyed are underestimating their prospective healthcare expenses in retirement, anticipating health care expenses at least $1,220 below the $8,600 annual estimate and possibly increasing their healthcare risk,\u201d per Jackson Financial<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4. You\u2019re Supporting Children Financially<\/p>\n According to a study by Ameriprise Financial<\/a>, 36% of respondents said they worry that supporting adult children financially could impact their retirement plans. <\/p>\n Helping kids out could disrupt your financial security<\/a>, resulting in more hours at work, a reduced quality of life or the risk of running out of money. And chances are you\u2019ll need more than you think in the hopes that circumstances change. <\/p>\n 5. You Have No Emergency Fund<\/p>\n This is hardly a subtle sign, but a cash reserve set aside to cover unexpected bills or financial emergencies is so important it bears repeating. Without one, \u201ca financial shock \u2014 even minor \u2014 could set you back, and if it turns into debt, it can potentially have a lasting impact,\u201d noted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"shapecharge \/ iStock\/Getty Images Commitment to Our Readers GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,17299,147,530,14811,1666],"class_list":["post-621152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-gobankingrates","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-planning","tag-retirement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-20.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
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