Bridge Health Check
Is your bridge to early retirement actually funded? Enter your balances and get an instant score — Stable, Moderate Risk, or Fragile — plus your biggest weakness and how to fix it.
What Is a Retirement Bridge?
The bridge years are the gap between when you stop working and when you can access retirement accounts penalty-free at 59½. Most early retirees have the bulk of their savings in 401(k)s and IRAs — accounts that carry a 10% early withdrawal penalty before 59½. The bridge is the plan for funding your lifestyle during those years without triggering penalties.
A well-funded bridge typically uses taxable brokerage accounts (no withdrawal restrictions), Roth IRA contributions (always accessible penalty-free), and in some cases a Roth conversion ladder or 72(t) SEPP arrangement for additional access.
The Bridge Health Check scores your current setup across the key dimensions: how much of your bridge years are funded, whether your total portfolio is on track for your FIRE number, and whether you have the right account mix for flexible early access.
How the Score Is Calculated
The Bridge Health Score (0–100) weighs four factors: bridge funding coverage (40 points), total portfolio vs FIRE number (35 points), account diversification across taxable/Roth/tax-deferred (15 points), and time remaining before retirement (10 points).
Scores of 75+ are Stable — your bridge is well-funded and your overall plan is on track. 50–74 is Moderate Risk — meaningful gaps exist but they're fixable. 30–49 is Fragile — significant changes needed before retiring. Below 30 is Critical — retirement at the target age isn't yet viable.