The most discouraging retirement advice is "you should have started in your 20s." For people in their 40s or 50s with minimal savings, this is true but useless. Here's what you can actually do from wherever you are today.
The honest math from different starting points
📊 Late-start retirement calculator
The maximum contribution catch-up strategy
- Age 50+: 401(k) = $31,000/year (including $7,500 catch-up)
- Age 50+: IRA = $8,000/year (including $1,000 catch-up)
- Age 55+: HSA catch-up = $5,300/year
- Solo 401(k) if self-employed: up to $70,000/year
- Total maximum possible at 55+: $44,300+/year in tax-advantaged accounts
Working longer: the math most people ignore
Working 3–5 extra years does three things simultaneously: adds years of contributions, reduces years of withdrawal, and lets existing savings compound longer. Working until 67 vs 62 on a $300,000 portfolio can mean the difference between a comfortable retirement and a constrained one.
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About the author
Enrique 'Kike' Faúndez is an Information Systems and Management Control Engineer from Universidad de Chile, with master’s degrees in Finance from Universidad de Chile and Industrial Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He has 15+ years of experience in regulated financial services across finance, operations, and digital product development. He founded CashControlly in Santiago, Chile, with the conviction that personal financial control should not be a privilege, but an accessible and well-designed tool.
- Master's in Finance, Universidad de Chile
- Master's in Industrial Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
- Information Systems and Management Control Engineer, Universidad de Chile
- AI and ITIL certifications
- 15+ years in regulated financial services
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