Retire early? As the old saying goes, that’s good work if you can get it. But as a respected economist notes, too many Americans are getting it without saving enough for it.

Don't miss

• Boomer's remorse: Here are the top 5 ‘big money’ purchases you’ll (probably) regret in retirement and how to prepare for them

• Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market — and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

• What do Ashton Kutcher and a Nobel Prize-winning economist have in common? An investing app that turns spare change into a diversified portfolio

With office life reduced to remote working and the stock market driving up 401(k) accounts, early retirement has become one of the most searched terms on the web.

So why is that plan, in the words of economist Laurence Kotlikoff, “one of the worst money mistakes” you can make?

For starters, the market has since retreated, erasing many of the pandemic’s gains and waking many from their early retirement dreams.

But the reasons for Kotlikoff’s skepticism go deeper.

‘Lousy savers’

Few things expose one’s money habits like retirement planning. Aggressive, ritual savers who started early are rewarded with reliably rising account balances, supercharged by dividend reinvestments and compounding interest.

But the reality is that millions of Americans simply aren’t putting enough away for traditional retirements, let alone the early exits pondered by 50-somethings — a move Kotlikoff says they’ll “regret” unless they adjust their expectations or give up the plan altogether.

“We are, as a group, lousy savers, making early retirement unaffordable,” Kotlikoff wrote in a guest column for CNBC last year. “Financially speaking, it’s generally far safer and far smarter to retire later.”

It should be noted that Kotlikoff ends his argument by stating he plans to “die in the saddle” because he loves what he does. But those tired of corporate climbing or reporting to a manager may have different plans for their golden years.