Can I Move Up My Retirement Age?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Jill on Money – "Can I Move Up My Retirement Age?"

Host: Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
Guest: Phil from Minneapolis (listener call)
Date: February 9, 2026
Episode Theme:
Exploring the financial, emotional, and practical realities behind moving retirement up several years earlier than originally planned. Jill walks a listener through his changed circumstances and whether his new retirement goal—leaving work at 65 instead of 67—is feasible.

---

Main Theme Overview

In this episode, Jill Schlesinger answers a listener question about accelerating retirement. Phil from Minneapolis had planned to retire at 67 but, after significant financial changes and family events, is considering leaving the workforce at 65. The discussion focuses on evaluating Phil's assets, income, and readiness for this earlier retirement, emphasizing both practical numbers and deeper personal motivations.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Phil’s New Retirement Reality (02:49–04:19)

• Phil, 64, wants to retire at 65, moving up his target from 67.
• Recent life events drove this:
  • Eight years prior, Phil faced a layoff but landed a better job and paid off debts.
  • Inheritance after both parents’ passing significantly changed his finances.
  • Personal motivation: "I realized I don’t have any time for myself anymore. So I need to do something to take care of me, because that’s basically what killed my father, is taking care of my mother. And he was the healthy one. He died first. So I don’t want that to happen. So I gotta do something different." (Phil, 03:50)
• Phil and his wife both work as personal care attendants for their disabled daughter.

2. Family and Financial Situation Deep Dive (04:19–09:15)

• Healthcare for Phil and his wife is secure (both turning 65 this year).
• Daughter (38), disabled, receives SSI and has a Supplemental Needs Trust, funded by Phil and his late parents.
• Three other daughters are financially independent.
• Home: worth $675,000, with $290,000 left on a 2.75% mortgage.
• Asset Breakdown:
  • Cash: $70,000 (Phil), $3,000 (wife)
  • Brokerage accounts: $402,000 (Phil), $33,000 (wife)
  • Phil’s Retirement:
    • Traditional IRA: $514,000
    • Roth IRA: $6,400
    • 401(k): $234,000 (Traditional), $232,000 (Roth)
    • Inherited IRAs: $165,000 & $162,000
  • Health Savings Account (HSA): $120,000
  • Wife's Retirement: 401(k): $35,000 (Trad), $3,800 (Roth), Roth IRA: $5,700
• Small pensions from Phil’s jobs; options for annuity or lump sum under review.
• Estimated annual household spending: $11,000/month ($132,000/year), described as “conservative.”

3. Social Security & Projected Income Streams (09:21–10:24)

• At 70: Phil estimates $5,000/month, wife $2,200/month in Social Security.
• Potential lump sum pension withdrawals being considered to simplify finances (07:45–08:00).

4. Retirement Strategy: Bridging the Gap (10:27–13:25)

• Phil and wife earn ~$85,000/year as paid personal care attendants for their daughter, non-taxable due to IRS rules.
• Plan to use inherited IRAs to supplement expenses for next 2–3 years before Social Security kicks in.
• Phil’s concern: best sequence to withdraw funds while minimizing taxes.
• Jill’s guidance:
  • For the next 2 years, split inherited IRA distributions and use the attendant earnings to stockpile cash.
  • "If you pulled the inherited IRA out and you have the 85 grand a year and you pile it all together, you probably will be net savers." (Jill, 12:06)
  • After inherited IRA depletion, gradually draw from traditional retirement accounts and wait for Social Security.
  • Build cash reserves for flexibility as circumstances change.

5. Overlooked Asset & Additional Confidence (13:25–14:22)

• Phil then remembers an additional $211,000 in a savings plan accessible at age 70.
• Jill: “That’s a big ‘forgot!’... I think you’re right, that you can retire this year. We now have a tiered strategy.” (Jill, 13:46)

6. Portfolio Management and Practical Steps (14:22–16:40)

• Jill cautions to watch for capital gains when accessing the brokerage account.
• Encourages consolidating assets for easier management as Phil ages.
• Reiterates the need for clear communication about finances and asset locations so his wife is equipped if circumstances change: “One of the best things you can do... is consolidate, get this all in one place. Make sure if something happened to you, your wife would know what to do and where everything was.” (Jill, 16:15)
• Compliments Phil’s handling of special needs estate planning for his daughter.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Phil, you can do this. Sounds like you have all of your estate stuff taken care of because I know you have the special needs trust. So that’s very important.” – Jill Schlesinger (15:45)
• “Taking care of my mother is what killed my father, and he was the healthy one. He died first. So I don’t want that to happen.” – Phil (03:50)
• “Just be careful that you're not creating too much tax liability there, you know.” – Jill, on the brokerage account (14:22)
• “If you are like Phil and real life has called you and said, hey, let's alter the previous game plan, get in touch with us.” – Jill, encouraging listener engagement (16:40)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:49: Phil introduces his situation and motivation for retiring earlier
• 04:19: Family health and caregiving background
• 05:59: Detailed rundown of assets (cash, brokerage, retirement)
• 09:21: Spending needs and Social Security estimates
• 10:27: Discussion of how to bridge income gap pre-Social Security
• 13:25: Discovery of additional $211K savings plan
• 14:22: Advice on sequence of withdrawals and managing taxes
• 16:15: Crucial advice on asset consolidation and family communication

---

Tone and Language

Jill maintains her signature practical, friendly, and encouraging manner, blending empathy for Phil’s caregiving stresses with clear, actionable financial advice. The conversation is frank, jargon-free, and occasionally laced with light humor ("That's a big ‘forgot!’"). Phil is open, methodical, and candid about both his emotional motivations and his diligent financial planning.

---

Takeaway for Listeners

• Significant life events can shift retirement timelines, and it’s valid to revisit your plan when circumstances change.
• Asset consolidation and clear family communication become more crucial as you approach and enter retirement.
• Special situations (like care for a disabled dependent) require careful planning but can fit into a secure retirement with the right strategies.
• Ensuring both partners understand where assets are located and how to access them is essential.

---

If you’re considering a major shift in your own retirement plans, Jill recommends consulting with a financial professional and, if willing, sharing your situation for guidance on the show.

Transcript

[A]

This year, I'm not missing opportunities. And it starts with not missing calls. Because a missed call is money out the door. Quo helps you and your team share one business number, reply faster, and stay on top of every customer conversation so you never miss an opportunity to connect with your customers. That's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Q U O. The smarter way to run your business communications. Quo isn't just a phone system, it's a smart system. AI automatically logs calls, generates summaries, highlights next steps, and can even qualify leads or respond after hours so your business stays responsive even when you're offline. Plus, it's easy to scale, Add teammates new numbers and sync your CRM in minutes. Your team can manage everything from one shared number, ensuring no messages are missed and no customer slips through the cracks. Try quo for free. Plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to quo.com jillonmoney that's Q-U-O.com jillonmoney quo no missed calls, no missed customers. Ugh. Could this vintage store be any cuter? Right. And the best part, they accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh yeah, huh? Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times. Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think. Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. Welcome to the Jill on Money Show. It's Monday, February 9th and we are here answering your financial questions. If you've got one, just give us a Holler. Go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note and if you'd like to join us live, check the box. Mark will be happy to get you on the program. And I'm always very delighted when we do have you come on with us. We can ask follow up questions. It's, you know, we're very nosy. Mark and I are basically voyeurs. We're voyeurs with certified financial planner designations. So that's why we're good at what we do. And hopefully when you're on that website, you will see all the stuff that lives there, including the ability to sign up for our free weekly newsletter which will also entitle you to the blog. You will see that we've got another podcast called Money Watch. You click on the podcast link, you can subscribe there. We've got a Radio show, videos, resources, so much there. So check that out. Okay. Today we are joined by Phil from Minneapolis. Phil, welcome to the program. What can we do for you?

[B]

Well, initially I was planning on asking, you know, whether I could retire at 67, but after doing some introspection over the last few weeks, I'm looking at retiring at the end of the year.

[A]

How old are you right now?

[B]

64.

[A]

What happened? Like, what change? What moved the clock up? You went from 67 basically, to 64, 65.

[B]

What happened for you eight years ago? I got laid off and at the time didn't have enough. Didn't ever plan on retiring because I never thought I'd have enough money. And then I ended up getting a really good job and used my severance to pay off all my bills. And then I'm like, I got a chance, so I'll just go all in on stocks. I was doing. Did really well. And then last year both my parents died and left me money, so.

[A]

Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry. I mean, it's good that you have money, but that's a lot to go through. So really your financial condition changed dramatically. That's what really has happened, right?

[B]

My financial condition changed dramatically. And then my oldest daughter is disabled. Last year was a tough year for her, health wise, and also for my wife. And I realized that I don't have any time for myself anymore. So I need to do something to take care of me, because that's basically what killed my father, is taking care of my mother. And he was the healthy one. He died first. So I don't want that to happen. So I got to do something different.

[A]

Okay, we're ready to do something different. So do you want to drill through this just to get like the second and third set of ears on the situation for you?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, let's do that. So by the end of the year, you will be 65 or you will be.

[B]

I'll be 65 in September.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

My wife will be 65 in August.

[A]

Okay. So we'll have healthcare taken care of. Right. Okay. And your oldest daughter is how old?

[B]

30. She's gonna be 38 this year.

[A]

Okay. And she is taken care of by the system. When you say she's disabled, does she collect Social Security disability benefits?

[B]

Yep, she collects ssi. She has a supplement. We have a supplemental needs trust that I've been funding.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And that her grandparents helped fund as well. So.

[A]

Okay, great. We just want like. So it sounds like you. You kind of got that stuff buckled up. So is Your wife still working, or is she also planning on retiring? She already retired. Or what? Where?

[B]

She's. She's working and we're both working. We both are personal care attendants or assistants for my daughter. So because. And the IRS gives us a special dispensation on that. All that income because she lives with us. Doesn't get income tax. Doesn't get taxed for income.

[A]

Okay. All right. Well, that's good to hear. Now, let's talk about the money you've saved so far. Let's just talk, first of all, about your cash on hand. How much money do you have in accessible liquid accounts?

[B]

$70,000.

[A]

Okay. And any brokerage account that's, you know.

[B]

Just a taxable account. I've got a brokerage account that has $402,000 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

My wife also has a brokerage account that has $33,000 in it.

[A]

All right, so I can say 435 in brokerage. Okay, got it. Oh, you know what? I forgot to ask you. Other kids?

[B]

Yeah, I have three other daughters, and.

[A]

They'Re all grown and on their own. And are they launched?

[B]

They're doing really well.

[A]

Okay, great. Fully launched means that you've done an excellent job and they were lucky, I guess. Okay. And you guys own your home?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How much would you guess it's worth?

[B]

$675,000.

[A]

Is there a mortgage that remains?

[B]

Yeah, $290,000.

[A]

Okay. What's the interest rate?

[B]

2.75%.

[A]

Oh, boy. That's so great. Any other real estate?

[B]

Nope.

[A]

Okay, let's talk about the retirement assets. First of all, will either you or your wife be entitled to a pension?

[B]

Yeah, I'm entitled to a small pension from two of my jobs. But I'm kind of wondering whether I should take them as an annuity or whether I should take them as a lump sum. My first one is at 70. I would get $514,000.

[A]

$514,000.

[B]

Sorry, sorry. 5, $514 a month, sir.

[A]

Okay. Because you saw that I was quickly going to. That does not sound small. Okay. And so that's at age 70.

[B]

And the second pension, it's $139 a month.

[A]

Okay. And say maybe you would take the lump sum just to consolidate. Maybe that's better. I hear that. Okay, so what are the lump sum amounts available for these?

[B]

Well, right now I've been working with, trying to get. Get a number out of them, but my guess is that it would be for the fighter, 14 would be roughly like 90,000. And then 130 or 4 would be like 40,000 or something. Okay.

[A]

Okay, great. And what about other retirement assets?

[B]

Yeah, I've got a traditional IRA with $514,000.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I've got a Roth IRA with $6,400 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I've got a traditional 401K with $234,000 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I've Got a Roth IR 401 with $232,000 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And then I've got one inherited IRA for 165,000 and another inherited IRA for $162,000.

[A]

There's, like, a lot of numbers that match up so weirdly, but. Okay. Did you include for your wife as well or.

[B]

In those numbers? We've also got an HSA with $120,000.

[A]

Oh, that's good.

[B]

Yeah. She's got a traditional 401K with $35,000 in it, a Roth 401K with $3,800 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And a Roth IRA with $5,700 in it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And then she's got a savings account that has, oh, $3,000 in it.

[A]

Okay, good. All right, magic question. How much money do you guys actually spend?

[B]

$11,000. And that's being conservative. So.

[A]

Okay, what will your Social Security benefits.

[B]

Look like at 70? I'll make 5,005amonth.

[A]

5,500 or just over 5,000. I just wanted to.

[B]

Just over 5,000.

[A]

Okay, let's say 5,000. Got it.

[B]

And then my wife will make $2,200.

[A]

Just to, like, tally up the. We've got the 514 and the 234 in traditional. This is yours. This is. I'm just doing a quick back of the envelope. Okay. This is all looking very good in your. Like, your. Your health, your life expectancy. Pretty good or, you know, how are you. What are you guys looking at?

[B]

Both my parents are. We're in their late 80s, and my mom are. And my wife's parents are. Her dad's 93 right now. I'm still going.

[A]

So do you have to help her parents at all?

[B]

Thankfully, no.

[A]

Okay. All right, good. So you got a bunch of money. And what would your game plan be at the end of this year? Would it be to start pulling that money out of the inherited IRA to kind of float you while for the next couple years.

[B]

I mean, right now, until my daughter. We're in the process of trying to figure out next steps for my daughter, like, because, you know, after going through everything I went through with My parents, last year, my daughters have all been saying, well, what are we gonna do, you know, about my oldest daughter? You know, she can't live with you forever.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we're looking at that. So until she moves out, we. We're going to be making the, you know, $85,000 or whatever a year. And that's, you know, don't have to pay income tax on that. So my guess is that, you know, and so then I was looking at it, I'm like, okay, I only need about $50,000 more.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So, yeah, I mean, I was looking at it from standpoint. Do I just.

[A]

Just pulling out what you need from the inherited IRA beyond that 85, the whole thing.

[B]

Because, I mean, I won't have any.

[A]

Income next year basically until the 85 is not taxable.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. And how long do you think your daughter will be staying with you? Do you have an. I mean, yeah, hard to say. Right.

[B]

We've had. She's had a lot of health issues in the last four years, and we're trying to get her in a place where she's. We have all the health issues under control before she moves out. So, yeah, it's going to be another two or three years is my guess.

[A]

So then, yeah, if it's two years, then I absolutely would do, you know, half and half, you know, like half this year, half next year from the inherited ira. Get it out, pay the tax that's due, and, you know, listen, this will actually get you, you know, I think, you know, tax wise, it's very good to have this money available. And then, you know, you will probably be able to, you know, kind of bridge the gap a little bit between now and Social Security. Right. So you'll have that money. And again, because of the unique nature of this extra 85 grand a year, what I would do with that money is I would stockpile cash. I would make sure that if you pulled the inherited IRA out and you have the 85 grand a year and you pile it all together, you probably will be net savers. Right, Right. Okay. So then with that extra savings, we. We'll just keep beefing up your savings account, that cash, that's 70 of yours, three of your wife's, but you just keep pumping it up so that in two years, when we get to the other side of having the inherited IRA distributions, you'll have money to get you through. Then you'll also be able to make different decisions about whether you start pulling money slowly out of your traditional assets. Right, right.

[B]

There's One thing I forgot to tell you about too, is that this is a guy.

[A]

It's like, oh, I forgot to tell.

[B]

You, there's so much stuff on, on the list. All right, at 70, I can withdraw a savings plan from a previous employer. That's $211,000.

[A]

Oh my God. That's a big. Forgot.

[B]

Yeah, okay.

[A]

All right, so what I think is you're right that you can retire this year. Okay, that, that's number one. Number two, I think that we now have sort of a tiered strategy, right, because the tiered strategy would be a, you know, essentially you would look at the inherited IRAs for the next two years while you are in this basically 0% tax bracket. Just also one little extra thing on the brokerage account, that 400 and something thousand. Just be careful that you're not creating too much tax liability there, you know.

[B]

No, I'm using, I've got, there's some in money market and there's also some in alter short term bonds.

[A]

Okay, good. All right, so I think that you're in great shape that you have this inherited IRA money. Get it out while there's no tax, there's no real tax event for you guys, you know, and then after that, you know, during these times, you'll have, you'll build up your savings account and look, we're going to see what situation you're in tax wise. You know, let's say from 66 and 67, you're fine, then 68, 69, 70, you can have some combination. I don't know what it's going to be of getting money out of the traditional assets, paying the tax that's due on those assets, using that to live on. Right, because we know you're going to have to take it out eventually, letting your Roth assets grow and maybe not even touching the brokerage account. But I think generating the $11,000 a year that you need is definitely doable because, you know, we have a few years here where you'll pull the money out of your traditional accounts, then you'll have this $7200 a month coming in in Social Security. And now we're talking about kind of easy peasy with this. We really are. Are you managing all of your assets yourself?

[B]

Yeah, I am and I feel pretty good about it, so.

[A]

Okay, great. I just want to make sure that you feel good about it, but also, you know, that you understand as you get older, if something's going on, we just need your wife on board with what's happening. You want to have communication around this. I think you're in good shape to get this done. I'm not sure. By the way, if you didn't have that 85 grand a year coming in and before you said the extra $211,000 that you forgot about, I wasn't so sure you were going to make it. But I think you can do this. Sounds like you have all of your estate stuff taken care of because I know you have the special needs trust. So that's and very important. And just because you have assets in a lot of different places, when you retire, one of the best things you can do just for management purposes is consolidate, get this all in one place. Make sure if something happened to you, your wife would know what to do and where everything was. You know, be on. Just let's, let's be methodical because there's going to be a lot of things that come into the picture and you just want to make sure that you and your wife are aligned and doesn't mean she has to manage it. She doesn't have to understand your whole strategy, but she has to know where everything is. All right, if you are like Phil and real life has called you and said, hey, let's alter the previous game plan, get in touch with us. Go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note. And if you would like to join us live on the show, check the box. Mark will do everything else. While you're on the website, check out all of the great content that lives there. A lot of it is free. And don't forget that you should always, as always, remember to sign up for that free weekly newsletter. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcast. Please leave us a rating and review wherever you listen and of course lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Hey gang. I just made a first time ever purchase on behalf of the the pod. I was so psyched because Mark and I don't do a lot of promotional materials, but I was able to create a branded sweatshirt. Yep, a Jill on Money branded sweatshirt with Vistaprint. Now I'm not usually good at these things, but Vistaprint made it simple to bring this idea. Like, oh, wouldn't it be cool if Mark and I could create some sweatshirts that we'll try out? Maybe the listeners would want to get them as well. They've got these great design tools. They have fast shipping, human support. If you need a little guidance along the way because the sweatshirts were so easy to execute. Now I'm thinking about doing some other stuff. Maybe there's some baseball caps or, I don't know, other fun stuff that you guys would want. You'll let us know. There's a reason that over a million people trust Vistaprint for their small business print needs. Vistaprint print your possible right now, new customers get 20% off with code [e-mail].

[C]

I'm Emma Grade, host of Aspire with Emma Grade, a podcast where I sit down with people who don't just dream big, they build big. From culture shaping voices like Mel Robbins, to leaders redefining success like Tracee Ellis Ross, to game changing entrepreneurs like Mark Cuban, Aspire is about mindset, ambition and doing the work that actually moves the needle. If you're ready to raise your standards and take charge about the life and career you're building, Aspire is where you start, follow and listen to Aspire with me, Emma Greed and Audacy podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.