I’m 52 with a $2,000,000 portfolio, no debt, and burned out — how much can I spend each year if I retire now?

You’re 52, sitting on a $2 million nest egg, debt-free, and ready to escape the grind. But now for the $2 million-dollar question: How much can you actually spend every year without running out of money?

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Retiring this early isn’t just about the number you’ve amassed — it’s about what you do with it now to ensure you don’t outlive your savings.

But first, congratulations. The percentage of people retiring in their 50s is becoming increasingly rare. And your savings have paid off, literally: For the age group 55-64, the median retirement account balance in 2023 was $87,571, according to Vanguard. By most measures, you’re way ahead of the game.

You’ve probably heard of the 4% rule, a staple of retirement planning that goes like this: Withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one and adjust for inflation annually. The rule says a balanced portfolio should last you 30 years this way.

You could withdraw $80,000 (4% of $2,000,000) in your first year of retirement. In subsequent years, adjust upward for inflation. For example, with 3% inflation, your second-year withdrawal would increase to $82,400.

But it’s important to understand that the 4% rule isn’t gospel. The longstanding recommendation has recently come under fire from personal finance experts. Suze Orman has called it "dangerous" and suggested a more conservative 3%.

Morningstar recently revised its recommended starting safe withdrawal rate down to 3.7% from 4% in 2024, citing reduced return expectations for stocks, bonds, and cash due to higher equity valuations and lower fixed-income yields. This assumes a retiree is seeking a 90% probability of not running out of funds over a 30-year period with a balanced portfolio with 50% equity weighting.

Since you're retiring early, you may want to consider a longer retirement horizon than 30 years. According to Morningstar's calculations, your portfolio will have a 90% success rate of lasting 35 years if your withdrawal rate goes down to 3.3% ($66,000). It added that if a retiree is willing to adjust their spending in line with portfolio performance, they could use higher starting withdrawals and generally higher lifetime withdrawals.