Couple With $2.8 Million Can Retire in 2027 on $135,000 Spending

1 articles · Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · Jun 4

$2.8 million appears sufficient for a 60-year-old couple to retire on Dec. 31, 2027 and spend $135,000 a year, provided they delay Social Security until 70 and manage withdrawals carefully.
The key constraint is the eight-year bridge before roughly $80,000 in annual Social Security begins: drawing about $35,000 to $40,000 a year from the $800,000 taxable brokerage preserves the $1.6 million 401(k) for growth.
That matters because a standard 4% rule supports only about $112,000 of inflation-adjusted annual spending, leaving a $23,000 gap that becomes manageable once Social Security starts.
The analysis favors a five-year Treasury ladder near 4% yields, annual Roth conversions of roughly $50,000 to $80,000 in low-income years, and a fallback to claim benefits at 67 if portfolio losses exceed 25%.
The broader lesson is that withdrawal order—not total assets alone—can determine whether early retirees avoid higher taxes, sequence risk and forced sales during market stress.