I want to retire now at 48, but how do I figure out if I can afford to?

Walking away from work at 48 is a long way from the usual retirement age, so the real question here isn't whether it's allowed, it's whether the money lasts across what could be forty or more years without a paycheque. This piece looks at how a planner approaches that uncertainty, not with a single yes-or-no, but by working through a series of 'what if' questions to see where the plan bends and where it holds. It's a useful read for anyone toying with an early exit and wondering how to test the idea before committing. The thread running through it is that a workable answer usually comes from adjusting the assumptions, spending, expected returns, timing, until the numbers and the life you want line up, rather than waiting to be handed a verdict.