Is Your Retirement Plan Strong Enough To Take A Hit?

Executive Summary

Nearly half of all retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned, and most of those early exits aren’t voluntary. Keith Demetriades explains why retirement plans built around a single target date don’t hold up when circumstances force a different timeline, the three situations that typically accelerate retirement, and how to build a plan that works at multiple exit points instead of just the one you’re hoping for.

 

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Is Your Retirement Plan Strong Enough To Take A Hit?

Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” That observation doesn’t just apply in the ring. It shows up all through life, and retirement planning is no exception.

For a lot of people, the punch isn’t a market crash; it’s being forced to retire earlier than expected. That kind of surprise compresses your timeline, limits your options, and puts pressure on a plan that was built for a different reality.

So the question isn’t just whether your retirement plan works. It’s whether it still works when the timeline isn’t yours to choose.

1. How many people retire earlier than planned?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, nearly half of all retirees leave the workforce earlier than they expected. About 40% of those early retirees make that choice because they’ve run the numbers and they’re ready. 

But roughly 60% of people who retire earlier than planned aren’t making that choice voluntarily. Something forces the timeline.

That’s not a small probability. It’s significant enough that your plan needs to account for it.

2. What three situations typically force early retirement?

Three circumstances tend to push retirement timelines forward, and there’s a good chance at least one of them is already somewhere on your radar, even if you haven’t said it out loud yet.

The first is health. Sometimes it’s a diagnosis that immediately shifts everything. Other times it’s more gradual; you start realizing that after three or four decades of demanding work, your body is telling you it’s done with that pace. Health is a variable you can’t fully control, and when it shows up, adjustments aren’t optional.

The second is corporate decisions. Mergers happen. New ownership brings in their own team. A role that existed for twenty years disappears overnight. These decisions usually have nothing to do with how well you’ve performed or how long you’ve been there. They’re structural changes that alter your timeline, whether you’re prepared for them or not.

The third is business ownership. A lot of people spend decades building a business and plan to use that as part of their retirement picture. But if you’ve got a partner, your timeline isn’t entirely yours to control. When a partner is ready to move on, that forces a conversation you might not have been expecting. 

Even if you’re the sole owner, key people can walk out the door, and at sixty, the calculation around rebuilding looks very different than it did at forty. Sometimes the smartest move is accelerating an exit that wasn’t on the original schedule.

3. Why is timeline risk different from market risk?

Most retirement plans get stress tested for market risk. What happens if the market drops? What happens if inflation stays elevated? Those are important questions, and a solid plan addresses them.

But timeline risk works differently. What happens if you stop working three years before you expected to—before you were ready? Does your plan still function?

If that question creates uncertainty, your plan is probably assuming everything goes according to schedule.

A lot of people have one number in their head. One age, one target date. And everything—savings rate, Social Security timing, investment allocation—gets calibrated to that single point in time.

When timelines shift, that structure doesn’t always hold up well.

4. How does thinking in ranges rather than dates change retirement planning?

A retirement range means you’ve already thought through what your financial picture looks like at more than one point on the timeline. It’s important because 62, 65, and 67 aren’t just different ages; they’re different financial realities. What’s available to you changes significantly at each of those points.

When you know those numbers ahead of time, an early exit becomes less about scrambling to figure things out and more about implementing decisions you’ve already modeled.

Sit down with your advisor and ask them to show you what your plan looks like at three different exit points, not just your target date. If there are gaps (and there probably will be), that’s not a crisis: it’s information. And information you have in advance is a whole lot more valuable than information you’re discovering under pressure.

5. What steps can you take now to build flexibility into your retirement plan?

Most high earners already have a taxable brokerage account. What many haven’t done is intentionally structure it as a bridge—money that sits outside retirement accounts and can be accessed without penalty before 59½. Consider building that account with early retirement scenarios in mind.

The other piece to think about is deferred compensation. If you’re an executive with deferred comp or equity tied to a vesting schedule, your retirement range and your compensation structure need to be talking to each other. If your plan only works at 67 and your deferred comp vests at 67, an early exit doesn’t just change your timing; it potentially changes your number in a significant way. That’s a conversation to have now, while you still have time to do something about it.

Real Wealth Starts With Real Life.

Contact Information 

Keith Demetriades, CFP®, CKA®, believes real wealth starts with real life. He created the 4D Client Experience to help guide decision-making and ensure your money works as a tool to support your life. If you’re ready for a financial plan that reflects how you live and what you’re building toward, contact Keith at (806) 223-1105 or visit Kingsview Partners.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss your specific situation and needs. Past performance does not indicate future results, and all investments carry risks, including potential loss of principal. Any financial product or strategy references are purely illustrative and should not be construed as endorsements or recommendations.

Investment advisory services are offered through Kingsview Wealth Management, LLC (“KWM”), a SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Insurance products and services are offered and sold through Kingsview Insurance Services, LLC (“KIS”), by individually licensed and appointed insurance agents. KWM and KIS are subsidiaries of Kingsview Partners.