Retirement Planner Explains Why You Can Retire Tomorrow | The Limitless Retirement Podcast

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In this conversation, Danny Gudorf discusses the misconceptions surrounding retirement readiness and presents strategies to help individuals retire sooner than expected. He emphasizes the importance of understanding personal income needs and sources rather than fixating on arbitrary savings targets. By implementing specific strategies, individuals can create a personalized retirement plan that aligns with their unique circumstances, potentially allowing them to retire earlier than they thought possible.

Most people work years longer than they need to—because they’re measuring the wrong thing.

A 62-year-old couple with $800,000 just retired comfortably.
Their neighbor, with $1.2 million, still believes he needs five more years.

The difference isn’t in their bank accounts.
It’s in what they understand about retirement.

After 15 years of helping clients transition from work to financial independence, I’ve seen one truth over and over: retirement isn’t about hitting a magic number—it’s about creating reliable income.

And when you shift your focus from “how much I have” to “how much income I can generate,” you might realize you can retire much sooner than you think.

The Three Hidden Reasons You Haven’t Retired Yet

The “Safety in Large Numbers” Trap

Most people fixate on arbitrary targets.
They tell themselves:

  • “If I had $1 million, I’d feel safe.”

  • “Maybe $2 million just to be sure.”

But these numbers are psychological comfort blankets—not financial realities.

According to a 2024 Charles Schwab study, Americans believe they need about $1.8 million to retire comfortably. Gen Z says it’s $9 million. Gen X and Millennials? Around $5 million.

Yet countless people are retiring securely with far less—because they understand how their assets translate into monthly income, not just total dollars.

“One More Year” Syndrome

Maybe you’ve already hit your financial independence number but keep telling yourself you need “just one more year.”

That one more year often turns into five or even ten—time you can’t get back.
The root cause is rarely financial. It’s emotional. Fear of losing purpose, fear of uncertainty, fear of change.

But the irony? You’re often safer than you think. The data is there—it’s just waiting to be analyzed with a clear plan that tells you when your savings truly make work optional.

Falling Behind—But Not Out

Yes, some people simply got a late start.
 You might have spent your 30s and 40s raising kids, paying for college, or buying that family home.

Here’s the good news: it’s not too late.
 With smart catch-up contributions, tax-efficient withdrawals, and income planning, you can still close the gap—often faster than you think.

The key is shifting from a “save more” mindset to a “use smarter” strategy.

The Hidden Reality: It’s Not About Savings—It’s About Income

Those who retire comfortably with $650,000 aren’t luckier than those who struggle with $1 million.
 They’ve simply built a clear, coordinated income plan.

They know:

  • Exactly how much their Social Security will provide.

  • When to draw from investments.

  • How to protect against downturns.

  • And how to use part-time or phased retirement as a bridge.

This clarity—not luck or timing—is what makes the difference.

That’s why we created our multi-client family office approach.
 We integrate investment planning, tax strategy, and income design to create a full picture of your retirement readiness.

We don’t guess whether you have “enough.”
 We show you exactly how much income your savings can generate—so you know when you can make work optional.

Ready to See How Close You Are?

Click below to start your free retirement assessment.
 You’ll discover your unique retirement timeline and whether you’re closer to financial freedom than you ever imagined.

5 Strategies to Retire Years Sooner

Know Your Exact Income Needs

Forget the “you’ll need 80% of your income” rule. It’s outdated.

Instead, look at your real spending.

  • Review your checking and credit card statements over the past 3–6 months.

  • Track spending with a budgeting app like Monarch.

Most retirees spend less than they think because:

  • You’re no longer saving for retirement.

  • Taxes often decrease.

  • Big expenses—like your mortgage—may be gone.

If you don’t know what you’re spending, you can’t know what you need. This is the foundation of retiring with confidence.

Identify Guaranteed Income Sources

Social Security, pensions, annuities—these form your income backbone.

Many people underestimate how much this covers. For example:
 Your combined Social Security benefits may pay for 60–70% of your core expenses.

Completely ignoring these benefits is like starting a road trip without checking the fuel gauge.

Yes, Social Security faces challenges—but eliminating it from your plan is overly conservative and could delay retirement unnecessarily.

Calculate Your “Safe Money” Years

The decade before and after retirement is your financial danger zone.

Research by Michael Kitces shows that withdrawing money during early market downturns can permanently reduce your portfolio’s longevity.

To protect yourself:

  • Keep several years of expenses in safer, liquid assets like bonds or cash reserves.

  • Let your equities recover over time while you draw from your “war chest.”

Think of it as your personal volatility shield.

Stress-Test Your Portfolio

Fear of inflation, healthcare costs, or outliving your money is common—but solvable.

With modern financial planning tools, we can simulate hundreds of scenarios:

  • What if inflation averages 4%?

  • What if markets drop 20%?

  • What if healthcare costs spike?

When you see how your plan holds up in each case, anxiety turns into clarity.
 This is the difference between guessing and knowing.

Consider Non-Traditional Retirement Paths

Retirement isn’t an on/off switch anymore.

According to a T. Rowe Price study, 20% of retirees continue to work part-time—not for money, but for meaning and smoother transitions.

That might mean:

  • Consulting part-time.

  • Moving into a less stressful role.

  • Having one spouse retire early while the other works a few more years.

This hybrid approach can help you enjoy freedom sooner while keeping your finances—and your sense of purpose—intact.

Real-Life Success Stories

Take the 62-year-old couple who thought they needed $1.2 million to retire.
After analyzing their expenses and income sources, we found their $800,000—combined with Social Security—covered 100% of their needs.
They retired immediately, gaining five extra years of freedom.

Or the 59-year-old executive who planned to work until 65 for health insurance.
He had $1.1 million saved but felt “not ready.”
After mapping his actual spending, we discovered he could shift to part-time consulting—cutting stress, keeping income, and letting investments grow.

Both realized the same truth:
Retirement readiness is personal, not mathematical.

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Stop chasing arbitrary targets.
Start focusing on cash flow clarity.

The goal isn’t to reach the biggest number possible—it’s to create a life where work becomes optional.

When you understand your real income picture and align it with smart tax and investment planning, you might find retirement isn’t years away—it could be right around the corner.

*This blog post is based on the insights shared by Gudorf Financial Group. For personalized advice tailored to your unique circumstances, always consult a financial, legal, or tax professional.*

Transcript: Prefer to Read — Click to Open


Danny (00:59.488)

A 62 year old couple with $800,000 just retired comfortably while their neighbor with $1.2 million thinks he still needs to work 5 more years. What’s the difference? It’s not their money, it’s what they understand about retirement.

Danny (01:47.67)

I’m Danny Gudorf and over the last 15 years, my team and I have guided clients through all four stages of retirement wealth, helping them optimize not just their money, but their entire transition to making work optional. In this video, I’ll show you why you might be able to retire much sooner than you think. And I’ll share five specific strategies that could potentially help you reclaim the best years of your life. So why does it seem

like everyone else is retiring before you. There are three fundamental reasons and understanding them could completely change your retirement timeline. The first reason is what I call safety in large numbers. Most people have no concrete idea of what they truly need for retirement. They fixate on some arbitrary large number that always seems just out of reach.

Danny (02:45.89)

Those with $500,000 think they need $1.5 million. Those with $1.5 million believe they need $3 million. And according to a 2024 study by Charles Schwab, most Americans believe they need $1.8 million to retire comfortably. And Gen Z thinks financial success requires over $9 million in net worth, while Gen X and the millennials put that figure at $5 million.

These numbers aren’t based upon reality. They’re psychological safety blankets. The appearance that others can retire while you can’t is often just an illusion created by these made up benchmarks.

Danny (03:32.994)

The second reason is what financial planners call one more year syndrome. This is when people who actually have reached their financial independence number convince themselves they need just one more year of working to feel secure. The root causes vary from anxiety about not having enough, uncertainty about the transition away from work to retirement, or concerns about how you’ll actually

fill your days in retirement. If you generally want to keep working, that’s perfectly fine. But if you want to retire and find yourself perpetually thinking about you’re almost ready or you’re almost there.

Danny (04:24.494)

But if you want to retire and you find yourself perpetually thinking you’re almost ready, you need to challenge those thoughts. The sad reality of one more year syndrome is that it’s rarely just one more year. It’s often turns into five or even 10 more years wasting valuable order retirement time when you’re still healthy and you’re most active.

The third reason it might seem like everyone is retiring before you is that you might actually be behind. Many people in their fifties didn’t save as much as they wanted to in their thirties and forties due to other financial responsibilities. This could be paying for college or paying for weddings or buying that new house that your family’s always wanted. If that’s you, don’t worry. It’s not too late.

There are catch up contributions and other strategies to help you get back on track. When we understand these three reasons, we can break the illusion that everyone around us knows something that we don’t. The truth is people who confidently retire with similar or even less savings than you have shifted their focus from these arbitrary numbers to understanding exactly how they’ll replace their income in retirement.

Those who successfully retire aren’t necessarily the ones who’ve hit some random benchmark number. They’re the ones who’ve identified their exact income sources, such as social security and investment withdrawals, and sometimes some non-traditional approaches to work.

This shift towards focusing on income rather than total savings is why many people successfully retire with $650,000 while others with $1 million and the same spending levels feel stuck.

Danny (06:49.602)

That’s exactly why we’ve developed our multi-client family office approach. Instead of just managing investments, we integrate investment planning, tax planning, and your retirement income strategy to create a complete picture of what’s actually possible for you. Rather than guessing whether you have enough, we show you exactly how much income and your current savings can generate when…

Danny (07:21.61)

Rather than guessing whether you have enough income, we’ll show you exactly how much income your current savings can generate and when you could potentially make work optional. If you’re interested in discovering your specific retirement timeline, click the link below to get started with your free retirement assessment. We’ll analyze your unique situation and show you whether you’re closer to retirement than you think.

Now that you truly understand the true measure of retirement readiness, let me share five strategies that could potentially allow you to retire years sooner than you thought was possible.

Danny (08:04.881)

Strategy number one is to know your exact income needs. The days of assuming you need some large random number are over. Sit down and figure out exactly what you’re spending. And don’t assume you need 100 % of your current income in retirement. You won’t be saving for retirement anymore, your tax bill should be lower with proper planning, and you might no longer have a mortgage or other debts in retirement.

review your credit card and checking account statements for the last three to six months, or use a budgeting software to track your spending. A lot of our clients use an app called Monarch and this helps them log all of their accounts and track everything. This step is non-negotiable. If you want to retire confidently, you must know exactly what you’re actually spending.

Danny (09:05.483)

Strategy number two is to identify your guaranteed income sources. Many people feel unprepared because they completely ignore income they’ll receive in retirement. Social Security and pensions, if you have them, will make a massive difference. If you need help finding your Social Security benefit, visit the website to find your projected benefits and include them in your overall retirement plan. I know many people

worry about the future of Social Security, but this benefit is one that you’ve been paying into your entire working career. Completely eliminating it from your calculations is overly conservative and can unnecessarily delay your retirement. Strategy number three is to calculate how many years of safe money you have. As you enter retirement,

you typically can’t afford to be as aggressive with your investments unless your guaranteed income is covering all or most of your expenses. Your portfolio will need to start providing retirement income and you’ll need to plan if you enter retirement during a market downturn. Research from Michael Kitza shows there’s a retirement danger zone in the decade before and after you retire.

The way to protect against this is to have safe money in your portfolio, like bonds and other cash sources that can be set aside in a war chest to help protect you. The optimal asset allocation is V-shaped for equities, high in your early working years and lower as you approach retirement, then gradually increasing in once you get through this danger zone.

Danny (10:54.434)

But each individual’s portfolio needs to be specifically addressed to their own unique situation. Strategy number four is to stress test your portfolio. Many people delay retirement over concerns about inflation, healthcare costs, or outliving their savings in retirement. But we can and should include all of these factors in your plan. Financial planning software allows us to run these scenarios, adjust assumptions,

and see how your portfolio holds up in different market conditions. This isn’t about guesswork, it’s about using the data we have to make smart and informed decisions. Strategy number five is to consider non-traditional retirement approaches. If you don’t feel quite ready, either because the numbers don’t work or you don’t feel mentally prepared, there are other options. According to T. Rowe Price Retirement Study, about 20 % of retirees

continue to work at least part-time through retirement. I’ve seen…

Danny (12:05.292)

I’ve seen even a lot of my own clients transition to part-time work with their current employer, moving to low paying jobs, but less stressful or having one spouse retire while the other continues to work. This is the secret hack to early retirement that few people discuss. Many early retirees aren’t exactly 100 % retired. This transition phase can help you reclaim some of your time sooner and build confidence

for full retirement later.

Danny (12:45.486)

Let me share a quick hypothetical example. I recently worked with a couple, both 62, who had $800,000 in retirement savings. They thought they would need at least $1.2 million to be able to retire. But after analyzing their spending needs and their income sources, we discovered they could retire immediately. Their Social Security would cover about 70 % of their essential expenses and modest withdrawals

from their portfolio would handle the rest. By focusing on income rather than some arbitrary asset number, they gained five extra years of retirement they would have otherwise spent working unnecessarily.

Danny (13:47.374)

And another hypothetical example, let’s go through a 59 year old executive. He was convinced he needed to work until age 65 for healthcare. He had $1.1 million saved, but was fixated on reaching that $1.5 million number. When we actually mapped out his actual expenses and…

Danny (14:16.012)

When we actually mapped out his actual expenses and income sources, we found he could contribute.

Danny (14:35.938)

When we mapped out his actual expenses and income sources, we found he could transition to part-time consulting immediately, reducing his stress while still allowing his investments to grow. This hybrid approach gave him the best of both worlds, more free time now and continued growth of his investments. The key insight from both of these examples is that retirement readiness is highly personal. Generic rules of thumb,

and arbitrary targets often lead people to work years longer than necessary.

Danny (15:14.562)

By focusing your specific income needs and sources, you might discover you’re much closer to retirement than you actually thought. Remember, the goal isn’t to accumulate the largest possible amount. It’s to create a life where work becomes optional. By understanding the true measures of retirement readiness and implementing these five strategies, you might find that retirement isn’t years away, but could be just around the corner.

So now that you understand why focusing on income instead of arbitrary numbers could change everything. However, there’s still one crucial piece missing. How do you pull all of this together in the right order without making costly mistakes? Click the link right here to watch our next video, Ready to Retire, Follow These Simple Three Steps.

to see the exact three-step framework I use with clients every day to turn this knowledge into a personalized retirement roadmap for making work optional sooner.

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