Video: 64 or 69, today or in five years
The same five numbers, only the start changes. Starting at 35, you reach €250,000 after 29 years, at 64. Wait five years, start at 40, and it still takes 29 years, so you arrive at 69. At 64 the late start would stand at €177,602, which is €77,525 less. The five years are missing at the end, not at the beginning. A simulation, not a recommendation.
A start five years later arrives five years later.
69 is the age at which the late start arrives, instead of 64.
Calculated like the Beam page: the monthly amount at the start of each month, the return credited once a year, arrival in the first full year at or above the goal.
Questions people ask
What does starting to save five years later cost?
In the example of €250 a month and €5,000 to start at 6%, the goal of €250,000 arrives at 69 instead of 64. At 64 the late start stands about €77,525 lower.
Why does the late start need just as many years?
Because everything else stays the same. The same amounts at the same return need the same 29 years, they only begin five years later.
Does this say when to start saving?
No. It shows what moving the start does in one calculation. Whether and when somebody saves depends on much more than this.
Source: Own calculation, the arithmetic of the Beam page, as of 2026-10-29
A short video about starting five years later.
The simulation, the comparison and the Beam stay free.
Education, not advice. Disclaimer