Joe

Sample plan

Framer · 57 · Mesa, AZ

single, 35 years of top plates

Framers don't retire from carpentry — they retire from ladders. Joe's shoulders are done; his plan gets him to the ground with a paycheck.

Earns now

$58k

per year

Saved

$55k

nest egg

Spends

$46k

per year, incl. health

Retirement income

$20k

SS + pensions

The outcome as-is

Runs short in his 70s as-is — the 12-month plan is how you close the gap

Income streams

Framing (1099)work

active now → age 59

$58,000/yr

Punch-out & warranty workwork

starts age 59 → age 63

$16,000/yr

Social Securityretirement

claim at 64

$19,800/yr

Brokerage (taxable)$12,000

401(k) / IRA (tax-deferred)$43,000

Living budget$2,833/mo

Health bridge (pre-65)$1,000/mo

Total, pre-65$3,833/mo

12 months out
Real Social Security number entered, and a 15-month cash target built from good-month surpluses. Lumpy income means the buffer IS the plan.
6 months out
Shoulder scope while the work plan's deductible is met. The trades pay in cartilage — spend the insurance while you have it.
4 months out
A tract builder offers punch-out and warranty work — ground-level finish carpentry, $1,400 a month, no ladders. That one income line moves the runs-out age three years.
1 month out
Marketplace enrollment, and the 59½ date circled — the early-withdrawal penalty is real at this savings level. Not one SEP dollar before it.

Open the What-If board with Joe’s exact numbers — drag a lever and watch the earliest age Joe can actually retire.