The question everyone avoids Most people want to retire. Even more want to retire early. But, not many know they can retire. Like running a race, the most important thing to know is where is the endpoint, and how long more you have before reaching the endpoint. Two ways of calculating the retirement sum There are basically two ways of calculating your retirement sum. The first is the savings method. In this method, you basically set aside a sum of money, and withdraw it till it depletes. The rule of thumb is to plan for age 100, whereby your retirement sum will be this formula: monthly expenses x 12 x (100 - your age when you choose to retire). I do not support this method because your monthly expenses will always increase, and you might be in a situation whereby your needs become more than the savings that you have. ......