Marketplace · Friday, September 11, 2026
Approximately 42% of Americans are retiring earlier than planned, with one in five doing so due to feeling financially stable. Skip Franklin, who retired at 37, exemplifies this trend by living on a modest budget and focusing on volunteer work and personal relationships.
“Now, most of that is for not great reasons: health or a layoff, but for one in five of those early retirees, it is because they feel financially stable enough to just not work anymore.”
“And I retired in 2013 at age 37.”
“I live on probably around $20,000 a year, um, and that, uh, doesn't really impact my investments that much.”