You Might Be Working Longer Than You Need To
Imagine finding out that the last five years you worked didn’t even need to happen.
You could have already been retired — travelling, enjoying life, sleeping in. That’s exactly what happened to one of my clients.
He came to me convinced he had to work until 65. That’s what his financial adviser had told him. Age 65 was the benchmark. The plan.
But when we built a proper retirement model using real numbers and realistic assumptions, we discovered something remarkable: he could retire at 60.
Same savings. Same salary. Same assets.
Just better planning.
And here’s the thing — he’s not the only one. Many people in Ireland are working longer than they need to, simply because they haven’t seen the full picture.
They’re following assumptions instead of running actual numbers.
I’m Kevin Elliott, a Certified Financial Planner here in Ireland. For 18 years I worked in quantitative finance in London and New York. Now I help Irish clients make smarter retirement decisions — decisions based on reality, not retirement myths.
In this article, I’ll show you the biggest mistake that keeps people working too long, the planning strategy that unlocked five extra years of retirement for my client, and how you can use the same approach to see what’s really possible for you.
Meet Barry: A Familiar Story
Let me introduce you to Barry (name changed for privacy).
He’s 60 years old. A senior engineer, earning around €80,000 gross per year — roughly €57,000 take-home. It’s demanding work, but he’s ready for the next chapter.
Barry and his wife Fiona own their home outright — or nearly. A small mortgage remains, but it’ll be cleared by year-end. Their property is worth about €600,000, and they want to stay there in retirement. Downsizing doesn’t appeal.
When we looked at their retirement assets, here’s what we found:
- Pensions totalling €450,000 (€350,000 Barry’s, €100,000 Fiona’s)
- Investment of €180,000 with Irish Life (outside a pension)
- Total liquid retirement assets: €630,000
On top of this, both will qualify for the full State Pension starting at age 66 — currently about €15,000 per person, per year. That’s €30,000 combined.
Barry’s current take-home is €57,000. When we asked what they’d like to spend in retirement, they said: “We want to maintain a similar lifestyle. So €57,000 net would be about right.”
This is where real planning begins.
On paper, they looked strong. But the challenge was figuring out how to draw from those assets over time — and whether €57,000 per year was truly sustainable if Barry retired earlier than expected.
The Problem with the 4% Rule
Barry mentioned the “4% Rule” early in our conversation. It’s one of those rules of thumb that gets thrown around.
Here’s how it works: you total your retirement assets and assume you can safely withdraw 4% each year, adjusted for inflation. If you stick to that, your money should last about 30 years.
But in practice, it rarely works that neatly.
Let’s apply it to Barry and Fiona’s situation.
They want to retire before age 66 — before the State Pension kicks in. That creates a funding gap. For now, let’s assume they wait until 66 to retire.
At that point, they’ll get €30,000 per year from the State Pension. But they want €57,000 net income. So they need to draw €27,000 per year from their own assets.
Working backwards:
€27,000 ÷ 0.04 = €675,000
That’s how much they’d need under the 4% Rule.
But they only have €630,000.
Even if they wait until age 66, they fall short.
Barry doesn’t want to wait. He wants to retire now — at 60. So we tested the numbers.
What would it take to retire at 60 and make the money last until 66?
They’d need to invest around €1,450 per month for five more years, assuming 5% annual returns. That’s roughly 30% of Barry’s take-home pay — a big ask at this stage of life, especially when his goal is to *slow down*, not speed up.
That’s why they left their previous adviser’s office feeling deflated.
The advice was: “Save more. Invest more. Hope for the best.”
But Barry and Fiona weren’t convinced. Neither was I.
The Real Problem: Static Spending Assumptions
Here’s what most retirement plans get wrong.
They assume you’ll spend the same amount at age 85 as you do at 65.
But ask yourself honestly — are you booking long-haul flights at 90? Going on road trips? Paying for golf club fees and guided tours?
Probably not.
Spending changes as you move through retirement. Most plans miss this entirely.
That’s when I introduced Barry and Fiona to a better framework: the Go-Go / Slow-Go / No-Go Strategy.
This approach divides retirement into three distinct phases, each with different spending patterns.
The Go-Go / Slow-Go / No-Go Strategy
The Go-Go Years (Age 60–68)
- Energy is high, health is good
- Travel and lifestyle spending peak
- Active holidays, social activities, hobbies
The Slow-Go Years (Age 68–78)
- Things naturally slow down
- Spending starts to taper
- Local activities replace long trips
- More focus on home and family
The No-Go Years (Age 78–94)
- Most spending shifts to essentials
- Healthcare and home comfort matter most
- Travel becomes less frequent or appealing
Here’s how we restructured Barry and Fiona’s plan — in today’s money:
- Go-Go Years: €57,000 per year
- Slow-Go Years: €42,000 per year
- No-Go Years: €35,000 per year
We adjusted each phase for inflation so their spending power stayed intact.
When we plugged these numbers into the model, everything changed.
No more shortfall. No more “running out at 77.”
Instead, they could retire now — at 60 — and make the money last until age 94.
All without saving another €1,450 per month.
All without hoping. All with confidence.
The Math: Early Retirement vs. Waiting
Let me show you both scenarios.
Scenario One: Retire at 65 (the traditional approach)
- Spend €57,000 net per year
- No lifestyle adjustments
- Model runs until age 94
Result: Assets hold up. They end with approximately €404,000 remaining (in future money). Success, but they’ve missed five years of life.
Scenario Two: Retire NOW at 60 (with phased spending)
- Go-Go Years (60–68): €57,000 net
- Slow-Go Years (68–78): €42,000 net
- No-Go Years (78–94): €35,000 net
- All adjusted for inflation
Result: Assets last until age 94. No shortfall. Five extra years of retirement, *right now*, while they’re healthy enough to enjoy it.
The difference? Not the amount of money. Just how it’s spent.
The Trade-Offs of Early Retirement
Here’s the honest conversation we had with Barry and Fiona.
If they retire now at 60 with the Go-Go / Slow-Go / No-Go plan, they get five extra years of retirement. But there are trade-offs.
More life now = Less flexibility later.
Their Go-Go years come sooner. Their No-Go years also arrive sooner. They’ll have less capacity for spontaneous spending at age 80 than someone who retired at 65.
But here’s what Barry said:
“I’d rather use my health and energy while I still have it, than stockpile cash for a future I might not fully enjoy.”
That’s the power of proper planning. It’s not about squeezing every euro of growth from your portfolio. It’s about making intentional choices with your time, your money, and your lifestyle.
And crucially, it showed Barry and Fiona that they weren’t behind. They weren’t failing to save. They just needed to see the full picture.
Planning Beyond the Numbers
Up to now, we’ve focused on the spreadsheet. How long the money lasts. When to retire. How spending phases affect sustainability.
But real retirement planning goes beyond numbers.
Because life isn’t just about income and expenses. It’s also about:
- Care costs in later life — will you need professional support?
- Downsizing options — would selling later and moving to something smaller create flexibility?
- Helping your kids — do you want to contribute to a house deposit?
- Legacy — would you like to pass on wealth while you’re still here to see the impact?
None of these were urgent for Barry and Fiona. But they were still important. And the beauty of a flexible retirement plan is that it evolves as life unfolds.
Here’s the key takeaway:
This wasn’t about chasing higher returns or throwing thousands more into pensions. All we did was change the lens. We focused on what really matters: time, health, and peace of mind.
That’s the kind of planning that gives you options. And helps you make decisions with confidence.
Key Takeaways
- The 4% Rule is a starting point, not a destination — static spending assumptions miss how real retirement actually works.
- Spending naturally phases through retirement — Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go reflects reality better than flat projections.
- Earlier retirement is possible with better planning — not higher returns, just clarity on what you’ll actually spend.
- Your State Pension creates a natural inflection point — everything changes at 66 when €30,000 annually kicks in.
- Peace of mind comes from realistic models — not from working longer “just in case.”
- Five extra years of health beats a bigger number at 94 — intentional choices beat pessimistic defaults.
What Should You Do Now?
If you’ve been wondering whether you really need to work until 65 — or if your retirement plan is built on assumptions rather than evidence — maybe it’s time for a fresh perspective.
Even when a plan looks fine on paper, small decisions can quietly sabotage your outcome. It’s not because people are reckless. It’s because no one ever showed them the full picture.
Retirement income planning
As a Certified Financial Planner, I work with business owners and high-income professionals across Ireland to build clear, tax-smart retirement plans. We’ll map your pensions, stress-test your drawdown strategy, and bring it all together — from tax and cashflow to risk and legacy.
Book a free strategy call below. We’ll review your specific situation, model realistic spending through retirement, and show you what’s actually possible for you.
No pressure. No jargon. Just clarity on when you can genuinely afford to stop working.
Because sometimes, the retirement you’ve been dreaming about isn’t five years away.
It might be just one better plan away.
Ready to see your real retirement number? Book your free consultation kevinelliottwealth.com and discover when you can actually retire.