Math Teacher With Under $200,000 in Savings Can Retire at 75 With Debt Payoff Plan, Planner Says

Math teacher and tennis coach Jeff Kizer, 57, can retire comfortably at his desired age of 75 despite holding less than $200,000 in retirement savings, a heavy debt load and college costs ahead for his 14-year-old daughter, according to a financial plan by certified financial planner Craig Toberman. The plan's top recommendation is to cut retirement savings to free up cash for debt repayment. Toberman advises lowering Kizer's 17% school contribution rate to 10%—still enough to capture the full employer match—freeing about $4,200 a year, or $350 a month, after tax. That money would be added to payments on a $33,000 personal loan at 10.23% interest, bringing the monthly payment to $1,216 and retiring the debt in two years instead of three. Kizer would then redirect that $1,216 toward his roughly $50,000 student loan at 5.36%, lifting the monthly payment to $1,401. Toberman projects the loan would be cleared by 2031, when Kizer's daughter enters college, and a $75,000 truck loan paid off in 2032 would free another $1,092 a month for tuition. Toberman also recommends delaying Social Security until age 70, when the benefit is expected to reach $48,624 a year. Combined with continued 401(k) contributions until 75, Kizer could hold over $1 million in his mid-70s, assuming a 6.34% average annual portfolio return before retirement and 5.48% after.