What keeps you up at night? It could be your favorite sports team, your current binge-watching favorite, or maybe, just maybe, it’s a persistent feeling you could do more to prepare for your retirement—what some experts call “the longest vacation of your life.”
I’ve been advising clients on retirement and wealth planning for over 30 years. Even now, I still love what I do: helping people make good financial decisions.
In all that time, some things about retirement planning have not changed. The two most frequently asked questions we hear from clients are: “Can I afford to retire?” and “Will I run out of money during my retirement?”
Here’s another aspect that hasn’t changed in retirement planning. We see three distinct stages in the retirement years:
• The “Go-go” Years: hobbies, travel, and spending more on eating out and being active;
• The “Slow-go” Years: less travel, reduced energy levels, more focus on health;
• The “No-go” Years: less mobility, caregiving costs rise significantly, focus on legacy planning.
I can also tell you some things have definitely changed in the last 10–20 years:
• People are living longer—much longer in some cases. It’s not uncommon for us to be working with clients well into their 90s.
• Pensions are mostly not present for private sector workers, which puts more responsibility on the individual to save and invest.
• The cost of healthcare and long-term care services continues to rise rapidly. An estimate from the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2024 shows healthcare costs rising much faster than those of everyday products and services.
You’ve heard the realities:
• A 2023 study by the Federal Reserve shows that over 30 percent of American workers have almost no savings at all.
• A 2022 report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that about 40 percent of Americans are significantly underestimating what they will need to live on during their retirement years.
OK, deep breath. Retirement planning can be stressful, but here are some quick items to help better your financial health now and protect your ability to live comfortably in retirement.
• Get a financial “physical” so you can understand the big picture of your money. This is a customized wealth plan that is based on your specific goals.
• Have a general sense of your current and expected expenses over the next few years (tuitions for family members, mortgage payoff, home renovation, etc.).
• Look at your sources of retirement income, such as Social Security, dividends and interest, pension, and rental income. What’s coming in and what’s going out?
• Make sure you have the basic documents in place for when you are not here. Yes, that means working with an attorney to create a will and a power of attorney.
Also, be aware that these issues become more relevant when you encounter what we call “financial changes of life.” Everyone goes through these at different times, and they include retirement, birth/death of a loved one, sale of a home or real estate, or a change in marital status.
Those of us in the business find that having a wealth plan in place is also particularly helpful when the economy is changing, markets are volatile, and you just don’t want to look at your statements. Referring back to your plan regularly can help prevent overreacting to short-term events and keep the longer term in focus. Staying on track and in balance is critical.
Bottom line, it’s easy to put off planning for retirement, but taking some basic steps now can help pave the way for a more comfortable retirement ahead for you and your family.
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 issue.
