Could They Stop Working?
The numbers said they could stop. The choice was theirs.
What This Means
Reaching the point where you can stop working doesn’t mean you have to retire. It means “Work Optional”.
This is especially true for business owners and professionals who genuinely enjoy what they do. The goal of financial planning isn’t always to pick a retirement date. Sometimes it’s simply to determine whether you’ve built enough wealth that continuing to work becomes a choice.
In this example, we looked at a couple’s monthly spending, Social Security benefits, cash savings, taxes, and $1.4 million investment portfolio to determine how much income they would need if they stopped working.
The numbers showed they had reached the point where work was optional.
That changed the entire financial planning conversation. Instead of asking, “Can we afford to retire?” we could start focusing on what came next—Roth conversions, gifting to their children, investing excess cash, staying invested for long-term growth, traveling, and eventually transferring wealth to the next generation.
For many successful business owners, that’s the real goal: not necessarily retiring early, but building enough wealth outside of the business that work is eventually on your terms.
Common Questions
How do I know if I have enough money to stop working?
Start with what you actually spend. Then look at the income you’ll receive from sources like Social Security and determine how much your investments need to provide each year. From there, you can see whether your savings can reasonably support that income over time.
Should taxes be included when calculating my retirement income needs?
Yes. What matters is how much money you have available to spend after taxes. Withdrawals from Traditional IRAs and other pre-tax retirement accounts are generally taxable as ordinary income, so taxes should be factored into your retirement income plan.
What changes once work becomes optional?
Remember This:
The goal isn’t to stop working. It’s to make work optional.