What you must do to retire by 40 according to people who have done it

For lots of people retirement is a distant dream, something that will come in decades if it ever comes at all.

The age at which you can claim a pension is already rising, if you're 66-years-old you're eligible for the state pension.

However, between 2026 and 2028 this will rise to 67, while between 2044 and 2026 it'll rise again to 68.

That's the current pathway in the UK, which is of course subject to change if future governments decide pensions are really expensive and would like to delay how long people get them for.

Some people just don't seem to be planning for retirement, with it such a distant dream that they'd rather enjoy life when they're young and healthy through something known as 'soft saving'.

Getty Stock Photo

The majority of Gen Z say they'd rather spend their money now than save it for later, and most also say they currently feel like the cost of living is a barrier to their financial success.

The opposite of the 'soft savers' are the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) people who follow a rather different ethos.

These are the people who plan to retire while they still have colour in their hair without dyeing it and those who've done it have some common tips to follow.

A few of these FIRE folk told US News that if you wanted to retire at 40 you were 'certainly facing more headwinds than you were even just a few years ago', but still reckoned it was doable.

The basic tenet is that you keep costs down today so you can afford not to work tomorrow, and you need to accept that your early retirement isn't going to be a life of luxury.

Getty Stock Photo

First things first you need to figure out how much you'd actually need to retire at 40, which means you're probably going to need at least over a million to afford it.

Another keystone of this is putting at least half of your salary into your savings, which means if you're one of those people who has a normal job and a rent or a mortgage to pay you're out.

One of the ways to try and do this is avoiding something called 'lifestyle creep', essentially raising your living expenses as your salary goes up as well.

If you get a pay rise and think 'I can afford to do more stuff now' then you're doing FIRE wrong, that pay rise should be going into your savings.

Also, you need to invest some of your wealth so that your money will make money, at least that's the idea of it.

You don't want to be screwed over by a financial crash down the line and be stuck having to explain why there's a 17 year gap on your CV.

Topics: Money

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker