Wealth Wise is Kiplinger's advice column on navigating retirement-related dilemmas. Got a question? See below for how to send it to us.

Dear Wealth Wise: At 49, I have more retirement savings than I ever imagined. My IRA is worth almost $2 million, and I inherited my house, so there’s no mortgage. It’s worth almost $1 million, so the taxes on it are high. I also have $300K in investments outside of my IRA and a 6-month emergency fund.

I’m burned out and want to take a sabbatical, which my company will not support. I would have to quit and start over. I want to spend the time traveling and seeing old friends. I have several living in Europe I can stay with.

I'm single, no kids, no pets. I'd use the $300K investment account and emergency fund to pay my bills while not working. I want to take a break of six months to a year. My usual expenses are about $100K a year and I make $200K, so I save a lot of my income. I'll be spending more while out of work to pay for travel and health insurance.

I’m not really worried about affording the sabbatical so much as what happens next. If I can’t get back to a big salary, do I have enough in my IRA to retire on? And is there anything I’m missing in my sabbatical plan? — Wealthy But Weary

Dear Wealthy But Weary: When you've been working hard for more than two decades, there may come a point when you feel you need a break — and not just a long vacation, but a months-long period to recharge, pursue hobbies, and take time for yourself.

Here, we have a 49-year-old reader in great financial shape. They're set on taking a sabbatical, even though they know it will mean starting a job search from scratch upon their return. Let's see what our experts have to say about this plan, and what tweaks they might recommend.

You can probably swing the time off, but make sure to fund it the right way

Many people in their late 40s are scrambling to catch up on retirement savings. With an IRA worth close to $2 million, our reader is in the opposite boat. Between that and their $300,000 portfolio, they're in a strong position to take an extended break, says Rob Burnette, investment advisor representative and professional tax preparer at Outlook Financial Center.

"For the short term, you certainly have sufficient funds for a one-year sabbatical. Using your non-IRA investment account for living expenses is very tax-efficient and doesn’t run afoul of early distribution penalties on your IRA," he says.

However, Burnette cautions, "I would try to keep your emergency fund intact for its purpose — emergencies."

Trevor Houston, CEO at ClearPath Wealth Strategies, LLC, agrees.

"My advice is to set up a separate savings account dedicated to covering expenses during an intentional career break. Don't start raiding retirement accounts or building debt. This fund should be separate from the emergency fund. A planned career break is not an emergency," he says.

Houston also emphasizes the importance of planning for extra costs during a workforce break.

"The biggest mistake I see people make when planning a career sabbatical is assuming they only need to replace their regular paycheck," he says. "Unfortunately, things like health insurance, taxes, inflation … can end up totaling more than people may expect."

Before moving forward with a sabbatical, Houston recommends mapping out the costs, including surprise expenses that may arise, like home repairs. If your budget can support unplanned costs, you should be in good shape.

And speaking of home repairs, Mike Dunlop, CFP and co-founder at Ignite Financial, says that as a homeowner, you have an opportunity to help fund your sabbatical without raiding your investment account too heavily.

"I'd also at least have them look at that $1 million paid-off house sitting empty with a big property tax bill while they're in Europe. Renting it out might cover a good chunk of the trip," he says.

The only catch? Rental income will boost your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which could bump up your premiums for marketplace healthcare.

Your sabbatical year could be a good tax-planning opportunity

Giving up your paycheck for a year may be daunting. But it could actually serve as an opportunity to make a smart long-term tax-planning decision.

"While you have a large IRA, that is also a tax bomb that will go off when you do draw funds from it in retirement. For full tax diversity, you need to add a Roth IRA to your mix so that you have everything covered," Burnette explains.

"During the year on sabbatical," he continues, "you could look at doing some Roth conversions on your IRA while you aren’t drawing a large salary. The Roth conversion would certainly improve the status of making your $2 million in retirement assets go further when you finally retire."

Dunlop agrees that a Roth conversion could be a smart move during a planned sabbatical. But he also cautions that a conversion could lead to higher health insurance costs.

"I'd want them watching the health insurance piece, because ACA coverage can be cheap when income's low," he says. "But a Roth conversion bumps that income up and can shrink the subsidy, so those two levers work against each other."

Make sure you have a re-entry strategy

If you take a sabbatical at 49 and return to the workforce at 50, you may not be nearly ready to retire. Houston says it's important to plan for a re-entry that may take longer than anticipated.

"What happens if it takes longer than you expect and your sabbatical savings are gone? What's happening in your industry? How might you need to adjust your career plans?" Houston says.

Dunlop says that at your age, there's some risk of age discrimination working against you.

"The over-50 job market is real, and I won't pretend otherwise," he says.

However, Dunlop insists you have one thing going for you: You don't necessarily need to replace your $200,000 salary if you only spend $100,000 a year and have a robust IRA to fall back on. And trying to find a job is less scary when you can accept a lower number.

"The next job really only has to cover what they actually spend," Dunlop insists. "When you don't need the paycheck, you can usually interview better and hold out for something you actually want."

Enjoy your time off

So there you have it. Our three experts agree that you're in a great position to take a much-deserved sabbatical. Even if you end up in a lower-paying job upon your return, you've built up a large enough IRA balance that you can let that money sit and grow until retirement age and still have more than enough.

If you want to approach that career break with even more confidence, it could pay to consult a professional.

"This would be a great conversation to have with a financial planner that will look at all aspects of your financial situation," Burnette says.

Not all questions submitted will be published, and some may be condensed and/or combined with other similar questions and answers, as required editorially. The answers provided by our writers and experts, in this advice column, are for general informational purposes only. While we take reasonable precautions to ensure we provide accurate answers to your questions, this information does not and is not intended to constitute independent financial, legal, or tax advice. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based on any information provided in this feature. You should consult with a financial adviser regarding any questions you may have in relation to the matters discussed in this article.

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Every retirement plan is built around the same fear: Outliving your money. The industry has developed sophisticated tools to address it.

• Monte Carlo simulations model the probability that a portfolio will survive 30 years of withdrawals
• Safe withdrawal rates are debated to the decimal point
• Longevity risk is taken seriously

The research has identified a different risk, one that is statistically more common, demonstrably more devastating and absent from virtually every financial plan in circulation.

The risk is outliving your mind.

A 2025 systematic review in Health Psychology Review confirmed what longitudinal research has been building toward for a decade: Retirement is associated with measurable cognitive decline, not only because people age but because structured cognitive demand disappears.

Researchers gave the mechanism a name: The mental retirement hypothesis. When the brain is no longer required to perform at the level a career demanded, it follows the body's example and withdraws from challenge. The decline is not inevitable. It is, however, predictable — and far more preventable.

The professor

Margaret spent 41 years as a professor of developmental psychology at a major research university. She published extensively, advised doctoral students, taught graduate seminars and worked at the edge of her discipline for three decades. She retired at 68 with a comfortable pension and her health intact. Within 16 months, she quietly realized that something she had always taken for granted was beginning to slip.

She knew the research. She had assigned papers on neuroplasticity and cognitive aging to her students. She understood, at a scholarly level, exactly what was happening. She simply had not planned for it.

What work does for your brain

The workplace offers something most people never consciously notice until it is gone: A daily cognitive stimulus framework they did not have to design.

• Novel problems arrived uninvited
• Deadlines imposed urgency
• Colleagues challenged assumptions
• Students asked questions with no clean answers
• The environment kept the brain engaged

Margaret's career was among the most cognitively demanding. Her days required reading new research, evaluating evidence, constructing arguments, defending conclusions under peer scrutiny and translating complex ideas for audiences that expected precision. None of it was easy. All of it was, neurologically, exactly what the brain requires to sustain function.

This is where the research presents an inconvenient finding for high achievers: The steeper the cognitive demands of the career, the steeper the potential decline when those demands end. Retirees from high-complexity occupations, such as physicians, executives, lawyers and academics, face the greatest gap between career-level cognitive engagement and the engagement that retirement, by default, provides.

The person who built the most sophisticated mind is, in the absence of deliberate design, at the greatest risk of watching it diminish.

Margaret's retirement did not end her paycheck. It removed the daily stimulus her brain had organized itself around for four decades. The seminars ended. The doctoral students graduated. The editorial reviews stopped arriving. The conferences, the department meetings, the weekly urgency of a discipline that never stopped moving — all of it faded within a single academic year.

What replaced it was quiet and comfortable. And, by the standard the research now applies, cognitively insufficient.

The antidote isn't what you think

When people learn that cognitive engagement protects the aging brain, the response is predictable: Crossword puzzles, brain-training apps and sudoku. These feel like the right answer. They are not wrong, exactly. They are simply not enough.

The research draws a distinction most people miss. Practicing a skill you already possess is maintenance. The brain grows through novelty, not repetition. A crossword puzzle that takes 45 minutes is not the same as a problem with no known solution that requires you to build new mental frameworks to approach it. The first sustains what is already there. The second creates something new.

Researchers at Binghamton University have identified social engagement as, in their words, "simply the single most powerful factor for cognitive performance in old age," ranking it above brain games, supplements, and even formal education. The engagement they describe is social complexity: Relationships that require reading another person, managing disagreement, sustaining a connection through difficulty and being genuinely accountable to another person's expectations.

The research consistently identifies three protective conditions:

• Novel learning, meaning acquiring skills and knowledge you do not already possess
• Social engagement with real complexity and mutual accountability
• Purposeful challenge, meaning goals that require sustained effort and carry real consequences

Margaret's daily crossword does not meet the level of challenge her brain requires. A structured role mentoring junior faculty two mornings a week meets all three. She is learning how her discipline has evolved since she last taught it. She is accountable to people who need her. The outcomes matter. The cognitive demand is functional, not decorative.

The distinction is not about difficulty. It is about demand and whether that demand is connected to something with genuine stakes.

Designing the cognitive portfolio

The financial planning vocabulary that dominates retirement conversations offers, perhaps unintentionally, a useful frame.

A well-managed financial portfolio is diversified across asset classes, actively monitored and adjusted as conditions change. Left unmanaged, it is exposed to risks the owner has not accounted for.

The same logic applies to what might be called the cognitive portfolio: The collection of activities, relationships and challenges that keep the brain operating at a level commensurate with its capacity.

Most retirees do not deliberately manage their cognitive portfolio. They leave it to chance — and chance, without intention, follows the path of least resistance.

Three non-negotiables belong in a well-designed cognitive portfolio:

Novelty. Learning something genuinely new, not merely practicing what is already mastered. A retired professor of developmental psychology who is learning a new language, building furniture or navigating a community board where she holds no authority qualifies. A retired professor reviewing papers in her own specialty, while valuable, does not yield the same neurological return.

Social complexity. Relationships with real stakes, mutual accountability and the productive friction that keeps the mind alert.

Purposeful challenges. Goals that require sustained cognitive effort and carry consequences the retiree genuinely cares about.

For Margaret, this meant three commitments in her second year of retirement:

She joined a community mediation program, a field where her expertise did not transfer and her credentials carried no weight

She accepted an invitation to co-teach a public seminar with a colleague 30 years her junior, a role that required her to learn as much as she taught

And she began meeting weekly with two graduate students whose dissertation committees she had agreed to serve on as an external reader

None of it re-created her career. All of it replicated the conditions her career had provided: Novel inputs, social accountability and a goal that demanded her best thinking.

Intellectual stimulation is one of the five pillars of a fulfilling retirement. Among the five, it is the one most often treated as supplementary. Research on cognitive decline suggests it is anything but. It is load-bearing.

A different kind of risk management

Margaret knew the theory. She had spent four decades teaching it. The gap in her retirement plan was not ignorance; it was application. She understood, in the abstract, that the brain requires challenge to sustain function. She had simply not built that requirement into the concrete architecture of her daily life.

That gap is not unique to academics. It is the structural condition of traditional retirement applied to a brain that was never designed to stop working.

The paradox the research holds without resolving, the very qualities that made a career exceptional, such as the appetite for intellectual challenge, the drive toward mastery and the need for work that matters, are the same qualities that make retirement cognitively risky when they are not deliberately redirected. The high achiever's greatest professional asset becomes, without intentional design, the high achiever's greatest retirement vulnerability.

Financial planning has developed precise tools for managing money over a 30-year retirement. It has not yet developed equivalent tools for managing the mind over the same span. Both are depletable. Both respond to how they are managed. Both require a strategy.

Every retirement plan should answer two questions. The first is familiar: Will the money last?

The second has been absent from the planning conversation for too long.

Will the mind?

To learn more about designing a fulfilling retirement, pick up my new book, Your Encore Years: The Psychology of Retirement.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

The allure of retiring to Florida can be strong. Palm trees, sandy beaches, warm weather and zero income tax drive retirees in droves.

But for some of them, Florida isn't what they expected. Sure, they save money on income taxes, but the hefty homeowners' association fees and skyrocketing insurance premiums more than cancel that out. That doesn't even include the hurricanes, persistent humidity, heavy traffic and overcrowding.

These retirees want what Florida promised, but on a more manageable scale. They can get that from what is known as 'half-back' states. These are states that offer tax-friendly policies, mild weather, and a lower cost of living. For Northeasterners, they sit perfectly between Florida and their old hometowns, keeping them within an easy day's drive of the grandkids. They may not check off every box that Florida offers, but what they lack, they make up for in their own unique charm and appeal.

If you're ready to say goodbye to Florida's heat and high HOA fees, here are four half-back states that may be right for you.

Why Georgia is a top pick for ex-Florida retirees

Georgia may tax your income, but it offers other advantages that make it appealing to disillusioned Florida residents, including no tax on Social Security benefits, no estate or inheritance tax and low property taxes. There's also the Georgia homestead exemption, which lowers property taxes for homeowners through the reduction of some county and school taxes. It is offered at a set amount by the state of Georgia, but some counties offer higher amounts. People aged 65 and older may be granted an additional exemption.

Beyond taxes, Georgia offers warm weather without the extremes of Florida. Winters are mild, with temperatures dropping to around 60 degrees. Summers are hot, with temperatures reaching into the 90s, but not as humid as Florida. Homes are more affordable in the Peach State. A two-bedroom house costs about $335,358, while a one-bedroom rental is around $1,440 per month. That compares to $378,126 and $1,693, respectively, in Florida.

Georgia also gives retirees something that Florida can't: geographic diversity. Retirees can live near the historic streets of Savannah or in the peaceful Blue Ridge Mountains. In Georgia, you get it all: mountains, the coast and small, charming towns dotted all over the state.

North Carolina: Milder seasons without the humidity

You won't get the year-round summers that you do in Florida, but you also don't have to worry about the oppressive humidity in the Tar Heel state. North Carolina offers retirees a four-season climate, but milder. Temperatures hover around 50 degrees in the winter and 90 degrees in the summer.

While North Carolina taxes your income, it exempts Social Security benefits and doesn't have an estate or inheritance tax. You can purchase a two-bedroom home for around $340,430 in North Carolina, which is cheaper than in Florida. Prefer to rent? A one-bedroom apartment is about $1,362 per month in the state.

Just like Georgia, you get the best of both worlds in North Carolina — the Blue Ridge Mountains, which offer stunning views and great hiking trails, and the Atlantic coast. Not to mention city life, thanks to Charlotte, home of the Carolina Panthers professional football team and the Charlotte Hornets, its professional basketball team. Plus, it's even closer than Florida if you're visiting friends and family in the Northeast.

South Carolina: A taste of Florida closer to home

South Carolina gives you a taste of Florida with miles of sandy beaches, southern charm, plus a slice of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Home to historic coastal cities and pristine golf courses, South Carolina is a popular destination for half-back retirees because of the mild weather and low cost of living. Temperatures during the winter are around 60 degrees; In the summer, they hover around 90 degrees.

South Carolina taxes your income, but you don't pay taxes on your Social Security. Plus, you can deduct up to $15,000 of your individual income or $30,000 for couples filing jointly. Your heirs won't have to worry about paying an inheritance tax. The average cost of a two-bedroom home is $309,323, while a one-bedroom apartment goes for $1,412 per month.

Tennessee: No income tax and mountain living beyond the coast

You won't find sandy beaches in Tennessee, but you will find a mix of rolling hills, mountain peaks and the birthplace of country music. Home to Dolly Parton's theme park, Dollywood, Tennessee offers retirees a mild climate, a low cost of living and quick access to friends and family in the Northeast. In Tennessee, retirees can choose to live in the mountains of Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, or at the center of world-class music culture in the rolling hills of Nashville.

Just like Florida, Tennessee doesn't have a state income tax, nor does it tax Social Security or withdrawals from retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs. There is no inheritance tax and property taxes are low. You can get a two-bedroom home for an average of $338,769. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,365.

Is a 'half-back' move right for your retirement?

Florida may have been your lifelong dream for retirement, but don't beat yourself up if it didn't work out. You aren't alone. The good news is there are plenty of half-back states you can call home. Some offer you the sandy beaches of Florida, warm summer months and a vibrant coastal lifestyle. Others offer geographic diversity, a lower cost of living and proximity to family and friends.

But before you move to one of these half-back states, do your homework, crunch the numbers and test drive before making it permanent.

Methodology: To select the best half-back states for retirees, we looked at the proximity to Florida, the average price of a two-bedroom home based on Zillow, and the average rental price for a one-bedroom apartment, according to Apartments.com. We also looked at the average temperatures in the winter and summer months, activities for retirees and the tax treatment in the state.

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For some people, the appeal of retiring abroad lies in the ability to live well for less than it would cost in the U.S. Others seek more affordable healthcare or a less divisive political climate. Still others, such as Karen Fifer Ferry, 68, and her husband, John, 74, are lured by love — not for each other (though the couple has that in abundance), but rather for the place they now call home.

For the Ferrys, that means Green Turtle Cay, a tiny island in the Bahamas boasting pristine beaches, crystal blue waters, picturesque clapboard houses and lush coral gardens.

The couple started vacationing there when their three children, now in their mid-thirties, were small. They kept going back, increasingly enamored of the island’s physical beauty and its warm, welcoming community of around 500 people — a place where, Cheers-style, everybody knows your name.

The couple bought a cottage there in 2012, gave up their U.S. home in Providence in 2014 and worked largely remotely. They decided to retire in the Bahamas permanently after Karen left her job as a consultant to healthcare companies in 2018 and John, a pediatrician and executive recruiter for the healthcare industry, followed suit a year later.

Since they already owned property in the country, the path to becoming permanent residents was straightforward, requiring only additional references to attest to their character, documentation of sufficient financial assets to show they wouldn’t become a burden to the government, and an application fee.

Since then, the Ferrys’ overseas retirement has had plenty of ups and a few downs. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm, destroyed the couple’s island home; during the two years it took to rebuild, the Ferrys lived in a 17-foot trailer on their property.

Now they have a 1,400-square-foot cottage more than double the size of their old one on the narrow tip of the island, surrounded by water on three sides. Friends and family are constant visitors, and their days are full with dips in the ocean, long walks on the beach, volunteer work and plenty of porch time admiring the view. Their biggest expense is regular travel back to the States to visit their kids and four grandchildren.

It is an idyllic life, the couple say. "We were never really choosing to leave the United States," Karen says. "We just fell in love with this place."

A growing trend of retiring abroad

Like the Ferrys, more and more retirees are pursuing their version of a dream retirement in places that aren’t in the U.S. Although there are no hard data on their numbers, the trend is clear in the growing ranks of retired workers receiving Social Security benefits overseas: up 22% over the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, according to a 2025 Harris poll, more than one-third of Gen Xers and one-fourth of baby boomers have considered moving out of the U.S. Their top motivation was a lower cost of living abroad, followed by political dissatisfaction and a desire for a higher quality of life.

"It’s not that people who are considering retiring abroad don’t have the money to retire well in the United States, but more that they like the idea of being able to live better, to have an adventure and see their nest egg go further," says Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, which guides people to the best places to live and retire overseas.

Also fueling the trend: Many countries have made the route to retiring abroad easier in recent years, shifting from processes that required a large initial investment from foreigners looking to establish residency to pathways in which you can demonstrate that you have a certain minimum amount of guaranteed passive income — a stipulation often satisfied, depending on the country, by Social Security benefits alone.

Still, deciding whether to actually forge ahead and, if so, picking the right place and establishing a happy life there can be daunting.

Moving far from family and friends may feel lonely, especially if it’s to a place where you don’t speak the language. You may be hit with unanticipated costs or other snafus, and taxes and estate planning can be complicated.

For those who can make it work, though, retiring abroad really can be a dream come true, offering cultural adventure and a higher standard of living at a lower cost. Intrigued? Here’s what you need to know and, if you go, how to make the move a success.

Start with a wish list

Before Cynthia and Edd Staton made the leap to retire in a foreign country, they wrote down everything they hoped their ideal location would offer.

The year was 2010, and the couple was a casualty of the Great Recession. Both had been high earners living and working in Las Vegas — Edd in automotive services, Cynthia in luxury real estate. —and when those industries went bust, they lost their jobs and couldn’t find other work that paid enough to cover their bills. They were burning through savings and needed a big lifestyle change.

Retiring abroad felt like a viable Plan B. "We wanted to feel like we were moving toward something instead of moving away from something," says Cynthia, 73. "For the first time in our lives, we sat down and really talked about what we wanted going forward."

The place they chose, the midsize city of Cuenca in Ecuador, checked all the boxes on their wish list. The cost of living was low, and the climate was mild.

It was close enough to the eastern coast of the U.S. that they could easily travel back to see their adult children, and it was in the same time zone, which made calling and video chatting easy. The healthcare system was decent, and the amenities were modern.

Sixteen years later, the Statons are still in Cuenca, living in a penthouse apartment with a large terrace overlooking a river. They eat out when they want, enjoy gym and yoga memberships and other creature comforts, and are planning a monthlong vacation in Italy this fall. And it’s all affordable on their monthly Social Security benefits alone.

"Most months, we have enough money left to put up to 20% in savings," says Edd, 77, who along with Cynthia now offers advice to other people interested in retiring abroad via a blog, articles, books and courses on their website.

Figuring out where in the world you might like to retire starts with the kind of self-reflection the Statons engaged in, experts say. "Ask yourself, if money were no object and you could define the retirement you want, what would your days look like, what are your non-negotiables, and what would you love to have but may not be essential?" Stevens says.

Besides obvious considerations such as your budget and healthcare needs, think about whether you’d feel most comfortable someplace with a large expat community, whether you’re open to learning another language, and what you want your surroundings to be like.

Maybe you prefer an area rich with history or to live near, say, museums and concert venues, great markets if you love to cook, or plenty of golf courses if you like to play.

Then, armed with answers, consult some lists of best places to retire overseas, such as those published by International Living, Global Citizen Solutions, Live and Invest Overseas and other organizations. You can use ChatGPT, Gemini or other artificial intelligence tools to search, too, plugging in your key factors to see what pops up.

The goal is to create a personalized shortlist of countries that meet your criteria and are worthy of further investigation. Says Stevens, "Dream big first, and then let the technicalities eliminate some of the places you might be thinking about."

Go for a trial run

Once you’ve narrowed the field, take a scouting trip — or, better yet, a few — to check out places that interest you. Try living like a local while you’re there. Rent an Airbnb instead of staying at a hotel. Shop at the grocery store and cook, rather than always eating at restaurants. Hang out with expats at the local pub to hear what they say about the place.

"People often make the mistake of thinking they want to retire somewhere they love to go on vacation," says Edd Staton. "The problem is that you go on vacation to get away from your life, not for it to become your life."

Be sure to visit in the off-season. "If you go to Spain or Italy in July, the weather is great, there are festivals and great food, and everyone’s having fun," says Alex Ingrim, CEO of Liberty Atlantic Advisors, which specializes in financial advice for Americans living abroad.

"Seeing what a place is like in January, when three-quarters of the restaurants are shut down, is the real test. You need to make sure it’s the right place for you year-round."

What you want to learn from this exercise: "You can get to a place and your heart just says no, even though logically, on paper, it should be the perfect place for you," says Stevens. "Or you visit a place that you thought you should eliminate, but you go just in case and think, Well, this is fabulous. This is the one."

Understand the rules of entry

Many foreign governments make it surprisingly easy and affordable for Americans to retire in their country, shifting in recent years from requiring large lump-sum investments to establish residency to simply asking for documentation that you have a certain minimum amount of guaranteed passive income from sources such as Social Security and pensions.

In many places, those minimums are quite modest, often easily covered by Social Security benefits alone. Global Citizen Solutions, an advisory firm for people planning to move overseas, found that 61% of the 44 countries it analyzed in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia require a minimum monthly income of 2,000 euros or less (around $2,325, at recent exchange rates), including Portugal, Panama and France.

Typically the visas are good for a year, then must be renewed annually. But nearly half offer longer residencies (Portugal’s visa is good for two years, as is Uruguay’s), and a few countries, including Panama, offer permanent residency from the outset.

Other requirements typically include proof that you have health insurance and a place to stay once you enter the country.

Once you start the process, it commonly takes three to four months for a visa to be approved, but you should give yourself six months of leeway, said Adalberto Pucca, head of global mobility solutions at Global Citizen Solutions.

"It’s important to know the rules about obtaining residency, but the ease of the visa process shouldn’t be a high-ranking factor in your decision about where to move," Pucca says. "Go where you’ll be happiest."

Expect to live larger for less

No matter where you end up in the world, your living costs will likely be lower than what you’d pay to lead a similar lifestyle in the U.S., experts say. That’s typically true, they say, even in highly developed countries and with today’s weak dollar against the euro and other currencies.

How much lower, however, will differ dramatically depending on which country you choose and what town, city or region you settle in.

Retiring to Central or Latin America, for instance, will be substantially less expensive than retiring in Europe; within Europe, Greece will be easier on your budget than France, and within France, living in the countryside will be much cheaper than retiring in Paris.

You can compare living costs in various cities and countries at the website Numbeo. International Living also publishes typical budgets for retirees in the 22 countries it ranks. Your costs, though, may be very different from the "typical" budgets seen on best-places lists, depending on your preferred lifestyle.

"Maybe you will rent a house instead of an apartment. Maybe you like to eat out more often or go to higher-end restaurants. Maybe you prefer to take Ubers rather than use public transportation," says Pucca.

"It’s important to personalize your cost-of-living estimates, based on your own research and the prices you pay when you visit."

Line up healthcare in advance

Nearly four out of 10 Americans considering a move abroad cite the availability of better, more affordable healthcare as a top reason, the Harris poll found. The good news, experts say, is that healthcare is indeed less expensive in most other places in the world, though by how much differs sharply from country to country, as well as within countries among different cities, towns and regions — just as in the U.S.

The same is true for the quality of care. You’ll generally have access to first-rate treatment in most countries in Europe, with France, Portugal and Spain topping the list for best healthcare based on a combination of quality, access and affordability in International Living’s rankings. Panama also wins high marks, as does Costa Rica.

Though most countries have some form of government-subsidized health care, it can take time — typically from three months to two years — for newcomers to qualify.

So you’ll need private coverage from a national or international insurer to bridge the gap. International carriers include Cigna Global, Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions and International Medical Group.

Even after qualifying for the public health system, many expat retirees retain private coverage for access to higher-quality medical facilities and shorter wait times.

One strategy to keep costs down is to opt for catastrophic coverage only and pay out of pocket for routine care, since the costs are typically low in many countries, says Hunter Schultz, a healthcare consultant for Expatsi, a company that helps Americans relocate abroad, and author of Expat Health Guide.

He notes, for example, that in Panama, where he lives as a U.S. expat, people pay about $30 for a primary care visit, and he recently paid $110 for an ultrasound of his shoulder — before the 20% senior discount he gets on medical expenses.

Schultz likens it to how Americans use auto insurance. "You wouldn’t put in a claim with your insurer for an oil change or new spark plugs. It’s just the big expenses, and that’s the way people often use health insurance in other countries," he says.

One additional expense you shouldn’t forgo: retaining Medicare coverage.

While your benefits won’t cover care in the country you move to, you’ll need them to help pay for any treatment you receive when you’re back in the U.S. for visits or if you need to seek treatment from a specialist here.

You’ll also need Medicare if you eventually come back to the States to live, as many retired expats end up doing. While you can re-enroll in Medicare after a lapse in coverage, you’ll be hit with a stiff lifetime penalty for doing so: 10% of the standard Part B premium for every 12 months when you could have had Part B but didn’t.

Manage taxes with care

International wealth managers routinely use two words to describe the tax situation that Americans who retire abroad face: It’s complicated.

That’s true no matter where in the world you choose to retire. The reason: The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world (Eritrea, in Africa, is the other) that tax people based on citizenship, not residency. "Uncle Sam is your most loyal travel companion," says Peter Sengelmann, director of Creative Planning International, an international wealth management firm. "He will follow you wherever you go."

In practice, that means you have to file tax returns and report income and follow the tax rules in both the U.S. and your place of residence abroad, although you won’t necessarily owe taxes in both countries.

The U.S. has treaties with more than 60 countries to prevent the same income from being taxed twice — or to at least lessen the sting.

Critically, the rules about what income is taxed and at what rate differ from country to country, with some places more friendly to retirees than others. Most countries in Europe, for instance, tax all of your income no matter where you earned it.

Others, including several in Latin America and Southeast Asia, only tax income earned in that country. Some, such as Costa Rica, Panama and Uruguay, typically exempt foreign pensions and annuities entirely, while others, such as Greece and some places in Italy, tax them at a low flat rate. Some countries treat distributions from Roth accounts (which are funded with post-tax money but provide tax-free withdrawals in the U.S.) as taxable income.

Some have much higher tax rates than in the U.S., and the higher rates start at lower income levels. In Italy, for instance, the top rate is 43% and kicks in at 50,000 euros (around $58,000 at recent exchange rates).

"It makes your head spin," says Sengelmann. That’s why experts urge U.S. retirees living abroad to work with a pro who is well versed in international tax law or, at a minimum, how U.S. rules work in tandem with those of the country you want to live in.

The nonprofit American Citizens Abroad has directories of international tax preparation and financial services providers; you can also tap expat networks on Facebook or other social media platforms for recommendations.

A pro can help you take steps proactively to limit negative tax consequences. For instance, if you’re moving to a country with a high tax rate, you might want to take some distributions from tax-advantaged retirement accounts before you leave so you’ll pay taxes on that income at lower U.S. rates.

Or you might avoid doing a Roth conversion if you’re thinking about moving to a country that taxes withdrawals from those accounts.

"Don’t let the tax tail wag the dog," Sengelmann says. "Go where you think you’ll be happy, and an adviser can help you figure out the rest."

Get your expat finances in order

As with taxes, managing the rest of your financial life when you retire abroad takes a lot more thought and at least a little bit more maneuvering than if you were dealing with the rules of one country only.

For instance, you’ll probably want to maintain bank accounts in the U.S. and in your country of residence to make it easier to pay for things in both places and maintain access to spending money that isn’t subject to currency fluctuations and conversion fees.

That’s especially true if you’ll be traveling back and forth to visit or access healthcare in the U.S. or if there’s a chance you might move back one day. (Hint: there’s always a chance.)

That means you’ll need to maintain a U.S. address, which you must also have to keep Medicare coverage. You can use a family member’s address or set up a virtual mailbox, which provides a physical address to receive mail.

Then the service scans the contents digitally and sends them to you or forwards packages. Providers include iPostal1 (plans start at $9.99 a month) and Virtual Post Mail ($20 a month).

If you’re collecting Social Security, you can continue to receive benefits through direct deposit at your U.S. bank or have benefits sent to your bank overseas. Either way, you’ll need to inform Social Security of your move, as well as fill out a questionnaire the agency will send to you every two years to confirm your address and status. The same U.S. tax rules apply.

The thorniest issue: estate planning. Some countries levy an inheritance tax, for instance, and exemptions are often much lower than the federal estate tax exemption in the U.S. Then, too, many countries, including most in Europe and some in Latin America and the Caribbean, follow so-called forced heirship rules governing the disposition of assets.

"You don’t necessarily get to choose who inherits what; it’s dictated by law and cannot be overwritten by a will," says Ingrim at Liberty Atlantic. "There are strategies you can use to bypass forced heirship laws, but it takes advance planning."

Even jointly held assets may be vulnerable to different rules of succession, and often the assets won’t automatically pass to a surviving spouse but rather will be tied up for a while — years, in some cases — as an estate goes through probate.

For that reason, Ingrim recommends that couples living abroad split some assets to hold in individual accounts so each spouse is assured access to funds as needed.

Find — and keep — your people

A study published last year in the journal Psychology and Aging found that people who retire abroad risk feeling lonelier than older retirees who stay in their native country.

Based on a survey of about 5,000 Dutch people aged 66 to 90 living in 40 countries, the researchers found that the expats reported higher levels of social isolation and, among those who lost touch with family and friends back home, greater emotional loneliness as well.

After 16 years living in Ecuador and seeing many expat retirees come and go, it’s a phenomenon the Statons are familiar with. "It can be hard to feel like you’re an outsider and always will be," says Edd. "Some people get tired of feeling they don’t fit in."

One workaround for the social isolation that many expat retirees experience: Move with or near people you know, so you have a small established community from the outset. And, experts recommend, aim to live like a local, not a tourist, interacting with residents and immersing yourself in the language, customs and culture of your new home.

That’s the approach that Marion Sharp and Noel Blyler took when they moved to Loches, in France’s Loire Valley, last year.

Sharp, 67, who had worked in nonprofit fund-raising, and Blyler, 66, a former high school college counselor, had visited close friends who had a second home in the area several times over the years. Sharp and Blyler loved it and had talked about maybe buying a second home themselves or even retiring there one day.

When the friends invited the couple to share their house and all retire there together, Sharp and Blyler took the leap.

"This is a dream more than 50 years in the making," says Sharp, who has loved France since she first traveled there when she was 16.

Obtaining a visa was easy, Blyler says, requiring only that they show they had a place to live, health insurance and a minimum level of guaranteed income, which was covered by their Social Security benefits.

Harder but fun, they say, has been learning to speak conversational French. They recently purchased a place of their own near their friends, and they are deeply engaged with the history, architecture, art and beauty of their adopted home.

"I think of it as un coin de paradis, a corner of paradise," Blyler says. Sharp, who says that friends from the U.S. are frequent visitors, adds, "There’s a different attitude toward enjoying life here. Experiencing another culture is part of the adventure."

Be ready for hassles and hiccups

Adjusting to that different culture is frequently cited by experts and expats alike as the most challenging part of retiring overseas. Learning a new language and adapting to a different pace and norms can be tough, but it’s often smaller irritants that stick out to people who have made the move.

Hunter Schultz recalls his chagrin when he first moved to Panama and couldn’t find his beloved Pepperidge Farm cookies on grocery shelves.

Karen Fifer Ferry says she often brings back cooking ingredients from her visits to the U.S. because they can’t be found in Bahamian stores, and she admits the laid-back pace can be frustrating — it took twice as long to rebuild their home after Hurricane Dorian as the initial estimate.

Ingrim says American clients are often surprised to find that many European homes don’t have dishwashers and that the furniture they shipped from their 2,500-square-foot house in the U.S. doesn’t fit in the 1,000-square-foot apartment they live in now.

Stevens of International Living recommends tapping into the expat community in your new home via social media and in-person gatherings to help solve common problems. "They can make your landing so much softer," she says. "They’ve already figured out a plumber that’s good, which vet speaks English and how you pay your utility bill."

Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do, says Stevens, is adjust your own attitude.

"When you retire abroad, there are inevitably going to be difficulties. The bureaucracy will be hard to navigate, and there will be confusion, especially if you don’t speak the language," she says. "To enjoy this new life, it really does help to think of it as a grand adventure, that it will be fun to try new foods, have new experiences and learn a new culture."

It has also helped, Ferry says, to remember that the decision to retire abroad is reversible. Circumstances change and so do people.

The Statons agree. "When people ask us if we’ll live in Ecuador forever, we say we have no idea how long forever is," says Cynthia. "What’s important is not to let worry over ‘forever’ stop you from making a move that could be perfect for you right now."

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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Mark Twain said, "Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well." Coming from a long line of procrastinators, that sentiment rings true. It was also my approach to retirement. I put off the decision again and again.

Until now.

After spending much of my career writing about retirement, I finally decided it was time to start living it. I assumed I was prepared. I had spent years researching the topic, interviewing experts and helping others think through one of life's biggest transitions.

Then I turned in my retirement notice.

What I expected to feel was relief. What I felt seemed more like loss. The experience hit me much harder than I anticipated. In fact, I went through a brief period of sadness that caught me completely off guard.

Retirement looked very different in practice than it did in theory. For the first time, I realized that preparing financially and preparing emotionally for retirement are not the same.

When your identity changes

You can say labels don't matter, but the truth is they do. For most of my adult life, I've been an employee, a writer, a colleague and a contributor. Soon, my title will change to retiree.

Am I old enough? Yes. Have I saved enough? I think so. Am I ready to become the smiling older man walking on a sandy beach? I know too much about retirement marketing to be on the cover of that brochure.

What surprised me most was how much of my identity was connected to my work.

My office sits on the corner of a busy hallway. I only have to turn toward the door to see who is walking by. Throughout the day, colleagues stop in to share stories, kick around ideas, celebrate successes or talk through challenges. There have been plenty of laughs, more than a few crises averted and countless conversations I'll miss.

Retirement means stepping away from more than a job. It means stepping away from a community and a daily rhythm that has been part of my life for decades. Recognizing the stages of change can help make sense of the transition.

In his Bridges Transition Model, researcher William Bridges describes three transitions people go through during major life changes:

• It starts with an ending
• Then comes the neutral zone, the period between an old identity and a new one
• Finally, there is a new beginning, ideally bringing with it renewed energy and optimism for the next chapter

Replacing more than a paycheck

I'll miss getting a paycheck.

I've received one every other Friday for decades. Like an old friend, that ritual is comforting and easy to take for granted.

What surprised me is that a paycheck isn't just income. It's reassurance. Every other Friday, money quietly appears in my account and confirms that everything is working the way it's supposed to.

Retirement asks you to replace not only the income but some of that confidence as well. That's one reason many retirees build strategies around reliable sources of income.

Depending on individual circumstances, annuity products can help create a stream of guaranteed^* income that works alongside other retirement assets and withdrawals. A financial professional can help you develop a customized strategy.

Learning Medicare's lessons

I'll be on Medicare.

After years of relying on employer-sponsored health insurance, I found researching Medicare to be a maze of parts, enrollment periods, deadlines and rules. A qualified insurance agent helped me navigate the process and reminded me that Medicare is anything but free.

Fidelity estimates the average 65-year-old couple will spend roughly $12,850 on healthcare during their first year of retirement. And that doesn't include long-term care expenses.

The lesson is simple: Build room in your retirement budget for healthcare costs.

Building a new community

According to the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, retirement ranks ninth — tied with marital reconciliation — among the 43 most stressful life events measured by the scale.

In my case, retirement is accompanied by a move, which is also on the list. While I'll be closer to extended family, I'll also be leaving behind a network of workplace relationships and social connections.

I'll be looking for some new friends, and the best remedy is to get busy. Volunteering and community involvement are how many retirees build new relationships. Ken Dychtwald, founder and CEO of Age Wave, recently suggested society could benefit from an Elder Corps — something like the Peace Corps for retirees.

My own plans include joining Toastmasters, participating in a book club, spending time at a health club, reconnecting with my college alumni association and enjoying my son-in-law's boat.

I should probably let him know about that last one.

The point is to actively seek connection and avoid isolation and loneliness.

I'll get Monday mornings off

For years, the iconic ticking stopwatch from 60 Minutes triggered my Sunday scaries, shifting my mindset from weekend relaxation to work responsibilities. While I look forward to no longer caring whether it's Sunday or Monday, maintaining a schedule can provide structure and purpose.

My father, who spent nearly 30 years in retirement, opened an antique shop after a successful engineering career. He didn't sell much, but he had a place to go every day and a community of regulars and friends.

Turning a passion into a purpose can provide a reason to get up each morning while you're still finding your footing.

Appreciating the gift

Advances in medicine, healthcare and technology are steadily increasing life expectancy. Longer lives are not simply adding years to the end of life — they are reshaping how people think about retirement and the opportunities it presents.

What I've come to realize is that retirement isn't a single event, it's a transition.

I've spent years focused on the financial side of leaving the workforce. What surprised me was how much emotional preparation was required as well.

From the moment people start saying congratulations to the realization that you're now on your own path, retirement becomes a new life story.

Retirement marks an important new chapter of my life. The trick is to turn fear into curiosity and anxiety into possibility.

Like most meaningful transitions, it isn't something you fully understand until you start experiencing it.

* Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

If you saved $2.5 million in your traditional 401(k) or IRA, you're probably wondering how much you'll need to withdraw due to required minimum distributions (RMDs) and the impact they'll have on your retirement benefits.

They're required of everyone with a traditional 401(k) and IRA once they turn 73. It's a way for the Internal Revenue Service to get paid for all the tax-free contributions you made to your retirement account during your working years.

But those RMDs can have ramifications if they're large enough. They can push you into a higher income bracket, increase your Medicare premiums or force you to pay taxes on a portion of your Social Security benefits. You also must withdraw money that you might not need.

If you take out too much, it means less money to spend later or leave to your heirs. Take out too little, and you could be on the hook for as much as 25% in penalties. If that sounds like a lot, consider that penalties were as high as 50% before the passage of Secure 2.0. A penalty drops to 10% if you correct your RMD mistake within two years.

Here's a look at what RMDs you'll owe from ages 73 to 85 if you have $2.5 million saved. (We also looked at what you'll owe in RMDs when you have $1 million and $5 million saved.)

Calculating your RMDs

When it comes to calculating your RMDs, it's a straightforward formula that most financial advisers follow.

Account Balance/Life Expectancy Factor = RMD

Your account balance is determined as of December 31 of the previous year, while your life expectancy factor is drawn from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (PDF), which is the go-to chart that the vast majority of retirees are required to use, regardless of their actual health status.

Keep in mind that your RMDs aren't static and will change as you age. The older you get, the lower your life expectancy factor is and the more you have to pay in RMDs.

Because the government assumes that as you age, you have less time left to spend your wealth, it forces you to withdraw a larger percentage of your remaining savings with each passing year.

Lower your RMDs with Roth conversions

One tax-smart way to lower your RMDs is with a Roth conversion. This involves moving money from a traditional pre-tax account — such as an IRA, 401(K), 403(b), or 457(b) — into a Roth IRA, paying taxes on the transition in exchange for tax-free growth. Roth IRAs have no RMDs and allow tax-free withdrawals after five years and age 59½.

The catch? You owe ordinary income tax on the converted amount, which can push you into a higher tax bracket. To avoid this, you can spread your conversions over several years, converting only enough to reach the top of your current bracket.

If you are 73 or older, do this…

• Take your annual RMD first, as the IRS does not allow you to convert RMD funds into a Roth account.
• Convert remaining traditional IRA funds up to the top of your current tax bracket to shrink the size of your future RMD obligations. You should do this annually to shrink your RMDs.
• Pay the conversion tax bill using cash from a non-retirement account to maximize the amount of money left growing tax-free inside the Roth.

If you are under 73, do this…

• Maximize your conversions now, completing them before RMDs kick in.
• Target the low-income years between your retirement date and when your RMDs start for the conversions.
• Keep in mind that starting in 2033, if you were born in 1960 or later, your RMD age will be 75, giving you even more time for Roth conversions.

RMDs don't have to be a headache

You don't have to fear RMDs, regardless of the amount you have saved. While you can't avoid them completely, you can lower the annual amount.

The first step is knowing how much you need to withdraw. Armed with that information, you can plan strategies to lower your tax bill, such as converting money to a Roth IRA.

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The allure of living in a state with no income tax in retirement can be undeniable. You won't have to worry about withdrawals or required minimum distributions pushing you into a higher tax bracket. Nor do you have to think about the state taxing some of your Social Security or pension. Plus, every dollar you save on taxes is another dollar you can spend on travel, hobbies, spoiling the grandkids, or leaving money to your heirs.

It's one of the reasons Florida, Texas and Tennessee are popular destinations for retirees. But relocating for the tax break doesn't mean you'll automatically save in retirement. Other living expenses could make it a wash, or worse, more expensive.

"If a state doesn't have income tax, it still has to pay for things," says Chelse Stevens, a certified financial planner and VP, consultant at Fidelity Investments. "Tennessee has one of the highest sales taxes (in the country). You start to see it in other ways."

And it's not just sales tax where costs may be higher in a tax-friendly state. Florida doesn't tax your income, but it has the highest HOA fees and ranks third for the most expensive homeowners insurance. Meanwhile, Texas has the seventh-highest property taxes in the country and ranks fifth for the highest average home insurance premiums. Then there are property values, the cost of living, and health care costs to be factored in. You may not have to pay income taxes, but is everything else more expensive?

It's why Stevens says don't let the "tax tail wag the dog" when choosing where to live in retirement. Instead, ask yourself these three questions first to ensure you're moving for the right reasons.

1. What is the state's total tax picture?

When clients tell JPMorgan's Chief Retirement Strategist Michael Conrath that they are considering moving to a tax-free state, the first question he asks is which taxes they are referring to.

"It can be a pitfall to focus solely on the state income tax piece," says Conrath. "A zero income-tax rate can look great on paper, but it’s not a complete retirement plan. For retirees, the all-in picture — income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and local taxes — is what matters."

Don't forget to consider the state's estate and inheritance taxes, says Conrath, as they can change the legacy you leave behind. Before relocating, Conrath suggests working with a tax professional, financial adviser, or doing it yourself to determine what you’ll pay in total taxes where you are now versus where you’re going.

2. Do I understand the total cost of living, and can I afford it?

Taxes are only part of the decision. There are other living expenses, which is why the second question you have to ask yourself is: Do I know the total cost of living?

"A move that saves on taxes can be offset quickly by higher insurance, utility bills or health care costs, which can vary dramatically by ZIP code," says Conrath. If you move to a state to save on taxes, will you end up paying more for housing, insurance, food, travel, medical and entertainment? Even one of those expenses could cancel out the savings from not having to pay state income tax.

3. Will the move improve my quality of life?

Moving in retirement for the taxes alone is not a good reason, even if you think you'll save money. There has to be something more, says Stevens, which is why the third question you should ask yourself is: Will the move improve my life?

Even if moving to Florida in retirement saves you tens of thousands of dollars, is it worth leaving your support network behind? A successful retirement relocation means balancing the financial benefits with quality-of-life factors, including proximity to family, friends, healthcare and daily conveniences.

"Before you move, make sure you are considering all the factors, not just one," says Stevens.

Test drive before you commit

To really get a sense of what it will be like to live in a tax-free state, consider a test run, Conrath says. Try renting for a season to get a sense of the costs and other trade-offs that won't be obvious by running the numbers on a spreadsheet. A test run can also help you "pre-experience" what normal life will be like if you retire in your city of choice.

"Don't just chase the lowest tax rate," says Conrath. "The goal is to understand and improve the durability of your plan over the course of your entire retirement so that you have the confidence to enjoy the retirement you’ve earned."

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early, 3 Questions to Ensure Your Retirement Nest Egg Is Inflation-Proof, 3 Questions to Ask Before Unretiring, 3 Questions That Help You Find Your Perfect Social Security Claiming Age, Go Ahead and Splurge, But Ask Yourself These 3 Questions First and Before You Give Money To Your Kids, Ask Yourself These 3 Questions.

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'Who has the time?' isn't something retirees often say. Or do they?

Many people in retirement are busier than ever, saying yes to everything from volunteering and consulting to babysitting their grandchildren, all while juggling multiple responsibilities as they search for purpose. Others overcommit out of fear of downtime. They were so busy during their working years that the thought of free time scares them.

"I definitely know retirees who were easier to get a hold of when they were working," says John J. O'Hare, wealth manager at O'Hare Wealth Management at Steward Partners. "They are now on six different boards, traveling, volunteering, fundraising. People want to find their purpose; after that, very few know what it is, so they sign up for a million things."

Having purpose in retirement is important to stave off loneliness, depression and cognitive decline. Studies have shown it can help you live longer, lower the risk of disease and keep your mind sharp.

But how much is too much purpose? Sometimes, overcommitting can cause more harm than good. Here are five sneaky ways saying yes to everything when you retire can hurt you.

1. It can derail your retirement plans

You retired for a reason, but if you overcommit and it derails your plans, why did you leave your job in the first place?

O'Hare had one client who retired to Florida but couldn't claim residency because he was consulting too much. Another was offered a year's salary to work for three months, and that offer was extended once the year was up. Eventually, the client had to turn it down, because he wanted to enjoy his retirement, says O'Hare.

If you find you can't pursue a hobby, spend time with family, or even sleep late because you are overextended, that's a sign you may want to pull it back a bit.

2. It can cause physical or emotional stress

Even if you like jumping from one commitment to the next, your body and mind may not. Physically, it can wear down your aging body. Mentally, it could lead to burnout. If you're too busy to keep up with your regular checkups, you could end up with health issues in the long run.

3. It can lead to financial strain

Finding purpose can be expensive, especially if you're not sure what it is. If you're spending more than you have in the pursuit of purpose, it could lead to financial hardship. If you're forced to withdraw money from your savings in a down market, it could trigger sequence of returns risk, in which you lock in losses early in retirement before your money has time to recover, creating a potential shortfall later on.

"Overcommitting can show up in dollars, and it can show up in time," says JR Williams, a senior director at Ally Invest. "If you're saying yes to one trip, it doesn't really impact your finances, but if it becomes a pattern and you are traveling more than you had initially anticipated, it can blow up your budget."

4. It can leave you little free time

Retirement is supposed to be your time to relax, not to have a schedule for every minute of every day. Sure, you want a routine, but you also want time to be spontaneous. Plus, Williams says you run the risk of becoming the person that everyone assumes is always available if you always are.

Occasionally helping neighbors or enjoying spending time with your grandkids is one thing; becoming a full-time babysitter or a permanent errand-runner is another.

5. It can strain relationships with family and friends

If you're spending all your time consulting or on the golf course and not enough time with family or loved ones, it may strain those relationships at a time when you should be cherishing them. Time is a commodity, especially in retirement. Experiences matter more than how much money you can make from that consulting gig or how many times you can sink that hole-in-one.

Give yourself time

It's important to keep busy in retirement, but that doesn't mean you have to say yes to everything. Finding purpose doesn't have to happen overnight. It can be a slow and steady process.

In fact, O'Hare tells his clients to wait at least six months to a year before making any major commitments. "You want to get bored playing golf, fishing, doing all those things first and then find out if you really are bored," says O'Hare.

After that, if you want to do everything under the sun, go for it!

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Collecting Social Security at age 70 is the holy grail of retirement planning. It's the milestone that financial planners and wealth advisors urge you to strive for if you want the biggest paycheck possible.

Yet, claiming Social Security at 70 isn't that popular. According to Social Security Administration data, only around 10% of recipients actually wait until that age to collect. For some, health issues get in the way of waiting. Others don't trust that the system will remain solvent. Others need the money now, or prefer to spend it while they are young enough to enjoy it.

Either way, the vast majority of Americans choose to take their benefits long before age 70. (If you are thinking about joining them, check out five reasons why you should and shouldn't take Social Security benefits at 62).

Is taking benefits at 70 a mistake? It depends. There is a strong case to be made for waiting until 70, but there are equally compelling reasons to claim earlier. With that in mind, here are five reasons to hold out until 70 and five reasons to take the money and run.

5 reasons to wait until 70 to collect Social Security

1. You'll receive the highest monthly payout possible.
Each year you delay collecting Social Security benefits after your retirement age, which for people born in 1960 and beyond is 67, you'll receive a roughly 8% increase in your payment. After age 70, that extra 8% bump goes away. But by holding out for just those three years between 67 and 70, your permanent monthly benefit increases by 24%.

2. You'll have a larger cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA).
One of the perks of Social Security is that it is adjusted for inflation each year, as a percentage, which means the bigger your monthly benefit, the higher your COLA will be. If you wait until 70 for the highest check possible, every future COLA percentage is multiplied against a much larger number than if you collected benefits earlier. A 3% inflation increase on a $3,000 monthly check is $90. A COLA of 3% on an $ 1,800-a-month check is $54. Waiting gives you more inflation protection.

3. You can replace your lowest-earning years.
Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on the 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. During the later years of a career, people tend to be in their peak earnings period. If you choose to work until 70 and are earning top dollar, you can bump out older, lower-paying years, effectively increasing your baseline benefit. That means a bigger check when you retire and begin collecting Social Security.

4. Increased survivor benefits.
Since you are waiting until 70, you'll have a bigger monthly payment, which means that if you were to pass away first, your surviving spouse can receive a bigger monthly benefit for the rest of their life.

5. Long-term longevity insurance.
Outliving your savings is a fear many retirees have. But if you work until 70, and collect a bigger Social Security check, that concern diminishes, at least a little bit. After all, you're bringing in income for longer, saving for more time and building a larger Social Security payout. The latter of which provides permanent protection against outliving your other savings and investments.

5 reasons why you should take Social Security earlier than 70

1. You have health and longevity concerns.
If you have health issues or longevity concerns and you don't think you are going to make it to 70, it doesn't make sense to wait to collect Social Security. After all, the break-even point, or the age at which the large checks from waiting catch up to the total amount of the smaller checks, is around age 80 to 82.

2. You'll have to deplete your personal savings or get into debt.
You may have had every intention of waiting until 70, but life happens and when it does, it's better to begin receiving Social Security than getting into debt or depleting your savings to get by. If you need the cash, don't create a financial hole now for a bigger payment later.

3. Unlocking spousal benefits for married couples.
A lower-earning spouse can only begin receiving spousal benefits, which can be as much as 50% of the higher earner's benefits, once the primary earner files for his or her retirement benefits. If your lower-earning spouse needs the benefits now, waiting until 70 to claim won't do them any good.

4. Fund an early retirement.
The average age of retirement in America is 62, which is the earliest you can collect Social Security. If you want to join the majority and need the cash to fund an early retirement, Social Security can be a viable option. Especially if it prevents you from tapping your investments, giving them more time to grow and compound. After all, retirement can easily last thirty years, longer if you are retiring early.

5. Passing wealth on to your heirs.
When you and your surviving spouse die, your Social Security benefits disappear. You can not leave your Social Security benefits to heirs in your will. But if you want them to reap the benefits of your hard work over the years, you can collect earlier than 70 and use that money to pay for your everyday living expenses. This allows you to leave your existing IRA, 401(k), or other investments completely untouched so they can keep growing and be passed down to your beneficiaries.

It's up to you

Deciding whether to claim Social Security at 70 is a uniquely personal choice. While waiting guarantees the biggest possible paycheck, claiming earlier can protect your health, fund your most active retirement years and safeguard your private investments for the next generation.

Take a close look at your health, your lifestyle goals, and your retirement roadmap when determining the right age for you. If you aren't sure which path to take, seek help from a financial adviser who can help you map out the perfect strategy for your situation.

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Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! For years, I've watched memes pop up across social media every July 1. Baseball fans celebrate the day as a reminder that former New York Mets player Bobby Bonilla is still collecting a paycheck decades after playing his last Major League game. It's become one of sports' favorite annual traditions, often accompanied by jokes about the contract that just won't end.

But here's the thing: Bobby Bonilla Day isn't really about baseball. It's about money.

Few of us will ever negotiate a multimillion-dollar deferred compensation deal, but the idea behind Bonilla's annual paycheck is surprisingly familiar. Whether retirement is decades away or just around the corner, the goal is the same: replacing your paycheck with income that continues after your working years end. That income may eventually come from Social Security, pensions, annuities, investments or rental properties, but building it starts long before you retire.

Why Bobby Bonilla is still getting paid

The story behind Bobby Bonilla Day dates back to 2000, when the New York Mets wanted to move on from veteran outfielder Bobby Bonilla while he was still owed millions under his contract. Rather than paying the remaining money in a lump sum, the two sides agreed to a deferred compensation arrangement.

Under the agreement, Bonilla postponed receiving the money he was owed in exchange for annual payments that began in 2011 and continue every July 1 through 2035. Because the payments include interest, the total amount Bonilla will ultimately receive is significantly more than the original salary he deferred.

Why would the Mets agree to that? At the time, the team believed it could earn higher returns by investing the money instead of paying Bonilla immediately. Those expectations were tied in part to investments associated with financier Bernard Madoff, whose massive Ponzi scheme later collapsed. In hindsight, the strategy proved far more expensive than simply paying Bonilla what he was owed upfront.

Today, the annual payment has become known as "Bobby Bonilla Day." Now 63, Bonilla is older than the age at which Americans first become eligible to claim Social Security retirement benefits, making his annual July 1 paycheck feel even more like a retirement income stream.

While it's often treated as a punchline, the agreement is an example of a basic financial principle: money can be structured to provide income over time instead of all at once. That's a concept that extends well beyond professional sports and into many retirement plans.

Retirement is about replacing your paycheck

For most people, retirement doesn't come with a contract that guarantees a million-dollar check every July. Instead, it requires building enough reliable income to replace the paycheck that disappears when you leave the workforce.

That's one of the biggest shifts in retirement planning. During your working years, your employer provides your primary source of income. Once you retire, you're responsible for creating your own paycheck using a combination of income sources.

For many retirees, that starts with Social Security. Others may also receive a pension, annuity payments, investment income, rental income or distributions from retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. The right mix depends on your savings, lifestyle and retirement goals, but the objective is the same: generating enough dependable income to cover your living expenses year after year.

Bobby Bonilla's annual paycheck may be unusual, but the concept isn't. Whether the money comes from a deferred compensation agreement, a pension or an investment portfolio, retirement planning is ultimately about creating income that continues long after your working years are over.

Use the tool below, powered by Bankrate, to connect with a financial professional who can help you create a retirement strategy tailored to your goals.

Deferred income isn't just for professional athletes

Bobby Bonilla's contract may be one of the most famous examples of deferred compensation, but he's far from the only person who receives income long after the work is done.

Many corporate executives participate in deferred compensation plans that allow them to postpone receiving part of their salary or bonuses until retirement, often for tax-planning purposes. Business owners may structure the sale of a company as installment payments that provide income over several years instead of receiving the full purchase price upfront.

Deferred income can also take other forms. Employees may receive company stock that vests over time, consultants may negotiate ongoing retainers, and people who settle lawsuits may choose structured settlements that pay out over many years rather than as a single lump sum.

While these arrangements differ from Bonilla's contract, they all share the same underlying principle: delaying income today in exchange for a predictable stream of payments in the future. Depending on your financial goals, taxes and investment strategy, spreading income over time can provide greater flexibility and help create more consistent cash flow.

The real lesson behind Bobby Bonilla Day

Most people will never sign a contract that guarantees them a paycheck decades after they retire. But Bobby Bonilla Day highlights a goal that every retirement saver should strive for: creating income that continues after their working years are over.

That doesn't happen through a single contract. Instead, it's typically built over decades by combining several sources of retirement income. For many Americans, that starts with maximizing Social Security benefits by claiming at the right time.

Others may supplement those benefits with withdrawals from retirement accounts, dividend-paying investments, interest from bonds or certificates of deposit, pensions, annuities or income-producing real estate.

The best retirement income strategy depends on your goals, risk tolerance and financial situation. Some retirees value the predictability of guaranteed income, while others prefer the flexibility and growth potential of investment portfolios. Many rely on a combination of both.

Every July 1, Bobby Bonilla reminds us that getting paid long after your career ends isn't just a quirky baseball story. It's the same objective that millions of Americans are working toward: replacing a paycheck with dependable income that lasts throughout retirement.

Enjoy the check, Bobby. The rest of us have some retirement planning to do.

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Do you have a plan for how you'll spend your money in retirement? If not, join the club. Many retirees wing it when it comes to withdrawing their hard-earned savings.

But that's a big mistake, says Jean Chatzky, best-selling author of The Forever Paycheck and founder of HerMoney. It's the biggest mistake retirees can make.

"The lack of a concrete plan actually prevents them from living their best retirement," Chatzky tells Kiplinger. "They are not living as well as they could." If you overspend without a plan, you could face a retirement shortfall. If you underspend, you won't get to fulfill your retirement goals.

Reluctance to spend among retirees

Underspending is a common problem among retirees, despite large nest eggs built on a decade-long bull market. By the end of 2024, Fidelity Investments reported that baby boomers made up 41% of all 401(k) millionaires, while Generation X (ages 45 to 60) accounted for 57%.

Yet, despite healthy balances, many are wary of spending. A recent Corebridge Financial survey revealed that less than one-third of retirees feel comfortable spending their savings, with most noting that the prospect causes stress or anxiety. While Chatzky emphasizes that a detailed strategy can alleviate many of those feelings, just 14% of retirees report having a plan to manage their required minimum distributions.

"There are a number of decumulation strategies, but I'm a believer that covering your fixed costs with some sort of paycheck, some sort of guaranteed income, is likely to enable people to live better with less stress," Chatzky says.

That doesn't mean all your money should be in a guaranteed investment product such as an annuity, bonds or Treasuries, but locking some of it in a "forever paycheck is really a smart move for most people," she says.

Preretirees need a plan, too

If you're a pre-retiree, Chatzky says the biggest mistake you can make in the run-up to retirement is not having a plan.

• Do you want to downsize or age in place?
• Will you earn money or are you completely exiting the workforce?
• What about your spouse? Is he or she retiring with you?
• How do you plan to spend your free time?

You need answers to all that and more ahead of time if you want a successful retirement, says Chatzky.

"I'm always baffled by the number of couples who have very, very different retirement visions from one another," says Chatzky. "They get to the point and realize they are not on the same page at all."

Just as with buying a house or having a baby, you can't plan out your withdrawals until you know what your lifestyle looks like and how much it will cost.

Help is out there

When it comes to planning, Chatzky encourages everyone to consider hiring a financial adviser. A financial planner can map out a plan for how to spend your money in retirement or determine how much you need to save.

Chatzky said that while some people think hiring a financial planner means paying fees forever, or think they don't have enough money to need one, both notions are dated and wrong.

You can hire a financial adviser to create a plan you execute yourself, you can hire a planner to review a plan you created, or have someone do it all for you, says Chatzky.

"The whole financial planning field has become democratized in a way that I truly think there are planning services available to fit everyone," she says.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series in which we ask influential personal finance figures to share their opinion on the biggest retirement mistake you can make. Other articles feature Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, Grant Cardone and Ramit Sethi.

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You've done everything right. You saved diligently for decades, worked with a financial planner and built a retirement nest egg that should, by any measure, fund the life you've been dreaming about.

So a few months in, why do so many new retirees find themselves feeling vaguely … restless?

There's a concept in psychology called the hedonic treadmill, and it may be the most important retirement planning topic no one is talking about. The idea is deceptively simple: Human beings have a powerful tendency to return to a stable baseline of happiness regardless of what happens to them, positive or negative. We adapt. Quickly.

That new-car smell fades. The lake house becomes just "the house." The golf game you couldn't wait to play every day starts feeling like obligation by the third month. The dopamine hit is real, but it's short-lived. And then the treadmill catches back up.

The treadmill is already running in your retirement plan

Here's where it gets personal. In my years as a financial planner, I've worked with many clients to build what we call an "intentional financial life" — defining what an ideal retirement looks like, then building the plan to get there. We reach the milestone, we celebrate. Then, almost without fail, the goal posts move.

It's not ingratitude. It's biology. The hedonic treadmill doesn't care how hard you worked or how carefully you saved. It just keeps running. And the retirement transition is one of the moments in life where this phenomenon hits hardest, because so much of your identity, your schedule, your relationships, your sense of purpose, changes all at once.

The research backs this up. Studies consistently show that retirees who anticipate a dramatic, lasting boost in happiness from leaving work are often disappointed. The first year frequently brings a genuine honeymoon phase.

But by year two or three, life satisfaction tends to drift back toward pre-retirement levels, unless something more intentional is put in its place.

Moving the goal posts isn't always a bad thing

I want to be careful here, because ambition in retirement isn't the enemy. Plenty of retirees channel the hedonic treadmill productively; they launch a second act, mentor the next generation, or build something new precisely because sitting still didn't suit them. The treadmill, in that case, becomes fuel.

The problem comes when the goal posts keep moving without intentionality behind them. Or, to put it another way, when "enough" never arrives because it's always defined by something just out of reach — a bigger portfolio number, a better house in a warmer state, one more year of work "just to be safe." That's not ambition. That's the treadmill running you.

I've seen the other side of this, too, and it's worth holding up as a model. Occasionally, a client will look at what they've built, look at their life and make a deliberate choice to step off. Not because they've given up, but because they've genuinely recalibrated what they're chasing and realized that "more" isn't the answer.

Their happiness doesn't come from the outside. It comes from an internal sense of enough. Those are the clients I learn the most from.

What the research says actually works

The good news is that the hedonic treadmill can be managed — not defeated, but worked with. Behavioral economists and positive psychologists have identified a handful of things that produce durable life satisfaction rather than a quick spike and fade.

Experiences over things. Spending on experiences, travel, time with grandchildren or learning something new produces longer-lasting happiness than material purchases. Possessions adapt into the background of your life. Memories don't.

Purpose and structure. Retirees who maintain a sense of meaning, through volunteering, part-time work, creative pursuits or community involvement, consistently report higher life satisfaction than those who treat retirement as a permanent vacation. Structure matters more than most people expect.

Social connection. Loneliness in retirement is a documented health risk. The relationships you invest in, with friends, family and community, are among the most reliable predictors of well-being in later life. No portfolio allocation compares.

Savoring and gratitude. Actively noticing and appreciating what's already good — rather than focusing on what's next, is one of the most well-documented ways to raise a personal happiness baseline. It sounds simple because it is. It's also genuinely hard to do consistently.

What this means for your retirement plan

Here's the honest truth: Most retirement plans are built around a number. Hit the number, stop working, be happy. That's the implicit promise. But if the hedonic treadmill has taught us anything, it's that the number alone won't get you there.

The financial piece matters enormously. Security is foundational, and I'm not minimizing it. But the clients I've seen thrive in retirement didn't just plan for what they'd stop doing. They planned for what they'd start. They defined what a good day looked like at 68, and then built a life — not just a portfolio — that could support it.

The treadmill keeps running. That's not a tragedy — it's just how we're wired. The question is whether you're running toward something that genuinely matters to you, or just running.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Fear gets a bad reputation in retirement planning.

We’re told not to be afraid of market volatility, not to panic when stocks fall, not to let inflation, health care costs, taxes, or Social Security headlines hijack our long-term plans.

That is good advice — up to a point.

But after decades of writing about retirement and now working as a retirement coach, I’ve come to believe that not all fear is harmful. Some fear is useful. Some fear is protective. Some fear is a signal that your financial life, family life, or future lifestyle deserves more attention. I call it "healthy fear."

The goal is not to become fearless; it’s to learn the difference between fear that paralyzes you and fear that prepares you.

Retirement is one of the few major life transitions in which people are asked to make a series of large, emotional and often irreversible decisions at almost the same time.

When should I stop working? Can I afford to spend more? Should I downsize? Should I help my children now or leave money later? What happens if one spouse needs care? What if the market falls early in retirement? What if I live to 95?

Those are not irrational questions. They are the questions serious people ask when the paycheck is about to stop.

The fear beneath the numbers

The most familiar retirement fear is running out of money. For many people, it remains powerful even when the math suggests they are likely to be fine.

Jason Dall’Acqua, founder and financial adviser at Crest Wealth Advisors in Annapolis, Md., works with many clients who have accumulated significant assets. Yet the fear of running out of money still shows up regularly.

Sometimes that fear is rooted in actual planning risk. Sometimes it comes from something deeper: a childhood where money was tight, parents never spent freely, a business setback, a divorce, a market crash, or decades of being rewarded for saving rather than spending.

Many successful retirees became successful because they were cautious. They lived below their means. They saved steadily. They avoided debt. They did not buy everything they could afford.

Then retirement asks them to reverse decades of behavior. Now the question is not "How much can I save?" It's "How much can I safely spend?"

That can be harder than it sounds.

Dall’Acqua says part of the work is helping clients see what their money can do while they are still healthy enough to enjoy it. A client may be able to afford a large family vacation, meaningful charitable gifts, or financial help for children and grandchildren. But they still may need reassurance that the plan can support those decisions.

That is where a healthy fear becomes useful. It does not say, "Never spend." It says, "Let’s understand what is sustainable."

Fight fear with facts and action

Mary Ware, managing partner and senior wealth adviser at Carnegie Private Wealth in Charlotte, N.C., puts it this way: "I try to help clients fight fear with facts and action."

Sitting in worry rarely helps. But turning worry into a planning conversation can, Ware says.

If you fear long-term care costs, start by learning what care actually costs in your area. What would in-home care cost? Assisted living? Memory care? A continuing care retirement community? How would you pay for it? From portfolio assets? Home equity? Insurance? Family support? Some combination?

If you fear burdening your children, don’t just worry privately, says Ware. Talk with them. Tell them what you want, what you are planning and what you do or do not expect from them.

If you fear market volatility, don’t move everything to cash. Ask whether your portfolio has enough liquidity to support several years of spending without forcing you to sell long-term investments during a downturn.

A little fear can lead to better questions. Better questions can lead to better planning.

Healthy fears: The 6 fears worth listening to

Some retirement fears deserve attention because they point to real planning gaps.

• Fear of outliving your money may prompt a better cash-flow plan, more realistic spending assumptions, a smarter Social Security claiming strategy or a more durable withdrawal plan.
• Fear of health care costs may prompt you to review Medicare choices annually, price long-term care options, update health care proxies and talk honestly with your spouse or adult children.
• Fear of inflation may remind you that "safe" assets are not always stable if they fail to keep up with rising costs.
• Fear of cognitive decline may push you to simplify accounts, name trusted contacts, update powers of attorney and make sure both spouses understand the household finances.
• Fear of family conflict may lead to clearer estate documents, better beneficiary designations and more transparent conversations about inheritance, charitable giving and expectations.
• Fear of losing purpose may push you to build a life before you leave a career — one with relationships, structure, health, community and reasons to get up in the morning.
  

These fears do not need to dominate your life. But they should not be ignored.

Don't let fear make the decision

The danger comes when fear stops being a signal and becomes the decision-maker.

That is when retirees go too conservative too early, hoard cash, delay retirement unnecessarily, refuse to spend, avoid family conversations, or stay in a house that no longer fits their health or lifestyle needs.

I understand the appeal of cash. It feels safe. It does not send alarming headlines to your phone. It does not drop 20% in a bear market. But too much cash can create a quieter risk: the slow loss of purchasing power.

The same is true with refusing to spend or the so-called "spending guilt." Some retirees are so focused on preserving assets that they miss the season of life when travel, family experiences, hobbies and generosity may be most meaningful.

"You can worry so much about outliving your money that you forget to enjoy your life right now," says Ware.

That does not mean spending recklessly. It means remembering that retirement planning is not only about avoiding bad outcomes. It is also about enabling good ones.

The retirement fears that arrive later

Some fears do not fully appear until after retirement begins.

At first, there may be relief. No commute. No boss. No meetings. No Sunday-night dread.

As a retirement coach, I ask clients to ponder the quieter questions. Why do I feel guilty spending money? Why do I miss being needed? Why do market headlines bother me more now? Why is my spouse adjusting differently from me? Why does every major decision — moving, helping the kids, buying a second home, joining a community — feel so permanent?

This is where retirement planning becomes more human than mathematical. A spreadsheet can tell you whether you can afford a trip. It cannot tell you whether you are emotionally ready to spend the money.

A Monte Carlo analysis can estimate the probability that your assets may last. It cannot tell you whether your adult children understand your wishes if your health changes.

A tax projection can show whether a Roth conversion makes sense. It cannot tell you whether you and your spouse have the same vision for the next 20 years.

That is why healthy fear should lead to better planning and communication, not just portfolio changes.

What healthy fear can do

When retirees take their fears seriously early enough, good things can happen. They may build a more resilient portfolio. They may create a cash reserve that helps them sleep during market volatility. They may update estate documents before a crisis. They may buy or reject insurance with clearer eyes. They may start giving money during their life instead of waiting to leave an inheritance. They may have the family meeting they have been avoiding.

They may also make better lifestyle decisions about whether to downsize, move closer to family, or take that major trip before turning 75 while they are still healthy.

These are not just financial decisions. They are life decisions with financial consequences.

Fear, in the right dose, can help you pay attention. The key is to ask: What is this fear trying to tell me?

If the answer is, "Sell everything and hide," take a breath.

But if the answer is, "Update your plan, talk to your family and financial adviser, understand your risks, protect your spouse and start living more intentionally," then maybe that fear is not your enemy.

Maybe it is one of the tools that helps you retire better.

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Even the best-laid retirement withdrawal plans can’t foresee every expense that crops up. When you need extra cash for unforeseen costs, knowing where to turn can be paralyzing. After all, every financial move comes with tax implications that ripple well into your future.

Should you sell stocks in your brokerage account, or flip the family lake house? Is it time to finally get rid of the boat you keep meaning to take out, or should you drain a Roth IRA instead?

"When you need cash in retirement, it requires a balancing act," says Patrick Marcinko, a financial advisor at Bogart Wealth. "Don't rush. There's a timeline and a deadline, but you really need to take an objective look at all your assets and what the tax implications are."

In a perfect world, you’d have a cash reserve carved out for the unexpected. But if you don't, some assets are far better to tap than others. From brokerage accounts to lifestyle vehicles, here is a look at which assets to sell first when you need extra money.

1. Investments in your brokerage account

When withdrawing money in retirement, Marcinko says retirees must be mindful of the potential tax hit, which is why a taxable brokerage account is typically a better first choice than a traditional 401(K) or IRA. Long-term capital gains tax rates, which top out at 20% for the highest earners, are substantially lower than ordinary income tax rates, which apply to traditional retirement account withdrawals.

Taking money from the wrong bucket can easily push you into a higher bracket, triggering higher Medicare premiums and even taxes on your Social Security benefits. To avoid this, try to minimize capital gains by employing strategies like tax-loss harvesting and avoiding selling your most highly appreciated assets, says Patrick Shope, Certified Wealth Strategist and founder of Shope + Associates. It's better to pick and choose to ensure you aren't creating a bigger tax event than necessary.

2. High-fee and redundant funds, stocks and investments

If you're tapping a brokerage account for extra cash, start by trimming the fat. Sell off high-fee funds, redundant holdings and underperforming assets that could harm your overall portfolio over the long term.

However, be mindful of timing, says Marcinko. If you sell during a down market, you risk locking in losses. This causes sequence of returns risk, leaving your remaining portfolio with a smaller base to recoup those losses, which can cause a structural shortfall later in your retirement.

3. Concentrated stocks that have done well

Cutting back a very concentrated position may seem like a no-brainer, especially if you own big-name tech or AI stocks that have surged in value over the past few years. While it may make sense to sell the stock from a diversification perspective, you must carefully navigate the tax implications.

If the stock is held inside a traditional 401(k) or IRA, selling the asset won't cause an immediate tax event, but withdrawing the cash from the account will subject it to ordinary income tax. Even if the stock is in a Roth 401(k) or IRA, where withdrawals are tax-free, cashing out now permanently impacts the tax-free compounding advantage that would otherwise benefit you and your heirs. If you do sell a concentrated stock position in a taxable account, Shope suggests doing it gradually to minimize your annual tax liability.

4. Unused lifestyle vehicles (boats, RVs, motorcycles, and extra cars)

If you can't remember the last time you took your boat out on the water or your RV has sat in the driveway for years, it is safe to put those lifestyle vehicles up for sale. Finding a buyer won't always be a quick or easy way to get immediate cash, but it frees up significant equity.

Unused lifestyle vehicles represent unique vulnerabilities in a portfolio: they actively drain your cash flow through ongoing maintenance, storage and insurance expenses without bringing you actual joy.

Nonetheless, they aren't usually high on financial advisers' lists of what to tap first because they are illiquid, require work to sell, and can be emotionally hard to part with. "If it hasn't moved off the lot in 36 months, you have to commit to having more fun (with it) or selling it," says Marcinko.

5. Rentals or second homes

Real estate is another asset that isn't easy to sell. It carries substantial tax and family implications, especially if you originally planned to pass the property down to the next generation. However, it can also generate serious capital.

If you are considering selling real estate, the decision often comes down to whether the property brings you joy or stress. If it's the latter, then selling makes the most sense.

"If every time the phone rings you think something is wrong with the house, that's a lot of juice not worth squeezing," says Marcinko. "You want to get out of the real estate business and start living the retirement life."

Consider the big financial picture before selling

When selecting assets to sell, resist the temptation to just pick the stock with the biggest run this year or the fund with the highest expense ratio. Instead, put in the work and look at your entire financial picture, considering what the sale will mean from a tax and savings perspective, both now and in the future. Will it impact your Medicare premiums and Social Security benefits today? If you withdraw the money now, will you have enough to live on tomorrow?

"One of the biggest mistakes retirees make when they need cash in retirement is to sell whatever is the easiest to sell instead of what is the smartest," says Shope. "So much of it is around distribution planning, tax planning and Medicare planning. It's not just about having the money. It's about having the right money at the right time with the right tax situation."

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The country may be turning 250 this summer, but many Americans didn't start taking retirement savings seriously until it turned 200.

Before that, pensions and Social Security were the primary means of support in old age, but as both declined or faced financial strain, new mechanisms emerged. From the mid-1970s through today, a lot has changed in how Americans save for retirement. For good reasons: We are living longer, and retirements are stretching on for decades.

As we commemorate America's 250th or semiquincentennial birthday, here's a look at how saving for retirement has evolved over the years.

1960s-mid-1970s: Pensions are all the rage

During the 1960s, many workers stayed with one company for their entire career and, in return, received a paycheck for life once they retired. These pensions were common throughout the 1960s and early 1970s —particularly in public sector jobs and heavily unionized industries like manufacturing, automotive, and steel — and served as the primary way Americans supported themselves in retirement.

They were supplemented by Social Security payments and personal savings, which people typically put into bank savings accounts and U.S. savings bonds. Life expectancy was also around 70 in the 1960s, which meant individuals needed to save less. Plus, the cost of goods and healthcare was a lot lower than it is today.

1975-1980: Tax-deferred saving is born

By the mid-1970s, traditional pensions were on shaky ground, and Americans realized Social Security wasn't enough to live on in retirement. While some employees had access to profit-sharing or money purchase pension plans, many didn't — and employers were scaling back those offerings. Concerned that workers weren't saving enough, Congress stepped in and passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974. In January 1975, the first IRA was introduced.

Initially, any individual without access to a company pension plan could contribute up to 15% of their salary, or $1,500 per year, to their IRA. They could take a deduction on their tax return, and their contribution would grow tax-deferred. If anyone withdrew the money before 59-½, they would have to pay a 10% penalty. This was designed to encourage savers to keep the money in their IRA until they reached retirement age.

Three years after the IRA was introduced came yet another way to help workers save for retirement, the 401(k). It was first introduced as a provision in the Revenue Act of 1978, allowing employees to choose to receive a portion of their income as deferred compensation, and created tax structures around it.

In 1980, Ted Benna, who is known as the "Father of the 401(k)," encouraged his consulting firm to create the first 401(k) plan for employees, and it took off from there. Over the decades, there have been changes and upgrades made to the 401(k).

Early 1990s: Set-it-and-forget-it with Target Date Funds (TDFs)

Designed as a set-it-and-forget-it type option for 401(k) participants, the first target-date funds, called LifePath, were introduced by Wells Fargo and Barclays Global Investors in March 1994. Built around a specific retirement year, these funds automatically shift toward more conservative holdings as the saver ages to protect their principal. Once the target date is hit, the portfolio permanently settles into a low-risk income allocation.

The structure has proven incredibly popular. According to Morningstar, TDF assets in the U.S. alone surged to $4.8 trillion by the end of 2025.

1989–2001: The Roth debuts

Aiming to generate immediate federal revenue while also giving everyday Americans a way to avoid future investment taxes, Senators Bob Packwood and William Roth first proposed the 'IRA Plus' plan in 1989. It allowed for after-tax contributions to an IRA that would grow entirely tax-free.

It wasn't until eight years later that the plan was codified as the Roth IRA under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and made available to the public in 1998.

While initial contributions were modest, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001 substantially raised those caps, introduced catch-up contributions for savers 50 and older, and paved the way for future inflation indexing.

2006: Auto-enrollment thanks to the Pension Protection Act

Offering 401(k) plans is one thing, but getting workers to take advantage of them is another. Facing low adoption rates among employees in America, Congress tried to change that at the start of the 21st century by introducing auto-enrollment of 401(k)s.

A key provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, auto-enrollment allowed employers to automatically enroll new eligible employees into the company's 401(k) plan at a default contribution rate of typically 3% of their salary, unless the employee opted out.

The idea was that employees wouldn't notice a 3% deduction from their paychecks and were unlikely to opt out of their plan. As a result, auto-enrollment would force employees to save for their retirement.

Since then, 401(k) participation rates for companies utilizing this feature have jumped from roughly 44% to 86%, according to T. Rowe Price.

2010s: The DIY era

Driven by the smartphone boom and financial technology, or fintech, the 2010s democratized how everyday Americans saved for the future. For the hands-on investor, mobile trading apps made it fast, cheap and easy to build a self-directed retirement portfolio of stocks and ETFs without a financial adviser.

The decade also saw the rise of the robo-advisor. These platforms used automated algorithms to manage and rebalance a user's portfolio for a fraction of the cost of a human adviser. Spurred by a deep mistrust of traditional financial institutions following the 2008 Great Recession, and appealing to a younger generation with low minimum account requirements, robo-advisors proved that you didn't need a massive net worth to access sophisticated wealth management.

2020s: Step up savings with the Secure Act and Secure 2.0

Despite decades of efforts to get people to save for retirement, by the end of the 2010s, it was apparent that millions of Americans were still falling behind on retirement readiness, with many lacking access to a workplace retirement savings plan. People were also living longer and working later in life. To help workers shore up their retirement savings and account for the current lifespan and lifestyle of Americans, Congress passed the Secure Act and later the Secure 2.0, which addressed those retirement issues and more.

Both acts ushered in many changes to retirement savings, including:

-Pushed back Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from 72 to 73, with the age to reach 75 by 2033.

-Expanded catch-up limits for older workers between the ages of 60 and 63.

-Allowed employers to legally make matching contributions into a worker's 401(k) based on the employee's student loan payments, even if the worker can't afford to contribute their own salary.

-Allowed long-term, part-time employees to participate in workplace retirement plans after two years instead of three years.

-Allowed savers to withdraw up to $1,000 once per year out of their retirement accounts for an urgent personal financial emergency without triggering the traditional 10% early withdrawal tax penalty.

-Made Roth accounts within employer-sponsored workplace plans exempt from mandatory lifetime withdrawal rules.

More to come

A lot has happened to the American retirement landscape over the past few decades, and even more changes are on the horizon. Moving forward, the next era of retirement savings will likely be influenced by AI, mobile algorithms and digital assets like cryptocurrency.

As the nation steps into its next chapter, one thing remains certain: the tools we use to build our nest eggs will continue to evolve, promising many more decades of change to come.

More on America's 250th Birthday

• America's Cost of Living at 200 vs 250: How Affordable is American Life Now?
• America at 250: The 3 Economic Headaches That Haven't Changed Since 1976
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Think back to the summer of 1976. Sunday afternoons meant tuning in to hear Casey Kasem count down the biggest hits in the land, while neighborhood streets were filled with kids on skateboards wearing striped tube socks pulled up to their knees. It was a season steeped in a collective, slow-building excitement as the entire nation braced for its 200th birthday.

Over in Manhattan, the newly opened Twin Towers stood as shiny symbols of modern architectural ambition, serving as a soaring backdrop for the massive parade of international Tall Ships that came to celebrate America's Bicentennial as part of Operation Sail.

But if you peer past the high-gloss, star-spangled veneer of that 200th birthday, you find an American consumer operating in a completely different financial universe. As we gear up for America 250, comparing what it actually took to fund the American Dream fifty years ago reveals a stunning disconnect between historical nostalgia and modern economic reality.

Prices in 1976 vs 2026

Evaluating the modern consumer economy requires separating nominal price increases from true shifts in purchasing power. While cumulative inflation over the last fifty years sits at approximately 485%, certain core sectors have experienced hyperinflation that completely defies standard CPI metrics.

The 1970's saw the inflation rate seesaw throughout the decade. The overall inflation rate in 1976 was 5.76%, down from 9.1% in 1975. It had two double-digit peaks, hitting 11.1% in 1974 and rebounded to 11.3% in 1979. Inflation wouldn't fall below the 1976 rate until 1983, when it fell to 3.2%.

The following data highlights the gap between the 1976 dollar, its inflation-adjusted equivalent and the actual out-of-pocket reality confronting households today.

The top choices in 1976

If the financial data reminds us of what we’ve lost in purchasing power, a look back at the pop culture leaderboard reminds us of how much the American lifestyle aesthetic has evolved.

Even in the absence of Cable TV, VCRs and video games that were hallmarks of the 80s, several high-profile events in 1976 captured Americans' attention, including a visit from Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the Bicentennial and the Montreal Olympics. Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) won the gold medal in the men's decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal with a world record-breaking point total and bested his Cold War rival, Nikolai Avilov.

From the most popular family vehicle to the top of the box office, here is a quick snapshot of 1976's cultural footprint.

Now vs then

Ultimately, a nation's true resilience isn't measured solely by the numbers on a balance sheet, but by its capacity to adapt, reinvent and progress. For the generation that celebrated the Bicentennial, that unstoppable American energy was perfectly personified by Bruce Jenner sprinting across the finish line to secure a world-record Olympic gold that glorious July.

The data from the last fifty years shows just how much the economic landscape has evolved. As we look past the easy nostalgia of 1976 and celebrate America's 250th anniversary, the true celebration lies in that timeless spirit of renewal — proving that our ability to overcome the financial obstacles of the present is exactly what paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.

More on America's 250th Birthday:

• America is Turning 250 — But We Didn't Get Serious About Saving for Retirement Until 50 Years Ago
• America's Cost of Living at 200 vs 250: How Affordable is American Life Now?
• America at 250: The 3 Economic Headaches That Haven't Changed Since 1976
• How Has Retirement Changed in the Last 50 Years? Take Our Quiz
• 9 Historic Sites to Visit With Your Grandkids for America's 250
• Financial Advice From America's Founding Fathers
• Which Presidents Are on the Social Security Payroll?

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Your daughter needs money for a down payment on a new house. Your son needs a loan to wipe out high-interest debt. Another child wants cash to pursue a graduate degree. As parents, it's entirely natural to want to step in and help. But if you're already retired, you need to think twice before opening your wallet. After all, you don't want to jeopardize your own financial security for the sake of theirs.

In retirement, you're living on a fixed income, which means any unplanned financial support you give your kids will come directly from your nest egg, leaving less money to fund your own lifestyle or for your estate. Even if you can comfortably afford the hit, that doesn't automatically make it the right move. Sometimes, bailing adult children out only serves to enable bad financial habits.

Mixing family and finances is always complicated. Before you sign any checks, make sure you ask yourself these three critical questions.

1. Why do they need the money?

The first question to ask is: What do they need the money for? Before you can go any further in the decision-making process, you have to determine if the reason is worthy of consideration, says John Rafferty, partner and investment advisor representative at Solomon Financial. Equally important is who is asking. Do they have a history of asking for money, and will giving it to them enable bad money habits?

If the money is for a good reason, ensure it will put them in a better situation in the future. Can your child afford the home you are giving them a down payment for? Will they incur more debt if they pay down the existing debt? Is the degree worth the ROI?

"Sometimes you think you are helping them buy a house that they can't afford, and it puts undue stress on them," says Paul Jarvis, a wealth advisor at Prime Capital Financial. "It's better to have an open and honest conversation about what the gift is meant to accomplish."

2. Can I afford it, and if not, am I willing to work or sell assets?

If you're okay with the reason your child needs money, the next question you need to ask yourself is: Can I afford it, and if not, am I willing to make sacrifices to get it?

If you can afford to help, the money will likely need to come from investments or retirement savings. Choose your funding source carefully to minimize taxes and sequence-of-returns risk. Pulling from a tax-deferred account, like a traditional IRA, will increase your taxable income, while withdrawing from a tax-free account, like a Roth IRA, means giving up years of compound growth, possibly creating a retirement shortfall.

If you can't afford it, are you willing to work part-time or take on debt to give your child money? "If I were not enabling my child, I would much rather suffer than my child," if it were an emergency, says Rafferty. "If the child is showing the propensity to ask for money, then the answers are different."

3. Will this be a gift to one child, or will I match it for the others?

Some families prefer to give equally to all their children, regardless of individual need. The thinking goes that if money is given to one kid, it should also be given to the others. If you fall into this camp, you have to ask yourself: Will this be a gift to one child only, or will I match it for the others? If the latter, how will I give them the extra money?

"Is there a way you can ensure you treat all your children the same way?" asks Rafferty. Ultimately, he notes, it is your money, so perfectly equal distribution is a choice, not a rule.

Be smart about helping

Many retirees want to help their children and have the means to do so. But before you open your wallet, think about what it means to your retirement and your kids' financial future.

Are you enabling bad financial behaviors or putting them on the path to financial freedom? Will this hinder your retirement plans or have little impact? Asking yourself those three key questions will protect your own financial security while helping, rather than hurting, the ones you love most.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early, 3 Questions to Ensure Your Retirement Nest Egg Is Inflation-Proof, 3 Questions to Ask Before Unretiring, 3 Questions That Help You Find Your Perfect Social Security Claiming Age and Go Ahead and Splurge, But Ask Yourself These 3 Questions First.

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If you've been saving in a traditional 401(k) or IRA, you've probably heard of required minimum distributions or RMDs. These are withdrawals you're required to take every year after you turn 73. It's a way for the Internal Revenue Service to get paid back for all that tax-free income you've saved over the years.

While there are strategies to avoid and reduce RMDs, for many retirees, it's just a part of life once you hit 73. But that doesn't mean it's one of those things you shouldn't give too much thought to. Your RMDs are treated as ordinary income, which means you must pay taxes on your withdrawals.

It's important to withdraw the correct amount each year. If you take out too little or forget to take RMDs altogether, you could face a penalty of as much as 25%.

If you go overboard and withdraw too much, you could face a shortfall later in your retirement, especially if the withdrawals happened during a downturn in the stock market. That's known as a sequence of return risk, and it's something retirees should try to avoid.

Calculating your RMDs

It's important to know how much your annual RMDs should be. The good news is it's easy to calculate. RMDs are determined by a straightforward formula that takes into account your account balance and life expectancy factor. Your life expectancy factor is obtained from the IRS's Uniform Life Table (PDF), which is the go-to chart that the majority of retirees are required to use, regardless of their actual health status.

The life expectancy factor takes into account actuarial data that re-estimates your remaining lifespan with every birthday you celebrate. The older you get, the lower your life expectancy is and the more you face in RMDs. The IRS doesn't want you to die without paying them back.

The formula is the following:

Account Balance/Life Expectancy Factor = RMD

A $1 million retirement balance is common among retirees in America. As of the end of 2024, Fidelity Investments found that 41% of all 401 (k) millionaires were baby boomers. Generation X — or those ages 45 to 60 — accounted for 57% of all 401(k) millionaires. If you're among them, here's how much you need to withdraw in RMDs across different ages:

Be aware of taxes

For savers, RMDs can prove particularly problematic because of the tax treatment. If you're required to withdraw $40,000 in one year because you have a $1 million IRA, that extra income could trigger a sizable tax bill.

While you can't avoid the taxes altogether, you can employ strategies to lower the burden. For instance, you can convert some of the money into a Roth IRA in low tax years. With a Roth IRA, you aren't required to take RMDs.

You can also begin taking withdrawals before age 73 to lower your total balance and prevent a bump up in your income tax bracket. A financial adviser can help you devise a strategy in which your higher growth assets are in a Roth IRA, and your conservative investments are in a traditional retirement account.

If you're charitably inclined, you can use a qualified charitable distribution to direct up to $111,000 (in 2026) of your IRA RMDs to a charity of your choice.

Planning is the best protection

You can't completely avoid RMDs, but they don't have to catch you off guard.

By projecting what your mandatory distributions will look like on a $1 million nest egg, you can make moves now to lower your overall tax hit. RMDs are a fact of life, but the amount you hand to the IRS doesn't have to be.

Editor's note: This article is part of a series that looks at RMDs by age and retirement balance. The previous story is: Got $5 Million Saved for Retirement? Here Are the Huge RMDs the IRS Makes You Take at Ages 73, 75, 80 and 85.

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At some point in the future, somebody is going to go through all your stuff and throw out most of it. If you don't do it while you're still in good health, someone else will, after you suffer a medical emergency or you pass away. Do your heirs a favor and reduce your own stress by culling your possessions now.

It isn't easy. Discarding things that remind us of loved ones often brings up grief and guilt. And it's maddening to realize that the nice couch or rug we splurged on has no monetary value. Sociologist David J. Ekerdt at the University of Kansas, whose team interviewed more than 100 Americans over the age of 60 for his book Downsizing: Confronting Our Possessions in Later Life, says his research showed “it is an act of courage and of prudence” to confront the thousands of possessions we've accumulated over decades.

With that, here are 10 tips to get started.

1. Set your goal. Matt Paxton, author of Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, has his decluttering clients write their goal on a card, which he tapes on a wall. And he sets a deadline. When one client said she wanted her home tidy enough to have friends visit, he had her invite friends for dinner three weeks from that date. “Decluttering is like dieting or fitness. It's very easy to quit,” he says.

2. Don't buy those cute storage bins yet. Aspiring declutterers can be led astray by social media pictures of beautifully lit homes in which all the toys, towels or cleaning supplies are artfully stored in handsome baskets, says Jill Quigley, a professional organizer in Omaha. Some start decluttering by buying bins, which just creates more clutter. Instead, begin by organizing and reducing your stuff. Then, shop for storage solutions that fit your smaller stockpile.

3. Get help. Ekerdt says downsizing works better when you have help. If you're looking for more than just an extra pair of hands, expect to pay between $60 to $200 an hour for an organizing professional. Not only will they keep you motivated and focused, but many specialize in disposal — knowing which items to sell and where to sell them, and which organizations will take donations of non-sellable stuff.

Try searching for locals through professional organizations such as the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO) or the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers. Erin Hayes, a professional organizer in New York City, says finding someone who is emotionally attuned to you is crucial, because deciding to toss beloved items can lead to anger and tears.

4. Categorize. Before you start tossing things, put them into categories. "I put like with like so you can see that you have three can openers or nine white tank tops," says Quigley. That makes it easy for clients to get rid of duplicates.

Categorization gets more challenging when it comes to knickknacks, but Kelly Brask, a professional organizer in Chicago and president of the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers, a division of NAPO, tries separating items according to the memories they inspire. That way, people can see how many things they are keeping to, say, remember a grandmother, and consider whether only one or two items are enough for that purpose.

5. Start small. Professional organizers suggest beginning with small, easy tasks. Hayes starts her clients with areas unlikely to spark memories or emotions, such as junk drawers or tool closets. Once they see those cleaned up and organized, they have more confidence to tackle bigger projects, she says. To prevent burnout, she limits decluttering to six hours a day.

6. Beware the "purger's high." Liberating yourself from clutter can feel so good that some people get into a tossing frenzy, says Cristiane Sgrott, an organizer in the Washington, D.C., area. Professional declutterers like herself shake every book, check every pocket and open every teapot. Sgrott has stopped clients on what she calls a "purger's high" from tossing out oven mitts and old shirt boxes where someone had hidden cash.

She also discourages clients from throwing potentially sensitive paperwork or electronics into trash bins. Instead, many businesses and community services offer shredding and secure recycling, she says. "You should be ruthless but not reckless."

7. Don't expect a windfall. One barrier to downsizing: Accepting the reality that you won't recoup much for things you paid a lot for. As baby boomers age and downsize, they're creating a flood of furniture and collectibles, says Julie Hall, director of the American Society of Estate Liquidators.

For realistic value estimates, view prices on sold items on eBay, or try pricing services such as WorthPoint, author Paxton suggests. Selling items yourself through a garage sale or online postings takes a great deal of time and effort, and typically yields comparatively little. Paxton prefers auction houses that handle all the work and offer both in-person and online bidding, such as Everything But The House, MaxSold and Bid-Rush. Such platforms typically take 30% to 40% of your earnings. “The 60% you will receive from the auction house is larger than the 100% you would get on your own,” says Paxton.

Don't expect much of a tax write-off for donating your stuff, either. Charities have become pickier about what they'll accept, and recent changes to tax law limit noncash contribution write-offs.

8. Leave a legacy of love. “You don't want to leave your friends and family with a house full of crap and a bunch of work. You want to leave a legacy of love,” says Brask. “Make sure they know what was important to you and why.” So pare your legacy down to a few meaningful items, and explain the stories behind those things, she says.

Take pictures of items to be discarded, and display those on an electronic frame or in a scrapbook. Paxton recommends an app such as Artifcts, which allows you to make and share videos about items. For a more formal memory handoff, consider setting up a show-and-tell video call or an in-person gathering of loved ones, he suggests.

9. No "maybe" pile, no storage. Declutterers typically sort their things into "keep," "sell," "give" and "trash" categories. Don't add a "maybe" pile, says Mary Kay Buysse, co-executive director of the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers. "The 'maybe pile' is going to do you in, because that is what goes in storage units," she says. By renting a storage unit, you can end up paying thousands of dollars to store things you aren't even sure you want.

10. Avoid re-cluttering. Set up ongoing systems. Sgrott helps clients create labeled baskets, bins or shelves so everyone in the house knows where, say, shoes, batteries or charging wires go.

While many declutterers try to maintain practices such as "one in, one out" for any new possessions, T.K. Coleman, cohost of the Minimalist podcast, suggests a psychological approach. "I want to understand why I am in this position," says Coleman.

He asks, for example, "Am I using impulse purchases to compensate for loneliness?" Coleman tries to remind himself that "saying 'yes' to something you don't want is saying 'no' to something else," such as a clean table and a calm mind.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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Even in the best of times, it can be challenging to switch gears from saving money to spending it in retirement and making the most of the wealth you've taken a lifetime to build. And these, a growing number of retirees agree, are not the best of times.

More than one-fourth of retirees, some 27%, now say they aren't confident they have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement as concerns about inflation, health care costs and Social Security rise. That's a five-point drop over the past year, according to a recent survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research. Fewer than half of the respondents describe their standard of living in retirement as "very good" or "excellent," and four in 10 worry that their Social Security and Medicare benefits will drop in value at some point in the future.

No wonder, then, that many retirees at all levels of wealth are pulling the reins tighter on spending these days — exacerbating an already well-documented reluctance to tap savings in retirement. One recent study by two research fellows at the Retirement Income Institute found, for example, that 65-year-old retirees are spending, on average, only about 2% of their savings. That's just half the commonly recommended 4% "safe" initial withdrawal rate and much lower than the 5% to 6% rate that many advisers now suggest may be a more reasonable starting point.

Experts have a name for this resistance to spending among retirees of all ages. They call it "the retirement consumption puzzle" or, more simply, FORO: Fear of Running Out.

"Retirees are really apprehensive about touching their money. The fear of maybe one day becoming a homeless person, or dependent on their children or society, runs deep," says Robert Laura, president and CEO of the Wealth and Wellness Group in Brighton, Mich., and cofounder of the Retirement Coaches Association. "That's true even if, on paper, they clearly have enough — $1 million, $2 million, $3 million or more — and even if they're working with a financial adviser and are financially savvy themselves."

The disquiet over spending is fueled in part because so much about retirement is uncertain, experts say. You don't know how long you're going to live, what your health care needs will be as you age, or how the economy and financial markets will fare. Then too, after a lifetime of being urged to save, save and save some more, it's tough to suddenly flip a switch and spend freely instead.

"When you've been conditioned for decades to measure success by how much your account balances are rising, it's painful and unsettling to see the numbers go down," says certified financial planner Dana Anspach, founder and CEO of Sensible Money in Scottsdale, Ariz., and author of Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement. "But if you've done the math and you have enough to see you through, you don't want anxiety about running out of money to prevent you from enjoying what you've spent a lifetime saving and building toward."

Here's how experts suggest you can meet the challenges of moving from saving to spending and enjoy your money to the fullest in retirement.

Why spending is so hard

Just how little are retirees spending? In some cases, very little indeed, research shows— so much so that a lot end up with more money in savings many years into retirement than they had when they first left the workforce.

Consider, for instance, another EBRI study released this spring that looked at asset decumulation, a fancy term for how people spend the money they've saved for retirement. It found that six in 10 retirees who had $500,000 or more saved when they quit full-time work still have at least 80% of their assets intact a decade into retirement, and 45% have more money than they started with. Even after 22 years, 42% still had most, all or more than all of their original savings left. And many households with lesser levels of wealth also had a significant portion of their savings left many years into retirement.

True, the stock market's robust returns lately have helped retiree account balances stay steady or grow. But research predating the past few years of double-digit returns shows the same pattern of lower-than-expected spending at various levels of wealth. One 2009 study, for instance, estimated that by the time middle-income retirees hit their eighties, they still had not touched about three-fourths of their savings. Meanwhile, research from 2016 published in the Journal of Financial Planning found that wealthier retirees were the most reluctant spenders — a result replicated often in other studies.

Why are retirees so determined to hang on to their savings and not spend as much as they can afford? Uncertainty about various aspects of retirement, such as your longevity or health, is the most frequently cited explanation. But that tells only part of the story, as evidenced by a working paper published this year by professors at the University of California–Irvine and the State University of New York at Albany that aimed to strip those unknowns from the question of how much to spend in retirement.

In a controlled experiment with people ages 45 to 55 that was designed to mimic the spending decisions retirees face, participants were told they had ample assets to cover their living expenses in retirement, health problems were taken off the table, they had detailed information about their risk of dying, and they were told Social Security would remain solvent. But just like retirees in real life, the "retirees" in the experiment spent less than they could afford, preferring to live off Social Security, dividends and interest rather than dip into the principal of their savings, and many ended up with more wealth by the end of their "retirement" than the amount they had to start.

Other research confirms that how you get your money in retirement makes a dramatic difference to how much you may be willing to spend. If you tap savings to pay for what you want, chances are you will spend a lot less than if you can rely more on guaranteed sources of lifetime income, such as Social Security, pensions and annuities.

"If you have to physically take action to withdraw from savings every time you need money, that's painful, it hurts," says David Blanchett, head of retirement research at Prudential Financial. "Guaranteed income like Social Security and pensions feels more like a paycheck, the way you received money when you were working. And people are much more comfortable spending that."

How much more? A study that Blanchett coauthored last year with Michael Finke, a professor of economic security at The American College of Financial Services, found that retirees, on average, spend about 80% of the money they receive from lifetime income sources but approximately half the amount they have available to spend from investment accounts and other assets.

Their analysis of data from the Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing nationally representative survey of some 20,000 Americans older than age 50 conducted by the University of Michigan, also found that retirees spend a higher rate of their savings once they have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from a 401(k), traditional IRA or other tax-deferred retirement savings account (at age 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959, rising to 75 for those born in 1960 or later).

"When it's mandated that they have to take money from savings, people spend it, possibly because it feels more like income than a voluntary withdrawal does," Blanchett says. But, he notes, those retirees have missed out when "they could have enjoyed spending more in the younger, go-go years of retirement."

Another reason experts believe retirees often don't draw from savings: It's just too complicated to figure out how much to safely take.

New research from Morningstar found that half of retirees with investable assets at or above median level rely on simple, hands-off strategies to guide how much they spend, such as using RMDs or drawing only from dividends and interest. These approaches, the researchers found, require little engagement or complex decision-making but may result in retirees spending less than they can comfortably or optimally afford.

"This may happen as a result of our natural aversion to losses, which loom larger in retirement when you are living on a fixed income," says Samantha Lamas, a senior behavioral researcher at Morningstar and a coauthor of the study. "The endowment effect, where you value something more highly because you own it, may also be a factor. Once you retire, you're pulling money out of your own pocket for spending. It's not coming from your employer, and it feels so much more real and painful."

Experts worry that the problem of underspending may get worse as fewer retirees have access to pensions and the RMD age rises — or if stock prices tank.

"The markets have been able to shrug off bad news and deliver consistently good returns. But at some point, that will end for a while and, given the unusual number of years returns have been good, it could be a prolonged slump," Blanchett says. "That creates added urgency to set up a thoughtful spending strategy now."

How to loosen the purse strings

"I don't need to spend more; I'm comfortable as I am." That's the standard response planner Dana Anspach says she gets from some of her retired clients when she tells them they can easily afford to spend more than they currently are.

"If you've built a good level of assets because you were frugal and had disciplined savings habits, you don't like to see that number go down because of what may seem like unnecessary or even frivolous spending," she says. "But people often mistakenly think they have plenty of time to have the experiences they'll savor as memories when they're older, given that retirement may last 20 or 30 years or more. In reality, though, you may only have a dozen years or so when your health and energy allow you to travel and pursue other activities that could make your retirement more enjoyable."

Mark Stancato, a CFP and founder of VIP Wealth Advisors in Decatur, Ga., recalls a couple who retired in their early sixties and were initially reluctant to spend beyond their regular expenses despite his assurances that they could easily afford to do more. By their late sixties, they were eager to travel. But by then, one spouse had developed back problems, and the other had heart issues. Their mobility was limited, they couldn't stray far from their doctors, and the trips were no longer viable.

"So many people do an amazing job in the accumulation phase of retirement planning, but no one teaches them the decumulation phase," he says. "It's hard to go from a scarcity mind-set to an abundance mind-set after 40 years of working and saving."

Retirement coach Laura puts it this way: "People worry too much about running out of money and maybe not enough about running out of time."

To make sure neither outcome happens to you, here's what experts recommend.

1. Run the numbers

Getting yourself to spend what you can comfortably afford in retirement is typically less of a math problem and more of a mind-set challenge, experts say. But numbers are the starting point. If you don't know how much money you'll have in retirement from all sources, the income those assets will generate, what your fixed expenses are and what bumps in the road might cost you, it's tough to get past the fear of running out of money — or make adjustments if your concerns have some justification.

Yet many people aren't clear on this front. Research by J.P. Morgan Asset Management shows that 56% of workers don't know their savings target for retirement. And few people have a strategy for drawing down their assets once they get there, a Texas Tech University study found. Among those who do, less than one-third think it's a good plan.

The bottom line: If you're winging it when it comes to figuring out how much you need or are nervous about your plan, you're likely to err on the side of caution in terms of spending.

"Even if you have a very meaningful amount of wealth, you still need a plan to spend it down," says Michael Conrath, chief retirement strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "Otherwise, when you see that account value go down, the emotions kick in, and you start to pull back on the reins."

You can work with an adviser to devise a plan (find candidates via a directory such as napfa.org, letsmakeaplan.org or garrettplanningnetwork.com). Or you can do it yourself using planning software, such as Boldin (free for basic; $12 a month for advanced features), MaxiFi ($109 a year for a standard plan; $149 for premier) or WealthTrace ($229 a year, standard; $289, deluxe).

Whichever route you choose, experts say the plan should be dynamic, stress-testing various scenarios and accounting for how spending may change from year to year and through the various phases of retirement, from most to least active, as your health and energy level dictate.

Says Stancato, "The point of the exercise is to provide clarity that you will be okay."

2. Duplicate a paycheck

What would make you feel more comfortable spending money on pleasurable activities in retirement — say, to take a vacation or go out to dinner with friends: receiving an extra $10,000 a year, guaranteed, for life or getting a one-time lump sum of $140,000?

That's the question Blanchett and Finke put to more than 2,000 Americans in a 2024 study. If you're like most of the respondents, you probably chose that guaranteed 10 grand a year, even though the amounts are actually equivalent — $140,000 is about how much it costs to buy an annuity that would generate $10,000 in income annually for the rest of your life. But the form the money comes in makes all the difference to your comfort spending it.

Analyzing data from the Health and Retirement study, the two researchers also found that retirees with assets that generate steady, guaranteed income that essentially mimics a paycheck — think Social Security benefits as well as pensions and annuities — spend twice as much as retirees with an equivalent amount in savings. In a study this year, J.P. Morgan similarly found that among retirees with comparable levels of total wealth, those with 60% to 80% of that wealth coming from guaranteed sources of income spent significantly more than people who held most of their money in retirement accounts — 44% more, in the case of households worth $1 million to $3 million.

"Generally speaking, as humans, if we have a paycheck coming in, we're somewhat wired to spend it," Conrath says. "The components of wealth dictate our behavior."

If your Social Security benefits and any pension income you get don't cover your essential expenses, advisers say you might consider buying an annuity to close the gap. If you've kept some of your savings in a former employer's 401(k), look first to see whether the plan offers an annuity option. An estimated 14% now do.

Or you can purchase an annuity on your own. Financial experts suggest favoring plain-vanilla, low-fee immediate annuities from highly rated insurers such as Guardian and New York Life. Comparison shop for the best payouts and terms at sites such as ImmediateAnnuities.com and BlueprintIncome.com.

3. Press the easy button

One drawback to annuitizing income: In a world where retirees crave simple strategies, the setup isn't easy. The buying process can be overwhelming, and taking a large sum from savings for the investment can feel painful.

An easier alternative, perhaps, is to set up regular, automated withdrawals from savings to checking or whatever financial accounts you prefer — say, every two weeks or bimonthly, just as many people received their paycheck by direct deposit during their working years. In effect, the system is like a reverse 401(k). You can determine the amount and intervals that make sense, with the help of a financial adviser or a planning tool, and revisit and adjust periodically as needed.

"Essentially, you're applying the same process — automation — that we've learned works successfully to build savings in the accumulation phase of retirement planning to the decumulation phase," says Blanchett. "And because it feels like a paycheck, you're in effect giving yourself a license to spend that money."

4. Leverage mental accounting

Stancato takes the process a step further with some of his clients and splits withdrawals from retirement savings among a few separate accounts, earmarked for specific types of guilt-free spending. "We might label one 'travel,' another 'family experiences' and another one 'fun,' " he says.

The process takes advantage of a behavioral concept called mental accounting. If you designate a certain pool of money for a particular purpose such as travel, you're more likely to use it for trips and not for, say, grocery shopping or to pay your property taxes. "It helps with the psychological barriers to spending, almost like you're giving people permission to spend on the stuff they'll enjoy," Stancato says.

You can also use this kind of bucketing strategy to help address any specific worries you have about money in retirement that may hold you back from spending, Laura says. Anxious about how you'd pay for long-term care if you need it one day? Laura recommends putting enough money in a separate, dedicated account to cover a year's stay in a nursing home — about $120,000, or as close to that as you can manage — so you know you have that expense covered.

Similarly, he says, setting aside enough money in a separate cash account to cover your essential expenses for 12 to 18 months, when combined with other income — about how long a typical market downturn lasts — gives you the peace of mind that you won't need to pull money from your investments at exactly the wrong time if stock prices plummet.

"Segregating assets or being intentional with allocations reduces anxiety and allows you to spend the rest of your money more freely knowing you've got your personal worst-case scenarios covered," Laura says.

5. Aim for no regrets

Laura has a "reframing regrets" exercise that he uses with clients to help direct their discretionary spending to what matters most to them. He asks: What do you want to avoid regretting over the next one, three, five and 10 years?

Inevitably, he says, the answers center around health and family, and on experiences, not possessions. "They'll say, I'd regret not exercising more or taking better care of myself; I'd regret not going on that riverboat cruise with my spouse or taking the grandkids to Disney or renting an Airbnb in Florida or Arizona and flying the whole family in to be together," Laura says. Then he helps them turn the thought into an intentional goal, including a plan to pay for it.

"The idea is to create a no-regrets retirement," Laura says.

Lamas says that kind of introspection — a personal conversation with yourself or a trusted confidante or adviser about what a life well lived looks like for you — helps align your spending with your values. She suggests putting a date on the calendar, once a year, when you take yourself to a coffee shop for a couple of hours and map out your goals for the 12 months ahead, thinking about what activities best reflect your values and how much income you can contribute to the process.

"Many people view retirement as the end point, but that does everyone a disservice," Lamas says. "A lot of our initial goals for retirement — a bucket-list trip, renovating the house, playing more golf — are one-time, big-ticket items that can be accomplished in the first year or lose their gleam after a while. It's important in retirement to keep on dreaming."

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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Will you live to 100, or do you think you're more the mid-80s type? What about full retirement age? Will you make it there?

Who knows, but judging from the numerous articles, podcasts, TV shows and books about longevity, it sure looks like we are supposed to know or at least have a good sense of how long we're likely to live. If we get the math wrong, we face a retirement shortfall — or we pass away before ever enjoying the money we sacrificed to save.

To play it safe, most financial advisers suggest saving as if you'll live to age 92 for men and 94 for women. However, that baseline doesn't help you decide when to claim Social Security or whether to take a pension as a lump sum vs lifetime payments. It also won't tell you if life insurance is really worth the cost. That's why longevity is such a huge topic; without knowing your own, you're essentially flying blind when it comes to planning for your retirement.

"What happens if you die too soon? You want to have something to cover your family and loved ones when you are no longer here," says Kristin Cook, chief underwriting officer at National Life Group. "Or what if you live too long? How much do you really need to live the type of lifestyle in retirement you want to have?"

How can you tell if you have longevity on your side? From your family tree to your daily habits, here are four ways to know.

1. Your parents and grandparents lived long, healthy lives.

When determining longevity, one of the first things financial advisers, actuaries and underwriters look at is your family tree, which includes information about your parents, grandparents and siblings.

"The overall health of your parents and grandparents plays into a lot of important health factors," said Cook. "Indicators of mortality are genetically based. Cancer, any cardiac risk, high blood pressure and high cholesterol can be passed on from generation to generation."

Other hereditary factors that can influence longevity include:

• Family history of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases
• Genetic predispositions to Alzheimer's disease or dementia
• Autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
• Inherited longevity genes, such as those affecting cellular repair and inflammation

2. You prioritize clean eating and daily movement

Even if your parents and grandparents lived until 100, that doesn't guarantee you will too. Genetics plays a big role in longevity, but so does lifestyle.

According to a study published in the journal Science, roughly 50% of lifespan is determined by lifestyle and environmental choices.

"Are you eating steak and drinking whiskey every night?" said Eric Ludwig, director of the American College of Financial Services Center for Retirement Income. "You have to consider your lifestyle choices" when thinking about longevity.

Some of the lifestyle factors that can influence your longevity include:

• Diets high in saturated fats and ultra-processed foods
• A chronic lack of physical activity and sedentary habits
• High levels of unmanaged stress, which elevate long-term cortisol
• Heavy alcohol consumption, drug use or tobacco use

"Certainly, a person's health matters. Are you active or obese? Do you take care of yourself? What kind of retirement lifestyle are you living?" said Kelly Regan, a Vice President and financial planner at Girard Advisory Services.

"The previous generation sat in their recliners and watched daytime shows and led a non-active lifestyle," she said. "A lot of people live more active lifestyles now and have better brain and body health."

3. You have strong social connections

Loneliness can kill, which is why it's a factor that impacts longevity. Studies have consistently shown a clear correlation between early death and a lack of social connections.

"I find that clients who struggle (with social connections) tend to live shorter lives," said Regan.

Some of the effects of loneliness on longevity, according to the World Health Organization, include:

• Risk of stroke
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cognitive decline
• Premature death

On the flip side, the WHO says social connections can protect your health across your lifespan by reducing inflammation, lowering your risk of serious health problems and fostering positive mental health.

4. You get a good night's sleep and move during the day

Do you toss and turn all night? Do you spend your working days sitting at a desk? If you answer yes to one or both of these questions, you could be shortening your lifespan.

"Sleep is a really big factor," said Cook. Plus, "there have been many studies that sitting all day is just as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes."

Sleep is particularly important for your body to repair. But just how crucial is sleep for longevity? A recent study of 172,000 adults found that men who got enough sleep lived five years longer than men who didn't. For women, getting enough sleep gave them two additional years of life. How much sleep is ideal? About seven hours, experts say.

Getting too little sleep can impact your longevity in the following ways:

• Disrupted cellular and DNA repair, which accelerates biological aging
• Chronic systemic inflammation, which is a known cause of cardiovascular disease
• Impaired brain toxin clearance, which increases long-term risks for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's
• Metabolic dysfunction, which increases the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes

Inactivity during work can impact longevity in the following ways, according to the Mayo Clinic:

• Lead to obesity
• Raise the risk of death from heart disease and cancer
• The same risk of dying as smoking
• Causes metabolic syndrome

The good news is you can mitigate some of the negative impact by standing at intervals during the workday and getting 60 minutes of daily exercise.

Live but be aware

Longevity is important to financial planning, but nobody knows for sure how long they will actually last on this earth. That's why understanding these biological and lifestyle factors is so integral.

Understanding your own capacity for longevity can help you find a balance between planning for a lifetime and living like there's no tomorrow.

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One of the great sports images in recent years shows golfer Rory McIlroy on his knees on the 18th green at Augusta, head bowed, mouth open in a roar, releasing the past. After 17 attempts and several famous heartbreaks, he had finally won the Masters.

The photograph is remarkable in its own right. What makes it more so is who took it. The perfect angle and perfect moment, it’s the kind of frame you’d expect from a career photojournalist. But it was a guy still learning the trade, who also happens to be Hall of Fame baseball legend Ken Griffey, Jr.

Griffey, who has appeared on 24 Sports Illustrated covers, described himself at the Masters as "the low man on the totem pole." A beginner.

No matter what you used to be, retirement asks something hard of nearly everyone. When you step away from the operating room, the classroom, or the corner office, you’re asked to learn how to be a beginner all over again.

Not everyone is ready for it. A 2026 survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found pursuing hobbies as one of the top three things workers dream about for retirement, behind only travel and time with family.

But the transition can be harder than the dream suggests. In her book Rethinking Retirement for Positive Ageing, researcher Denise Taylor concludes that up to one-third of retirees find the transition either stressful or notice a decline in well-being, with another 10-25% experiencing real adjustment difficulties, including mental health complications.

As Griffey put it to the New York Times: “I think it’s all about getting better and trying to learn things. If you get stuck or you only do one thing, your mind is going to die. I like taking pictures. So why not learn to take better pictures?”

The hardest thing about retirement, for many, may not be the math. It’ll be doing something you’re not yet good at and sticking with it long enough to get better. But experts say the people who do tend to come out the other side with a better retirement.

The challenge of beginning again in retirement

For most of your career, you’re rewarded for your expertise. Retirement can mean the opposite — to walk into a pottery class, a Spanish lesson or a pickleball court as the worst person in the room.

"The biggest obstacle to becoming a beginner is fear, especially the fear of looking incompetent," says Joe Casey, founder and retirement coach at Retirement Wisdom. "Many people haven’t been bad at something in decades. Becoming a novice again can rattle you at first."

For years, your value was tied to having the answers. Being a novice forces you to confront who you are when you don't.

Casey recommends a small reframe: stop calling it a retirement hobby and start calling it an experiment. "When you call something an experiment, the pressure drops. You’re not performing for something with a score or a grade. You’re just exploring."

The research backs the instinct. Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck’s decades of work on "growth mindset" (the belief that ability is built rather than fixed) finds people who view themselves as learners are more resilient and open to new experiences.

And a study from the University of Texas at Dallas’s Center for Vital Longevity found older adults who took up genuinely new and demanding skills, like digital photography or quilting, showed measurable memory gains compared with a control group doing familiar leisure activities.

In other words, the discomfort of being new wasn’t the price of admission. It was the part that did the work.

Mastering the switch from saving to spending

Besides personal pursuits, there’s a second skill with which retirees often feel like beginners: spending. After decades of trying to get a number to go up — saving more, deferring gratification, watching the balance grow — retirement is a time to flip the relationship.

"Retirement is arguably the first time in a person’s adult life that being a beginner is financially safe," says Jeff Judge, CFP® and managing partner of Chesapeake Financial Planners. "Most people have never practiced it."

And many never get comfortable with it. A recent Morningstar report notes that retirees following typical "safe" strategies — withdrawing only dividends and interest, taking just their RMDs, or sticking to the 3.9% base-case withdrawal rate — tend to finish 30-year retirements with significant balances left over.

Judge sees it constantly. One client with more than $2 million in investable assets called him in a near-panic after buying a $4,000 piece of furniture. “He'd done nothing wrong. But the number went down, and that felt like failure. The money was built as a score, not a tool.”

The pattern shows up at every wealth level. "Someone might have $8 million and agonize over booking a first-class seat," says Mitchell Kraus, CFP® and founder of Capital Intelligence Associates. "Hoarding capital you'll never spend isn’t prudence, it’s waste of a different kind."

What seems to break the spell is the same interventions that help people stick with a new hobby, such as structure and repetition. Several advisers described setting up automatic monthly transfers that look and feel like the paychecks clients used to receive while working. After a year or two of watching the numbers work as designed, the anxiety eases.

The two halves of the retirement-beginner problem are really the same problem. Brenna Baucum, CFP® and founder of Collective Wealth Planning, observes: "Retirement is often the first time in decades that highly accomplished people have to be beginners again. The clients who thrive are usually the ones who embrace that reality rather than resist it."

How to excel as a 'beginner'

A few practical moves can help you get through the beginner phase.

A good place to start is among peers. "The people who push through rarely do it alone," Casey says. "They join a group and learn from others who remember what it felt like to be new. Belonging comes first, before building confidence." In-person, low-stakes group settings, such as community art schools or beginner leagues, can help produce more durable engagement than learning solo.

Most people who quit an activity do so before reaching the point where it starts to feel good, Casey notes. That’s why he suggests committing to a fixed window (a semester, 12 sessions, 90 days, etc.) before deciding to stop.

On the spending side, several advisers recommend creating a line item in the financial plan specifically for experiences, classes and travel. "Giving something a place in the plan can feel like giving yourself permission to enjoy it," Baucum says.

And it helps to think about time as the central currency. Kraus asks his newly retired clients what they'll do with the roughly 2,000 hours a year a full-time job used to take. "Without intentional design, that freedom becomes disorientation. We shift the focus from 'return on investment' to ‘return on life.'"

The performance researcher Steve Magness writes that the people most comfortable trying new things aren’t smarter or tougher than the rest of us. They just have a higher tolerance for looking foolish along the way, along with a different source of pride. Researchers have identified two kinds: authentic pride, rooted in mastery and effort, and hubristic pride, rooted in ego. The bravado, research suggests, usually masks insecurity.

On the other side of the camera, Griffey tries to bring the perseverance and authentic pride he showed on the diamond to his life as a photographer. "The learning curve is massive," he said of his Masters experience. "There’s that old saying, be comfortable being uncomfortable. That was that whole week at Augusta. I was uncomfortable the whole time, but also understood certain things in the big picture."

The rest of us could probably stand to try something like it.

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You wake up naturally on your first day of retirement, with no alarm, just as you dreamed of doing during decades of a stressful career. You delight in the freedom from work responsibilities and schedules, and the chance to travel and spend time with friends and family. You are, in short, enjoying the honeymoon phase of retirement.

But after a few years (or even months), something inside you might shift.

You may find yourself feeling blue, isolated and just plain unfulfilled. You wouldn't be alone.

The National Institutes of Health found that depression is more frequent in retirees than the general public, and that 28% of retirees experience depression. And while most respondents in a 2024 MassMutual retirement survey reported being happier than in their working years, 8% noted they were less happy.

What's perhaps even more telling is that a 2024 Resume Builder survey found that among retirees planning to return to work, boredom was the second most common driver, trailing only unexpected cost-of-living increases. And while returning to work may be an option for some folks who aren't loving retirement, it may not be feasible for everyone. Fortunately, a part-time job isn't the only way to find structure and purpose.

If you're stuck in a retirement funk, it's important to do what you can to break out of it before it takes a serious toll on your mental (and possibly physical) health. Here are some strategies experts say are worth exploring.

Are you in the 'disenchantment' phase of retirement?

Putting a name to "the blahs" could help you reframe your circumstances. Ask yourself if you are feeling disappointed and disillusioned by your retirement. If so, you may be in the "disenchantment" phase of retirement, which generally indicates that you didn't build out a retirement plan that met your needs for social, financial and even spiritual fulfillment after your working years.

Coined by gerontologist and sociologist Robert C. Atchley, the "five phases of retirement" include pre-retirement, retirement, disenchantment, reorientation and finally, reconciliation and stability. Those who plan well may avoid those last three phases, which involve adjusting your expectations and revisiting your retirement plan to meet your needs.

If the thought of refining your approach to retirement just makes you feel discouraged or tired, you may truly be in a retirement funk. Here's what to try next.

1. Practice values-based living

When you're working, you can take pride in your output and contributions in the workplace. When you're retired, you may fall into a funk if you feel you aren't contributing to anything. That's why Dr. Carolina Estevez, psychologist at SOBA New Jersey, recommends that you think about your life differently.

"An additional significant shift for many is transitioning from valuing yourself based on productivity to values-based living," she explains. "Many people define themselves through their job for many years. Retirement allows individuals to reconnect with aspects of their identity that were put on the shelf."

2. Set a schedule

During retirement, you aren't tethered to a schedule the same way you are when you're working. You can take a trip on a whim or surprise your grandchildren with a visit.

But that lack of structure could come back to bite you. You might feel restless and useless in the absence of a routine. That's why Lisa Keer Carusone, wellness coach at Mass General Brigham's Center for Specialized Healthcare Services, says having a schedule could help if you're feeling stuck in a rut.

"Most of the retired adults I work with are in the quandary of wanting to be active and engaged, but also wanting flexibility around their schedules. That conflict often leaves them undersubscribed and bored, socially oversubscribed and feeling empty, or socially isolated and unhappy," Carusone explains.

Her recommendation? Construct a daily schedule with at least a few consistent activities. Even scheduling meal times could help.

Carusone also recommends having a few commitments so you're anchored to your schedule.

"Look locally for engagement and for opportunities [like] town boards [or] local volunteer programs to make commitments and connections," she says.

3. Embrace novelty and new skills

You'll often hear that if you're feeling bored or uninspired in retirement, it pays to immerse yourself in hobbies. Estevez suggests taking that concept one step further by focusing on new hobbies or experiences.

"Your brain continues to grow throughout life and responds positively to new challenges and learning," she says. "Some ways to stimulate your brain during retirement include taking a language class, joining a hiking club, learning to play an instrument, traveling to an area you don't know very well, or setting personal fitness goals. All these activities can give you back a sense of direction and excitement in your life."

4. Make sure to maintain your social connections

One less obvious benefit of work is that it can be a constant social outlet. Losing that regular access to people could take a serious toll. That's why Estevez says it's important to focus on building and maintaining social connections in retirement.

"People typically do better mentally and psychologically when they establish purposeful social interactions," she says.

Shawn McGinness, mental health awareness advocate and COO at Jersey Behavioral Health, says it's important to treat social connection as a priority rather than an afterthought.

"Finding a hobby group, getting into a recreational sports league, or joining a community organization gives an opportunity for the brain to engineer new meaning outside of work and find belonging," he says.

5. Stay active

You know this one, right? But it bears repeating. When you're feeling mentally sluggish, physically moving your body could be a good way to boost your mood, Estevez says. Studies have shown that physical activity can have a positive impact on mental health.

"Activities like going for walks regularly, tending gardens, swimming, or taking dance classes can all help improve your mood and energy levels," Estevez says. And if you haven't embraced the pickleball trend that's been gaining popularity among retirees, you may want to give it a try.

6. Don't hesitate to talk to a professional

If you're feeling unhappy with your new life and routine, there's no shame in getting help,

McGinness insists. And the sooner you recognize the problem, the better.

"Chronic dissatisfaction and inability to adjust after retiring can develop into clinical depression," he says. "This type of life transition is so common that there are professional mental health supports available to help you through it. Reaching for help is not a last resort. It is one of the best and most proactive things somebody can do to take care of themselves."

The good news is that Medicare covers a wide range of mental health services, including inpatient care and outpatient therapy. Enrollees are also typically eligible for one yearly depression screening at no cost.

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Retirement brings the gift of time, but it can also trigger a new kind of spending anxiety. Many retirees delay upgrades they've wanted for years because they worry that "nice-to-haves" will jeopardize long-term security.

Yet, research suggests retirees often overestimate the cost of lifestyle changes and underestimate the happiness those changes can create. These five upgrades are designed to deliver an outsize return on quality of life without requiring an outsize budget.

A useful mindset shift is to treat many of these choices as reallocations, not splurges. You're not necessarily spending "more." You're intentionally moving dollars away from low-value habits and toward experiences, comfort, connection and convenience.

1. Take longer trips in the off-season

Travel is a classic retirement goal, but costs can look intimidating when you price peak-season airfare and hotels.

A simple lever is timing. Shoulder seasons (the weeks between peak and off-peak) often reduce total trip costs by 30% to 50%, with added benefits such as fewer crowds.

Examples:

• Europe: April or October instead of July
• Arizona: November instead of February
• Caribbean: May or September instead of winter high season

If a two-week Mediterranean trip costs $6,000 to $8,000 in peak season, traveling in late April or early October might cost $3,500 to $4,500.

That difference can turn "one big trip" into "two meaningful trips."

The real upgrade: Retirement gives you flexibility. When you travel for value, not vacation calendars, you can often improve the experience and reduce the price at the same time.

Practical ways to stretch the budget:

• Look at midweek flights
• Choose "one city plus day trips" instead of moving hotels every few days
• Travel a little longer, but live more like a local (grocery breakfasts, a few planned splurges and fewer expensive tourist traps)

2. Create a small home office or creative space

A dedicated space for a passion project can become an anchor for your retirement identity, whether that is:

• Writing
• Crafts
• Woodworking
• Music
• Volunteering
• Family history work

Many spaces can be created with a modest budget. A spare bedroom refresh (desk, lighting, storage and basic equipment) often runs $1,000 to $3,000. Even a shed conversion can cost less than a year of certain memberships.

Why it matters: A purpose-built space encourages consistent habits and helps replace the structure that work used to provide. Over years of retirement, the cost per hour of use can be remarkably low.

Consider what "good enough" looks like:

• Good lighting and a comfortable chair
• Storage that keeps projects easy to start and easy to put away
• A simple system for supplies (labels, bins and a clear work surface)

Start small if you're unsure. A quality desk, chair and lighting might be enough to test whether the routine sticks. If you're still using the space most days after a few months, that's a strong signal it is worth investing a little more.

3. Outsource the tasks you dislike

Retirement time is valuable. Many retirees keep doing chores they don't enjoy simply because they always have.

But if outsourcing removes stress, reduces physical strain and frees time for what you want to do, it might be a smart trade.

Common examples include:

• Lawn care
• Housecleaning
• Handyman work
• Meal prep help
• Tax preparation

A helpful exercise is to compare annual cost to hours reclaimed. If lawn care costs $900 a year and saves 150 hours, you are effectively "buying back" time at $6 per hour.

Also consider the "hidden costs":

• Physical wear and tear (and the risk of injury)
• The mental load of errands and maintenance
• The frustration of spending prime daytime hours on tasks you would not choose

The reframe: You didn't save for retirement to preserve every dollar. You saved to fund a lifestyle that fits your priorities. Spending a small portion of the budget to reduce drudgery is not indulgence if it supports the life you want.

Try a low-risk test:

• Hire help for one season
• Outsource the hardest part only (for example, lawn mowing but not gardening)
• Keep it flexible so you can stop if it is not worth it

4. Use a membership as social infrastructure

One of retirement's hidden risks is isolation. When work ends, the default social system disappears, and many people underestimate how much connection they used to get from casual daily interactions.

A modest recurring routine can provide structure and "social scaffolding," such as a:

• Gym or yoga studio class
• Coffee shop where you are a regular
• Community workshop or maker space
• Continuing education program

The point is not the membership itself. The point is consistent, repeated contact with familiar faces that turns weak ties into a healthier social network over time.

If a couple spend $1,000 to $2,000 a year on social routines, that might be a small percentage of a typical retirement budget, with potential benefits that extend well beyond entertainment.

To make this work, prioritize consistency:

• Pick something that meets at the same time each week
• Go often enough that people start recognizing you
• Choose places that encourage small talk, not just solitary activity

5. Make targeted technology upgrades

Technology can feel discretionary, unfamiliar or frustrating. But the right upgrades can materially improve convenience, safety and connection.

Consider upgrades tied to specific problems:

• Staying close to family: A tablet that makes video calls easy
• Safety and convenience: A video doorbell, automated lighting, smart thermostat
• Organization: Medication reminders and simple health tracking tools

Instead of trying to "modernize everything," pick one or two friction points and solve them. A few hundred to a couple thousand dollars spent on tools you use daily can deliver a strong quality-of-life return.

Two quick guidelines help avoid waste:

• Buy for simplicity, not features — the best device is the one you'll use
• Set it up so it is effortless (large text, easy charging, passwords saved and a backup plan written down)

A simple framework for retirement spending

The common thread across these upgrades is that they're investments in time quality, not just consumption.

When deciding whether an upgrade is "worth it," consider:

• Cost per hour of joy. How many hours of enjoyment or ease will this create in the next several years?
• Physical and emotional costs. Are you saving money by taking on strain, stress or resentment?
• Opportunity cost. What low-value spending could you redirect to something more meaningful?
• Trial period. Can you test it for 60 to 90 days before committing long-term?

A comfortable retirement is not only about having enough money. It's about using money intentionally to support the life you envisioned while you were earning and saving.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Thinking about buying an RV, a new boat, or taking on a major home renovation in retirement? Or maybe you want to drop thousands on a bucket-list trip or finally treat yourself to the high-end pampering you never had time for when you were working.

Who could blame you? You’ve spent decades saving for your golden years and shouldn’t feel guilty about spending the wealth you worked so hard to accumulate.

Yet, far too many retirees choose not to splurge, paralyzed by the fear of outliving their money. They see inflation ticking up or gas prices soaring and immediately pull back. It doesn't matter if they have a solid financial plan to weather economic shifts; fear sinks in, and the spending stops.

Instead of upgrading their homes or traveling the country, they push back their dreams, only to end up with a massive bank account and a whole lot of regret. By the time they finally feel safe spending money, they are often too old, sick or tired to enjoy it.

That was the case for one of financial adviser Eric Ludwig's past clients. The couple always wanted to go on a Viking cruise, but when they finally decided to do it in their early 80s, they had to cancel due to health issues. "Nobody wants to be the richest person in the cemetery," says Ludwig, who is also director of the American College of Financial Services Center for Retirement Income.

Granted, splurging in retirement isn't without risk. Pulling funds from the wrong retirement account can trigger a hefty, unexpected tax bill or derail your portfolio's compounding power. Miscalculate your math, and you could face a genuine shortfall down the road.

But you shouldn't let what-ifs keep you from enjoying your life. If you can confidently answer the following three questions, nothing is stopping you from splurging on the retirement you've earned.

If you can answer yes to the following three questions, go ahead and splurge!

1. What is motivating the splurge?

You may think the first question would be: Can I really afford it? But Ludwig says even before that, you have to understand what is driving the need to spend the money.

"A splurge is an emotional decision that is wearing a financial costume. Your job is to separate the two before you spend a lot," said Ludwig. Ask yourself: "What is this really for? What will you get out of this?"

Ludwig posed that question to a couple he advised who were looking to sell their house and build a new one, versus buying a less expensive already-constructed home. The couple insisted that the move was motivated by wanting to be closer to family. With plenty of homes available to purchase, Ludwig pressed them on why they preferred new construction, which costs a lot more.

It eventually came out that the real motivation was to impress a family member in the area. Once the couple realized that, they changed course. "They ended up buying a house that was $100,000 less than the one they were selling," said Ludwig.

2. What am I sacrificing for the splurge?

Assuming you can afford your splurge, the next question you need to ask yourself is: What are you sacrificing for it? If you plan to spend a large sum of money, will it mean something else has to be put on hold? If so, does it matter?

The couple who decided to buy instead of build a new home realized that all their money would be tied up in impressing a family member, leaving limited funds to travel and pursue their other retirement activities. That was the deal breaker for them.

"That's something I want my clients to think of when considering a large splurge," said Hillary Stalker, a financial advisor at CapWealth. "Are they sacrificing something else they want in order to do that?" If they aren't willing to sacrifice, then the splurge item isn't as important as they may think, she says.

3. How will I fund the splurge?

Once you know why you’re splurging and that it's worth it, the final question you need to ask yourself is: Where will the money come from? If you aren’t careful, a major withdrawal can trigger an expensive domino effect of taxes and clawed-back benefits.

That's because when you pull funds to pay for a splurge, the tax hit depends on the type of account you use. If you withdraw from a traditional IRA or 401(k), it will be treated as ordinary taxable income. A big splurge can easily push you into a higher tax bracket.

Plus, if that withdrawal spikes your income high enough, some of your Social Security benefits may be taxed, and you could face expensive surcharges on your Medicare premiums.

Don't be afraid to spend

Watching your regular paycheck disappear is a psychological hurdle that takes time to overcome, especially when a thirty-year retirement lies ahead.

But if you can afford it, have a solid plan to navigate inflation and market volatility and can confidently answer the three questions above, you can splurge guilt-free.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early, 3 Questions to Ensure Your Retirement Nest Egg Is Inflation-Proof, 3 Questions to Ask Before Unretiring and 3 Questions That Help You Find Your Perfect Social Security Claiming Age.

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the best two soccer players of their generation, might be rivals on the field, but in the game of life, they share surprisingly parallel philosophies.

From what keeps them motivated to how they view retirement, Messi and Ronaldo's hard work, dedication and honest approaches can teach us a thing or two about living, persevering and succeeding. Whether you're nearing retirement or already in it, there are lessons you can learn from not just their actions, but also their words.

In a nod to the World Cup, which kicks off on June 11, here are 10 Messi and Ronaldo quotes retirees, or anyone else, should live by.

The shared philosophies of Messi and Ronaldo

1. "I enjoy those small details that I know I'll miss when I stop playing."
Lionel Messi, ESPN interview, Jun 12, 2024

At age 38, Messi knows retirement is on the horizon and that leaving the sport he loves is inevitable. Instead of feeling despair about his impending exit, he seems to accept his fate and enjoy the time he has left.

Messi doesn't look for ways to hold on or wallow in self-pity and reflection. He knows retirement is coming, so he faces it head-on, and you should too. Plan and prepare for your retirement, then enjoy those little moments while you still have them. Give yourself the chance to let go on your terms, savoring every moment.

2. "Everything has a beginning and everything has an end. I'm going to have more time for myself, for my family, to raise my kids."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Piers Morgan Uncensored interview, November 7, 2025

Just like Messi, Ronaldo appears to have come to terms with the fact that he'll eventually retire from the sport he loves, and he, too, is OK with that. He has a loving family to spend his time with once he gets too old for the game.

With his words, Ronaldo acknowledges that everything comes to an end, even a great soccer career. When that chapter closes, a new one opens. The important thing is to have someone or something to engage with to give your retirement a sense of purpose.

3. “Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn’t thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I’m just happy with a ball at my feet.”

Lionel Messi, interview with El Mundo, reported in The Sun, March 19, 2012

Money matters, but for Messi, it's not driving him; it's not why he plays the game or strives to improve. Of course, there are perks to all that money, but Messi says his happiness comes "with a ball at my feet."

While being a professional soccer player might not bring you joy, the point of that quote is to do something you love. Don't settle for a job just because it pays well. Follow your passion during your working years, and the money will come, as the saying goes. Even if the job you choose doesn't make you as much money as another one might, at least you're doing something you're excited about.

4. "You think the money is going to change my mind now…It's not about the money. It's about the passion."
Cristiano Ronaldo, BBC interview 2015

Following your passion is a sentiment Ronaldo shares with Messi and is something that tends to become more important in retirement. Now that you have all this free time, it's finally your chance to pursue your passion. Even better if you have enough money saved to do it without constraint.

Take risks and don't be afraid to try new things when finding your passion in retirement. While you might think golfing will be your thing, it could turn out that you favor hiking or something completely different, such as mentoring or learning a language. Having an open mind is the best way to find what truly gets you excited. Once you discover it, money won't be able to replace the joy that it brings.

"5. You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it."
Lionel Messi, Fight For Your Dreams, Herbalife, March 2011

Nothing worthwhile comes easy; it often takes hard work. That's what Messi believes to be true both on and off the soccer field, and it's something you can apply to your home or work life.

Whatever your dream, it takes hard work, dedication and discipline to see it through. If you're dreaming of building a big nest egg, it might require sacrifice and commitment to reach that end goal. If it's to advance in your career, it might mean long workshops and classes. Whatever it is you want, you have to "work hard for it" like Messi and Ronaldo.

6. "Sometimes you plan one thing for your life, and as I said many times, life is dynamic, and you never know what's going to happen."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Piers Morgan interview, November 17, 2022

Planning is important to secure your retirement, but that doesn't mean it should be rigid. Life happens, and what worked for your financial plan before might no longer work for it now.

When planning for your future, it's better to leave room for the what-ifs and unknowns. Create a financial plan that can adapt to the changes in your life and risk tolerance. Just as life is "dynamic," so is the way you save and invest your money.

7. "I lead a very normal life... I don't live dependent on luxury or money to feel happy."
Lionel Messi La Sexta interview Dec. 28, 2020.

Many of us chase material items during our working years, whether it's high-end homes, fancy cars or lavish vacations. But as we get older, we realize those things aren't what bring us happiness; it's the relationships we have that are the true testaments to joy.

It's easy for Messi to say that luxury or money isn't necessary to feel happy, but he's onto something about it not being a requirement. Sure, it helps, but money can't cure loneliness or a disease.

8. "Your love makes me strong; your hate makes me unstoppable."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Instagram, Aug. 23, 2015

This is for all you retirees who are afraid to live because of what people might think. Don't let them stop you. Life is too short to care about haters. You've earned the retirement you dreamed about, even if some think it's too unconventional.

For Ronaldo, the hate has motivated him to score more, train harder and win more trophies. It should get you fired up to explore new passions, embrace your freedom and make yourself "unstoppable."

9. "Football is a job, but I'm lucky to have a job that I love."
Lionel Messi Olga Streaming Channel via the Buenos Aires Herald interview, Sept. 21, 2023

Many people tie their entire identities to their careers, making the eventual transition into retirement feel like a loss of self. But Messi provides a beautifully grounded perspective: Even a legendary career is ultimately a job. It comes with daily responsibilities, schedules and goals.

Whether you're still working or actively planning your next act, letting go can be easier when you think of it like that. You're giving up a job when you retire, not your life. There's so much more you can do. Transitioning into your next act will be smoother if you find something you genuinely love to do.

10. "Day by day we’re getting old. Every one of us, you understand, it is normal. You have to adapt."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Piers Morgan interview, November 17, 2022

Retirement is a huge change, one that is hard for many people to adapt to. But it's normal and something everyone faces, which is why you're better off accepting and adapting instead of resisting.

One area of resistance for retirees is spending the savings they worked so hard to amass. But being too frugal in retirement can hurt them, especially if their money outlives them. A better approach is to adapt to their new reality and create a withdrawal strategy that lets them enjoy their retirement and ensures the money lasts.

Making new friends is another change that retirees often resist. They lose the social support from work, and are afraid to create new ones. That transition can be difficult, but if they don't embrace it, they could end up lonely and depressed. Those are just two examples of why adapting is so important and why both soccer legends repeatedly extol the virtue of it.

Stay in the game

In the game of life, both Messi and Ronaldo prove there isn't just one winning strategy. Whether you find your joy in stepping back to embrace simple family moments or in reinventing yourself, success comes down to honesty, discipline and passion.

As you look ahead to your own second act, remember that retirement isn't the end of the match; it's the start of a brand-new game. Use these two soccer greats as a blueprint, follow your true passion and play the game on your own terms to win.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series featuring the best retirement quotes and wisdom from top financial experts, leaders, and public figures. Other articles feature Warren Buffett, Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. Seuss, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Vince Lombardi, Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, George Carlin, Billy Joel and Dave Ramsey.

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Question: My wife and I are both 68 and have always dreamed of living in Florida near the coast. We finally did it when we retired about a year-and-a-half ago. We sold our house in Albany, New York, and headed for Boca Raton, Florida.

Besides the coastal life, we were drawn to Florida because there is no state income tax. I have a large 401(k) balance and don't want to worry about paying taxes on withdrawals.

We spent $1.5 million on a two-bedroom condo overlooking the ocean, which is a three-minute walk to the beach. It was paradise, until it wasn't. After about 18 months, we hate it here. The weather is too extreme, the area is too crowded, and I'm worried about hurricanes. We don't want to stay, but we don't want to go back home or anywhere cold either. What should we do?

Answer: Life can be funny that way. You dream about something for years, only to discover it's not what you expected. You already know the answer to the first part of your question. If you absolutely hate it and don't want to stay, you have no choice but to move. Life is short; you don't want to waste time being unhappy, but you also don't want to throw money away.

That's why Nell Cordick, a financial advisor at Bogart Wealth, says you need to stick it out in Boca Raton for at least six more months, until you hit the two-year mark as a homeowner.

If you sell your home after living there for two years, up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for couples in gains is exempt. "At least stay and get the exemption," if you can sell your house for a profit, says Cordick.

You'll likely incur fees and expenses selling your condo, but they can be offset if you can sell it for a profit. If not, chalk it up to the cost of your happiness. The additional costs could mean some sacrifices when selecting your new location, but that may be a price well worth it.

You could use the condo as a rental property, some or all of the year. Just make sure you're up to the challenge of everything that comes with being a landlord, especially a long-distance one.

Is a half-back relocation right for you?

The second part of your question is trickier because it's a uniquely personal decision, but in your case, in which it seems taxes and weather are top priorities, you may benefit from a so-called 'half-back' relocation.

Moving halfway back is a growing trend among retirees who regret their migration down south to Arizona and Florida. Instead of moving back to their home states, they settle somewhere in between their original location and the place they retired to, such as the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. While they aren't exactly halfway home, they are in a location that may represent a happy medium, offering some of the benefits of the initial retirement destination, such as milder weather, without as many negatives, such as overcrowding and sky-high prices.

If you decide to move to one of the so-called half-back states or anywhere else, be aware that the tax breaks may not be as generous as those in places such as Florida. Of the half-back states, only Tennessee doesn't have state income tax. But that doesn't mean the other states shouldn't be on an aspiring half-back's list. The cost of living could be less in one of the other states, despite having state income tax, making it a worthwhile move.

But weather and climate aren't the only points to focus on if you're moving half back. You also want to consider what the new location offers in terms of community services, places of worship, restaurants, entertainment, access to doctors, hospitals and airports. Think about everything that matters to you in your current location before you make your next move.

"You made the first mistake moving to Boca, you don't want to make the second mistake jumping the gun when you move," says Owen Malcolm, managing director of Apollon Wealth Management. "Don't pick up and move somewhere else without kicking the tires."

Give your half-back location a test run

Renting an apartment or Airbnb before you buy your next home can be a good way to make sure you're happy in the new location. It will give you time to make sure the new place has all the amenities you need and the solace you may crave. If renting is out of the question, try to visit the place as often as you can before deciding whether you want to move. Visit during peak and off-peak times to get a feel for it.

"They need to understand what the different neighborhoods are, the different traffic patterns, different times of tourist seasons," says Cordick. Also, "What type of amenities as a retiree might you be looking for?"

And don't beat yourself up about making a mistake the first go around. You aren't alone. Cordick has many clients who moved to a new location in retirement, only to sell a short time after. They weren't willing to suffer in silence, nor should you.

The good news is you don't have to. This time, you know what you don't want, which can help narrow your search.

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Expecting an inheritance and think that means you don't have to save for retirement? Think again. You don't know for sure the timing or size of your windfall, or if you'll receive one at all.

The stock markets are sitting on record highs, and baby boomers hold $68 trillion to $84 trillion in wealth they intend to pass down in what is known as the Great Wealth Transfer. But they're also living longer and spending more, which reduces the amount left for heirs.

"It's taking longer before our clients are receiving an inheritance," says Sarah Wotherspoon, managing director at Wealthspire. "The reality is, people don't know how long they will have to wait, and they also don't know how much they will receive."

In the meantime, boomers are spending their money on luxury travel, longevity products, high-end retirements, healthcare and long-term care, says Wotherspoon.

They're also giving while living, paying for their adult children's homes, grandchildren's colleges and family vacations, she says.

That doesn't mean there won't be money left over if you're in line for an inheritance. It does mean you shouldn't bank on it. Here's what you should do instead.

Don't assume your inheritance amount

You might think you'll get $5 million because your mom and dad said so, but the reality could be vastly different when they pass. Even if the amount is accurate, there are taxes, legal fees and distributions that can change the inheritance outlook.

That's why it's important to have a conversation with your parents and their financial advisers about your inheritance. Without an accurate understanding, it's hard to plan.

You might not need the money and want it passed on to your kids instead. This is something Wotherspoon says she sees more often.

If you aren't able to find out an exact amount, Wotherspoon says to cut your assumption by 50% or 60% and plan based on that. If your inheritance is more, you'll be happy; if it's less, you won't be caught off guard.

Don't treat your inheritance as your retirement plan

Just because you're getting an inheritance doesn't mean you won't need a retirement plan.

Taxes are a big part of estate planning, especially if the inheritance is large enough to push you into a higher income bracket. The goal should be to pay the least amount of taxes on your inheritance, and you can't do that without planning across all the generations that are in line to receive money.

Wotherspoon had one client who saved his money during his lifetime, so his son and grandson could receive substantial wealth at his passing. While he was living, he converted a large retirement account into a Roth IRA and took a big tax hit so that his heirs could avoid paying taxes later on.

His own account might not have enough time to recover from the tax hit, but his son's and grandson's accounts do. "An important part of this is tax planning," says Wotherspoon.

Don't spend an inheritance you don't have yet

You might expect a nice windfall later in life, but that's not permission to spend now and worry later. Don't blow off saving for retirement or accumulate debt just because you know cash is coming someday.

"We have clients who were tempted to make major life decisions because of an inheritance," says Wotherspoon, who advises against that. She has clients who want to buy third homes, retire early, take luxurious trips, and take on home renovations in anticipation of future inheritances.

Before they proceed, Wotherspoon asks them: What would happen if the inheritance were delayed a year, two years, even five years? What would happen if they received less? Could they pay for whatever expense they wanted to incur?

Consider it an enhancement

Nothing in life is a guarantee, which is why your inheritance should be treated as an enhancement.

Plan for the tax consequences of your potential inheritance, but don't assume it will be there. Save as if it doesn't exist. That will prevent you from making any bad decisions that could harm your financial independence and retirement.

"That inheritance has to travel through taxes, the legal process, family dynamics, and market movements," says Brigette Engstrom, CEO of Blue Monarch Financial Services. "The amount can change, the timing can change, the way the assets are distributed can change. You are not ignoring the inheritance, you are refusing to depend on it until it actually becomes available."

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As retirement approaches, you may be considering a move to a college or university town. Whether you want to retire near your old alma mater or are considering a different college town, you know the allure. These areas often have a high quality of life, with good walkability, attractive architecture, great restaurants and of course, access to a vibrant community.

Buying a home in a college town you love could work out well if you can swing it based on current property values. Your analysis will need to go beyond home values, however, as property taxes, access to healthcare and other considerations may prove just as important.

Here's how a financial professional and a couple of real estate experts suggest you approach the decision. We include a case study of a couple with a $3.2 million portfolio.

A home in a college town could be a great investment

The first retirement home you buy isn't guaranteed to be your forever home for that stage of life. You may decide that after a decade or so, you're tired of the bustle of a college town and would rather settle somewhere else. So it's important to make sure you're buying a home that can hold its value, especially if it's on the expensive side.

Blaz Korosec, licensed Realtor and founder/CFO of the real estate solutions company Investorade, says that generally speaking, homes in college towns tend to be smart investments.

"College town real estate appreciates or at least maintains value better than your standard market due to institutional employment influencing housing demand," he says.

As Korosec explains, universities typically employ thousands of faculty and staff. And students perpetually need housing, too.

"Even when the rest of your regional economy sputters, dormitories stay filled and the local university employer keeps raising wages," he says.

Cody Schuiteboer is the president and CEO of mortgage firm Best Interest Financial, and he agrees that, from a property-value standpoint, college towns are a strong bet.

"College towns represent one of the most stable residential markets in the country," he says.

And while you may be wondering whether high turnover could affect home price appreciation, Schuiteboer says that's not much of a concern.

"Students tend to concentrate heavily only in blocks closest to campus itself, typically within a three- to five-block radius, where increased noise, heavier demand for parking space, and accelerated wear can create problems for owners," he explains. "Other than that, college town markets tend to function in a very similar fashion to any other established residential market, with the added benefit of a university economic anchor in place."

That said, colleges commonly own large amounts of tax-exempt land. This often forces municipalities to levy significantly higher property taxes on residential homeowners to fund public services, which may mean your ownership costs are high.

Plus, if the value of your home is tied to a nearby college that ends up closing, your property value could fall. That may not be a huge problem if you don't want to sell it, but it's something to be aware of.

We break down the numbers for a $3.2 million nest egg

Let's run the numbers for an imaginary couple in their 60s, Jenny and Adam. They met as students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the 1980s and have a $3.2 million nest egg. They want to retire near the University. With that amount of savings, they certainly have decent purchasing power. But whether the numbers work depends on Ann Arbor's home prices and their personal priorities.

"A $3.2M portfolio may support drastically different standards of living in different towns," Schuiteboer says. "What makes this decision work is largely a factor of choosing the right college town in terms of property tax rate and cost of owning and maintaining the property there, among other things."

Schuiteboer also cautions that it's important to factor in maintenance and homeowners insurance when running your numbers. And, he says, be prepared for property taxes to be on the higher side.

"Retirees frequently underestimate the costs involved in owning and maintaining a home in an expensive college town, primarily due to the fact that the property tax rates there are significantly higher than elsewhere," he says.

Jim DesRocher, Founder at TrueView Financial, also cautions that while $3.2 million is a strong starting point, "your balance is not your paycheck."

"At a sustainable 3% to 3.5% withdrawal rate, that portfolio produces roughly $96,000 to $112,000 per year before taxes," says DesRocher. "If you're moving to a high-cost area with property taxes of $15,000 to $25,000 per year plus elevated homeowner costs, you've consumed a significant share of that income before you've bought a single grocery."

The average home price in Ann Arbor, MI, for example, is $531,674, according to Zillow, which puts estimated property taxes for a typical Ann Arbor home at $7,922. But if we apply that same 1.49% tax rate to a $1 million Ann Arbor home, that's an annual property tax bill of $14,900, which could strain a portfolio producing $96,000 to $112,000 per year.

The good news is that some states are implementing property tax relief programs, including senior or homestead exemptions. That's something to look into if tax rates are high in the college town you're looking at.

As for maintenance, the rule of thumb is to set aside between 1% and 4% of your home's value per year. Older homes should lean more toward that upper number, but for the sake of our example, let's say that Adam and Jenny need to spend about 2% per year on maintenance. Here's how the numbers add up.

All told, Schuiteboer says, "The real question for this particular scenario is not whether the couple can afford the move, but whether their housing costs in the college town allow them the kind of retirement they really want to have."

As you conduct your own research, make sure to calculate the total cost of ownership and determine how much leeway it provides for your remaining expenses. If it'll mean skimping on travel and other experiences, it may not be worth it. But if you can swing a home in a town that holds a special place in your heart, you may be able to spend at least part of your retirement basking in nostalgia and enjoying a vibrant town that helps you stay young at heart.

College towns can be a great fit for retirees

It's true that college towns may cost more, both in home prices and property taxes, but they offer benefits that can lead to a healthier, happier retirement. For example, many colleges provide free or near-free college classes for seniors.

If you are an alumnus, you may also get free or reduced access to campus athletic facilities, concerts and even dining spaces. For example, Middlebury College alumni may receive an ID card that provides access to the athletic center and library, as well as discounted access to the school's Ralph Myhre golf course. Stanford offers a concierge service for alumnae seeking long-term care insurance,

Search online for your college name and "alumni benefits" to learn what may be available for you.

The healthcare paradox

Many college towns, such as Ann Arbor, Michigan, benefit from university research hospitals and cutting-edge specialists. While that means retirees may be able to access excellent care, there are some potential downsides to keep in mind.

First, wait times to see a specialist may be long because patients are attracted to the high-quality care. And given that the area population skews younger, there may not be as many geriatric specialists. Moreover, college towns in more rural areas often face a shortage of medical providers. For example, Cornell University is located in Tompkins County, New York, where a 2026 assessment found chronically long wait times and provider shortages.

Finally, retirees on Medicare Advantage plans, which may limit your choice of providers, may have difficulty finding a primary care physician (PCP) in their network, or one that is accepting new patients.

One solution is to see a network of doctors in the nearest metro city. For example, if you live in Northampton, Massachusetts (near Smith College, Amherst and UMass Amherst), you may elect to travel to Boston for medical appointments.

Will all those college students create noise and traffic?

When you think back on your college days, you may remember bustling weekends filled with sporting events and packed bars and restaurants at night. As a 21-year-old, that may be the epitome of fun. As 60-something retirees, the bustle of college town life could get old.

However, Korosec says it may not be a big problem.

"If you're thinking college towns equal crazy Saturdays during the football season and graduation, you’re only right for six to 10 days of the year," he says.

Korosec says you should anticipate congestion on weekends with home games. But for the remainder of the year, you might enjoy relative peace and quiet.

Schuiteboer feels similarly.

"There will always be days in college towns during which traffic will be particularly heavy," he says. But if you know which days to hunker down or perhaps take a trip out of town (think home games, move-in week, and graduation weekend), it probably won't impact your quality of life.

Since it's conceivably been a while since you've lived in the area, if you want to be really sure, Korosec says, "Take a stroll through potential neighborhoods on a Tuesday in October and Saturday during football season and see if you’d enjoy living there before making a decision."

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If you have a traditional IRA or 401(k), required minimum distributions or RMDs are a fact of life.

They kick in when you turn 73, requiring you to withdraw a certain amount of money from your account each year.

After all, the Internal Revenue Service wants to get paid for all that tax-deferred income you benefited from during your working years, and RMDs are how they do it.

While the IRS is a fan of RMDs, many retirees are not. RMDs are treated as ordinary income and may push you into a higher income bracket. Plus, if you withdraw them during a down market, it can impact your retirement savings later on.

RMDs also force retirees to spend a portion of their income, something many tend to resist. And if you forget to take RMDs, you could face a penalty of as much as 25%.

As a result, it's important to withdraw the correct amount each year. Take out too little, and you could be in trouble with the IRS. Withdraw too much, and it can drain your retirement account prematurely.

The stakes only get higher as your nest egg gets larger. Here's how much you need to withdraw if you have $5 million saved across different ages.

Calculating your RMDs

When calculating your RMDs, the formula takes into account your account balance and life expectancy factor. You obtain the latter from the IRS's Uniform Life Table, which is the go-to chart that the vast majority of retirees are required to use, regardless of their actual health status.

The life expectancy factor takes into account actuarial data that re-estimates your remaining lifespan with every birthday you celebrate

The formula is the following:

Account Balance/Life Expectancy Factor = RMD

Your RMDs aren't static and will change as you age. The older you get, the lower your life expectancy factor is and the more you have to pay in RMDs.

Because the government assumes you have less time left to spend your wealth, they force you to withdraw a larger percentage of your remaining savings with each passing year. Remember, the IRS wants to get paid!

The tax impact

For savers with big nest eggs, RMDs can prove particularly problematic because of the tax treatment. If you are required to withdraw $203,252 in one year because you have a $5 million IRA, it could trigger a sizable tax bill.

While you can't avoid the taxes altogether, you can employ strategies to lower the burden. For instance, you can convert some of the money into a Roth IRA in low tax years. With a Roth IRA, you aren't required to take RMDs.

Or you can begin taking withdrawals prior to age 73 to lower your total balance and prevent a bump up in your income tax bracket. A financial adviser can help you devise a strategy in which your higher growth assets are in a Roth IRA, and your conservative investments are in a traditional retirement account.

If you are charitably inclined, you can use a Qualified Charitable Distribution to direct up to $111,000 (in 2026) of your IRA RMDs to a charity of your choice.

You can't avoid RMDs, but you can plan ahead

You can't avoid RMDs, but you can mitigate the potential hit. But to do that, you have to know what you will be on tap for ahead of time.

If you are a saver with a big nest egg, planning and preparation are key to navigating the world of RMDs.

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Finding the sweet spot between a high-end travel experience and a smart budget is all about knowing how the travel industry prices its products. Do you know which days to fly, or how to leverage your background as a homeowner for free global lodging?

Take our quick travel quiz below to test your booking IQ and pick up a few expert strategies for your next adventure.

Don't worry if you miss an answer; you can follow the links below the quiz to brush up on your knowledge.

More on travel from the Kiplinger team:

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From Virginia to California, more than 3,000 data centers are operational across America, with an additional 1,500 coming online. These data centers power the digital lives of people worldwide and make the AI revolution possible. They bring jobs and, in many cases, revitalize communities.

But at what cost to the retirees who live there? Are the improvements worth the side effects?

It's what residents of Box Elder County, Utah, are asking. They are fighting to stop a massive 40,000-acre data center project from going ahead, arguing that it will drain precious water resources, create relentless noise pollution, cause health issues and leave locals with the environmental fallout — all the while, the tech giants receive tax breaks.

They've heard the stories — towns running out of water or electric grids failing — and don't want to see their way of life disrupted as well.

"Data centers are bad for the people in the surrounding areas," says Breena William, a retiree who lives in Box Elder County, where the massive Stratos Data center is being built. "If you look at the experiences of other people, that's my understanding."

This map will tell you if a data center is nearby.

Living near a data center: the common complaints

When it comes to living near a data center, residents, environmentalists, lawmakers and consumer advocates point to several side effects that can negatively impact the quality of life. Some of them include:

Air pollution
Data centers emit hazardous pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter, increasing the rate of respiratory diseases and cardiovascular risk. These emissions are from two sources: the data centers themselves and their back-up (often diesel) generators, and the energy required, usually from the electric grid, to power these centers.

U.S. data centers are projected to contribute to nearly 1,300 deaths in 2028, resulting in a health burden of over $20 billion for Americans, according to Cornell University research.

Air pollutants are a concern for residents of Box Elder County. The proposed Stratos facility is expected to hasten the evaporation of the Great Salt Lake. The more of the lake bed that's exposed, the more arsenic and other heavy metals can enter the air.

"I have grandchildren with asthma. I'm really worried about them," says Williams.

Noise pollution
The sound of the generators and the heating and cooling systems creates a constant hum that can be heard hundreds of feet away. Day and night, residents complain of noise pollution that is not only annoying but potentially harmful to hearing.

That was the case for people living next to a data center in Brittany Heights, in Chandler, Arizona. The never-ending high-pitched buzz coming from the data center reportedly rattled windows at night.

It got so bad that residents complained they couldn't sleep and that the noise caused health issues, including vertigo and anxiety. The outcry eventually prompted the city to change its zoning laws to include sound mitigation ordinances.

Water consumption
Data centers need water to keep the computer equipment cool, with a large data center using as much as 5 million gallons of water a day. They tap local resources for that water, draining what is left for residents. It can become a problem when the data center is located in a region with limited water.

Residents of The Dalles, Oregon, learned that the hard way. Thanks to its energy infrastructure, water availability and vast land available for development, the community had become a favorite of many major tech companies looking to set down roots for data centers.

But when Google wanted to expand and wouldn't disclose how much water it consumes, it sparked a 13-month legal battle. When Google's water consumption was finally released, it showed the data center used more than a quarter of the city's water supply.

Higher utility prices
Data centers need a massive amount of electricity, but critics contend they don't pay full price for that. The burden is passed on to residential customers, who must pay more as a result.

A study by Carnegie Mellon University projected that, by 2030, the growth of data centers will drive regional demand by 20% to 30% annually. That will increase electricity bills by an estimated 8% nationally and up to 25% in some regions.

"These large data centers use so much energy, put so much pressure on the local utility systems, they have to invest in a ton of infrastructure upgrades," says Jenn Jones, vice president of financial security and livable communities at AARP. AARP is backing legislation that protects consumers when data centers come to their neighborhoods. "We don't think those costs should be borne by consumers, especially older adults living on a fixed income."

Older adults seem to agree. A national AARP survey found 78% of adults age 50+ believe large data centers should pay their own way, and 75% agree that state policymakers should act to protect consumers from rising utility costs tied to data centers.

Property value pressures

The jury is still out as to the impact living near a data center has on the sale of your home. In some areas, it can boost property values; in others depress them.

A 2025 George Mason study of Virginia, a state with a high concentration of data centers, found that they increased property values.

The reason: data centers tend to be located in areas that already have good roads, reliable utilities and are close to airports. Attributes that homebuyers also want.

But that isn't putting residents at ease. William of Box Elder County is worried that Stratos could make the land near it uninhabitable, which would drive the property values down.

"I think after this goes into effect, people won't be able to sell their homes, and people will be stuck," says William, who is worried enough to consider putting her house up for sale. "Something away from a data center, if we can find it."

Source: DataCenterMap

Can the benefits really be overlooked?

There are reasons to be concerned about the impact of data centers. But can some benefits be overlooked? After all, these data centers do pay taxes, bring jobs and build an infrastructure to support them. That can revitalize a community that would otherwise struggle. Tax revenue can fund community upgrades, pay for schools and provide services that retirees rely on.

According to the Data Center Coalition, an industry trade group, in 2025 the U.S. data center industry supported 5.5 million jobs, contributed $927 billion to the U.S. GDP and generated $204 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

"The trade-off of having data centers is they bring jobs, tax revenue, infrastructure and economic development," says Sanjay Patnaik, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings. "You need some economic activity in a county, otherwise you don't have tax revenue."

There's also the potential national security risk that Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary — one of the investors behind the Stratos data center in Box Elder County, Utah — points to. He reportedly says the U.S. needs more data centers like Stratos to stay ahead of China in the AI "arms race."

Time will tell

Data centers will continue to pop up, and residents will lose some battles and win others in their fights to stop them.

But whether you support one coming to your retirement community boils down to a cost-benefit analysis. Are the economic benefits more important than the environmental and health risks?

"I would advise people to look at what the alternative is," says Patnaik. "Do they want to have a data center in their backyard and get some economic growth, or do they want nothing in their backyard?"

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Second marriages have long been called a triumph of hope over experience — a line rooted in the assumption that remarriage simply repeats the dynamics of a first union. But that notion is increasingly outdated.

Today's second marriages are so distinct from what first unions entail that they almost deserve a moniker of their own (“conscious recoupling,” anyone?). For one thing, people who remarry tend to be older almost by definition, with the fastest rate of growth in second unions happening among men and women ages 65 and up.

And because they've had years of building a life separately before joining forces, these new partners typically come into the relationship with their own — sometimes sizable — assets and obligations, well-established careers and financial habits, often children and maybe ex-spouses from their previous marriage, and perhaps some emotional baggage as well.

That all makes navigating remarriage complex, especially where managing money is concerned.

“You have to come into a second marriage knowing that you're two fully formed entities, personally and financially,” says Jonathan Kolmetz, a financial therapist and certified financial planner with Oaks Wealth Management in Houston. “And you need the appropriate amount of planning to reflect that complexity.”

It's a challenge that millions of older adults are managing as they head toward and through retirement. According to Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family & Marriage Research, 28% of 45-to 64-year-olds and 31% of those 65 and older are remarried—the largest percentage of any age group.

To make sure you and your new spouse live in a state of marital and financial harmony, here's what experts suggest.

Decide what's yours, mine and ours

One of the first and most consequential choices you and your spouse need to make is how to structure your financial life together. To start, how do you handle the assets and liabilities you bring into a second marriage?

It's a complicated question, says Stacy Barrett, a lawyer in Napa, Calif., and an editor at Nolo.com, a publisher of legal guides and software. About two-thirds of divorced couples go on to remarry, according to Pew Research Center, which means one or both spouses in that new union may still be financially entwined with an ex, from support payments to joint expenses for any children they had together.

Remarried couples are also likely to have more investments than people bring to first marriages, such as savings and retirement accounts, which they may not want to share, at least not entirely, with their new partner. And spouses may not want to be on the hook for the other person's prior debts or financial obligations, such as paying for a child's college education or helping adult kids with the cost of a wedding or down payment on a house.

“In many cases, you have to balance the desire to take care of your new spouse and build a life together, while still preserving your assets for your children or grandchildren,” says Barrett.

The other reason to set up a legal distribution of your assets is the risk of what will happen if you don't. “Without the appropriate documents, your property is subject to the default rules of your state, or federal law, if you divorce or die,” Barrett says.

Worse, many people aren't familiar with what those default rules are. What would happen if your second marriage ends in divorce (60% of second unions do) or if you die without a will? In the latter case, the surviving partner might get, say, half of the deceased spouse's estate, with the remaining assets divided between his or her children, although the specific guidelines depend on where you live. When the second spouse passes away, those inherited assets would go to his or her heirs — perhaps the stepkids of the first spouse to die, not that person's own children.

“It's important to brush up on the basics, so you can decide whether you want to adopt the default rules, which vary by state, or come up with your own plan,” Barrett says. (You can find a list of state rules governing the division of assets after a spouse dies here or in case of divorce here.)

A bespoke plan will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the documents you need, the complexity of your financial circumstances, and whether you work with a marital or estate-planning attorney or do it yourself using a legal website such as Nolo, LegalZoom.com or RocketLawyer.com. But the price is worth it, Barrett says, to give you more control over the outcome. She recommends using several tools, including a prenuptial agreement, estate plans and trusts, and updated beneficiaries and titles on important accounts and assets.

“Using a combination of strategies allows you to be very specific about how you want your property divided,” Barrett says, “and it can help avoid conflict later on.”

Harness the power of prenups

When Sarah Fields remarried in 2019, for example, she and her new husband felt it was best to keep their income and assets completely separate. “What he brought into the marriage was his; what I brought into the marriage was mine,” she says.

But the couple hit a speed bump when they decided to combine their newly blended family (she had two teens; he had a younger son) and move into the home outside of Boston that Fields had purchased after her divorce.

Fields, 53, wanted to keep the house titled in her name, but her husband balked. “He didn't want to feel like a tenant in his own home, understandably,” says Fields, a historian. “But for me, keeping the house was a point of pride and independence. And I wanted to make sure my kids inherited it.”

The couple agreed to sign a prenuptial agreement that would spell out the terms they decided were equitable for them. Among the items: She would pay the mortgage and any repairs on the house, and she would remain as the legal sole owner. Her husband would cover the utilities. And they would each handle their own personal expenses and any costs related to their kids.

Prenuptial agreements get a bad rap. But for couples in second marriages, like Fields and her husband, they offer important protections, says Michael Craven, a partner who focuses on family law with Harrison LLP, a national wealth-planning law firm based in Chicago. “Prenups protect your assets and your income, and they can protect you from your new spouse's debts and obligations.”

They seem to be gaining traction. Some 20% of married couples report having a prenup, up from just 3% in 2010, according to a 2023 Axios/ Harris poll. And 50% of U.S. adults say they are open to the idea.

The evolution of do-it-yourself legal platforms may be helping to fuel this trend. HelloPrenup and Trusted Prenup are online platforms that can help you create a state-specific prenup for a flat fee of about $600, for example. Or you can hire a lawyer.

For those looking to manage costs, Barrett suggests a hybrid approach: Use a DIY service to draft the prenup, then have your lawyers review it. “This helps ensure that the agreement does what you intend, and it's enforceable if challenged,” she says.

Barrett notes that prenups offer an added benefit for couples getting married for the second time: “A valid prenup requires full financial disclosure from both partners,” she says. Given how challenging some financial conversations can be, Barrett says, “a prenup kind of forces you into it—so you know where you stand.”

Is marrying again a money-smart idea?

A growing number of divorced or widowed older adults in committed relationships are choosing to say “I don't” to remarrying. Money is often a big reason. If you're grappling with the decision to wed for a second time, these are some of the financial factors to consider.

Retirement benefits. “An upside of not getting remarried is that you can preserve certain benefits from your first marriage,” says Stacy Barrett, a lawyer in Napa, Calif., and an editor with legal publisher Nolo.com.

If you're divorced and remarry, for instance, you will no longer be entitled to receive Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse's work record, if he or she is still alive and those benefits are bigger than what you would be entitled to based on your own earnings.

The rules are different, though, if your former spouse has died or you're widowed, and they depend on the age you remarry: Tie the knot again before you turn 60 and you typically won't be able to collect Social Security survivor benefits based on a deceased spouse's record. But you may be entitled to those benefits if you remarry when you're 60 or older, as long as you meet other eligibility criteria. (For instance, if you're divorced, you must have been married for at least 10 years to qualify for benefits based on a former spouse's earnings.)

Some pension or military benefits that accrue to a divorced or widowed spouse might also go away if you remarry, depending on your age and other factors. The terms of these benefits are complicated, Barrett says, so it's essential to get help reading the fine print from a lawyer or another financial professional if you're thinking of remarriage.

Support payments. If you're divorced and receiving alimony from your former spouse, those payments will most likely end if you remarry. Often these payments end upon your ex's retirement, in any event.

Estate plans. By not remarrying you're spared the need to expend time, energy and money on legal documents to protect your assets and your heirs, says Barrett. If you're single and die without a will, your assets will simply pass to your children or closest relatives under your state's default inheritance rules.

Being able to skip the legal documents common to remarriages, however, cuts both ways. As an unmarried partner, you'd forgo your right to automatically inherit your partner's 401(k) or other assets.

Debt. Another potential plus to staying legally separate: You won't be on the hook for your partner's medical bills or other debts, the way a married spouse would be.

Legal protections. There is one major downside to staying single, Barrett says: “You don't have next-of-kin status, so you don't have the legal authority to make medical decisions for your partner, if needed, or access their medical information.”

That said, it's possible to remedy most marriage-related gaps through other legal means. Becoming your partner's health care proxy and having power of attorney can give you more control over what happens to them and their finances if they fall ill. And while there's less pressure on unmarried couples to do so, each partner could decide to name the other in their will and estate plan for the other person's long-term benefit.

“These steps aren't automatic, like they would be if you were married,” says Barrett. “But it's possible to make spouse-like arrangements without the need to get remarried at all.”

Make your wishes legally binding

As she and her husband went through their own prenup process, Fields found that it was important for them to put a human lens on these formal documents. “You want to make sure there's room for kindness and goodwill,” she says. “These are people you love.”

To that end, Fields updated her estate plan to ensure that her husband and stepson could continue to live in the home for a period after she dies; then the house would pass to her own children via a trust.

Barrett notes that this coordination of documents is an important step in the process. The intentions you set forth in a prenup have to be reflected in other key documents as well. “Otherwise the assets you earmark for your kids in the prenup won't be transferred to them,” she says.

The same is true for how your assets are titled, says Natalie Perry, an estate-planning lawyer also with Harrison LLP. “Many people don't realize that your designated beneficiaries on certain accounts, and how your assets are titled, can trump what's in your estate plan.”

In that vein, trusts are an important estate-planning tool that can help ensure that assets avoid probate and are bequeathed to your children or grandchildren, and not your surviving spouse, if that's your intention.

A common solution when you're trying to balance financial security for your spouse while also preserving your children's inheritance is a qualified terminable interest property, or QTIP. This type of trust can provide lifetime income for your surviving spouse — an important consideration for older couples when one spouse wants to make sure that after they die the surviving spouse lives comfortably — while preserving the underlying principal asset (such as a home or an investment account) for your children and grandchildren.

The benefit of this arrangement is that the surviving spouse cannot touch the principal asset; it passes intact to the next generation upon their death.

Unpacking your financial and emotional baggage

Putting the right legal and financial structures in place protects your future, but it's the here-and-now daily money decisions where tension tends to surface most for remarried couples, says Terry Gaspard, a therapist in Portsmouth, R.I., who specializes in divorce and remarriage and is author of the book Let's Talk About Money: Low-Conflict Conversations for Couples. “Assuming you have your own children, and so does your spouse, you have to decide who's going to pay for what,” she says. “How do you manage not only spending, but also saving for retirement and joint expenses like vacations?”

For most remarried couples, these aren't just financial questions but emotional ones, too. As Sarah Fields puts it, “You're not just dealing with a balance sheet that's from a bank, you're dealing with a balance sheet that's in your heart.”

Coming up with an effective cashflow system often means finding a way to address the emotional baggage that arises simultaneously, says Kolmetz — especially if money was a source of tension in a previous marriage for one or both partners. He says, “If you can have the cashflow conversation in a healthy, structured kind of way, that can support other, more difficult conversations.”

Start by anticipating certain trouble spots that are common to many second marriages. Spending habits, investing styles, and giving strategies to charities or family members are common breeding grounds for conflict, Kolmetz says.

It's not that couples in first marriages don't grapple with these issues too; they do. But in second marriages, spouses may be set in their ways, reluctant to be accountable to a new set of rules, or — particularly for older couples — feel there is less room for error, because there is simply less time to recover from financial setbacks.

In second marriages, one way to cope with these conflicts is to avoid anchoring on what one spouse said or did — or plans to do. Instead, put your spouse's offending behavior in the context of their complex financial history, Kolmetz says. “It's not that they are wrong, per se. Their choices reflect their relationship to money.”

Spending habits, investing styles, and giving strategies to charities or family members are common breeding grounds for conflict.

One spouse may resent the other's extravagant taste in travel, say, or how much money they give to one of their kids. The key is to coax out the underlying emotion (fear, worry, a desire to protect) so you can talk about it. You don't have to resolve the conflict 100%, Kolmetz says, but rather “create opportunities for uncomfortable conversations — and get help when you need it.”

When Fields remarried, she was well aware of the baggage she was carrying from her divorce. Although she and her ex had always merged their money during 20-plus years of marriage, “untangling things during our divorce was really unpleasant,” she says. “I knew I would never commingle my finances again.”

While she and her new husband agreed to keep their assets and expenses separate, “I think I had the delusion that it would always be neat and tidy,” she says. “But you can't keep a Berlin Wall between your finances.”

Over the past few years of their marriage, she says, they've largely kept their personal and kid-related expenses separate but have learned to improvise as needed. For a recent family trip, Fields paid for the plane tickets and accommodations. Her husband covered all the meals. “I didn't do the math to see if it added up, but it felt fair,” she says.

Similarly, when her husband needed a $3,000 dental procedure unexpectedly, she fronted him the money until his insurance kicked in. She says, “As we get older, this is going to happen more — more medical expenses, more procedures, more prescriptions. We have to figure it out.”

Set up a workable spending system

Unless you've decided to keep your money completely siloed, you'll need a reliable way to pay household bills and save for joint expenses. “You're combining two separate entities, to some degree,” Kolmetz says, “and you have to find a way to pay for gas and groceries, the mortgage and insurance.”

Many find that a “three pot” system works best, says Gaspard. That means a shared account for household expenses, paired with individual accounts for personal spending. This can be set up so that each spouse contributes proportionally based on their income, which can reduce resentment if one spouse earns substantially more than the other.

Even with a three-account system, most couples will still need to be transparent about common flashpoints, such as costs associated with kids (including adult children) and grandkids. “Competing priorities around money are an ongoing hazard with blended families,” Gaspard notes.

To work through financial sore spots, the standard advice for most couples is to have regular money check-ins with each other. But Kolmetz suggests upgrading that strategy for second marriages. He says, “Owing to how complex it can be to combine so many separate ingredients in one marriage, it makes sense to get regular help from a third party, such as a financial adviser or a counselor.”

Fields agrees that finding some way to reflect on what's working and what's not is essential when there are so many personal and financial dynamics overlapping. “One thing I've learned from being married twice is that you need to let go of the ups and downs, and remember you have each other's interests at heart,” she says. “That's what any successful marriage is about."

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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Say you've lived in a lovely community for decades. You own your home, you have a great circle of friends and family not too far away. Then you retire — and blow it all up.

You sell and give away everything. The house, the cars, the furniture, most of your clothes and the items collected over a lifetime. And hit the road in Peru. South Korea. Romania.

That's what Judy Hoctor, 61, and her husband, Kevin, 64, did in November 2022. They retired from their jobs in San Francisco. Kevin worked for Apple and Judy for a cybersecurity start-up. At first they thought they might work remotely, but that wasn't viable. Retiring in San Francisco and also traveling was just too expensive.

“Pretty quickly we realized that it would be easier to just leave everything behind, not have responsibilities, like a house and a mortgage,” Judy Hoctor says. And rather than decide what to sell and what to keep, “we just said it will be easier to leave everything behind and live out of a suitcase and a backpack. We were looking for a different way of living.”

Retirees choosing to live their retirement traveling in an RV or camper is not a new phenomenon. Full-time retirement on cruise ships has also become a popular option for some. And to be sure, for some older folks, like those portrayed in the 2020 movie Nomadland, living on the road, moving from RV site to RV site, searching for temporary jobs, is a life necessity, not a lifestyle choice.

It is difficult to find statistics on this group, but, anecdotally at least, more retirees like the Hoctors are opting for a DIY global nomadic life. That usually consists of moving every few weeks or months with no established home base.

These nomads learn from each other and from social media groups of like-minded souls about health plans, virtual mailboxes, choosing a hairdresser and joining meet-ups.

It's not for everybody. But those who have lasted on the road for years often embrace the lifestyle with evangelical zeal.

Choosing to go

For Debbie Campbell, 70, and her husband, Michael, 80, it was their daughter who initially came up with the idea of spending their retirement moving from Airbnb to Airbnb and country to country.

She lived in France. They had lived in Seattle for decades.

“We thought that was crazy. Had she looked in our checkbook?” Debbie Campbell says. But “the idea kind of just stuck. We were looking for another adventure, and Michael started doing some budgets and spreadsheets, and we thought, ‘We can't do this. We can't do this. And then wait a minute, yes, we can.'”

So they sold or gave away everything except for some items stashed in a storage space and took off in July 2013.

“We were boatless, carless, homeless and we just went,” Campbell says. “We returned every year for the holidays, just after Thanksgiving through the New Year, and then we took off again.” They ended their 12-year travel marathon in 2025 after visiting 95 countries and now rent a place in Seattle.

“When we left, we were not aware of others who were doing what we intended to do — no websites or books that laid out what being a ‘senior nomad' in 2013 looked like,” she says. “During the decade, as the media coverage increased, we were contacted at first by people with lots of ‘how to' questions. Then we started hearing from people who told us, ‘We did what you did.'”

The Campbells themselves are partially responsible for that media coverage. Debbie ran an advertising agency and Michael was a sports promoter, so both were savvy about the media. Debbie began a blog about their travels when they first started. When The New York Times wrote about the couple and their travels, they received more than 250 inquiries through that blog.

Now they have a website, SeniorNomads.com; their public Facebook page, Senior Nomads, has more than 10,000 followers and they have a private page with about 20,000 followers. At one point, they reached out to Airbnb about their travels and became informal ambassadors, even interning at their San Francisco headquarters for three months in exchange for housing. In 2016 they published a book, Your Keys, Our Home, about their experience staying in Airbnbs worldwide.

Most who choose the nomadic life have always loved traveling, but there's a point that tips them from part-time to full-time travelers. For Heidi Sickles, 65, it was after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her last year working as a human resource manager.

The illness “opened my eyes — time is short,” Sickles says. “And then the kids were out, and it just seemed like the right time to sell the house and start traveling.”

She and her husband Kevin, 65, sold their home in Mamaroneck, N.Y. in 2024 and began their travels.

It was the pandemic that spurred the Hoctors to rethink their priorities. “It was a feeling this is not how we want to spend our life,” Judy says. “The more we worked, the more our jobs wanted us to work.”

Is a nomadic retirement for you?

It takes a certain type of person to be on the move, constantly dealing with new cultures and languages, with the inevitable mishaps — because there will be missed trains, visa mix-ups and the occasional dud Airbnb where nothing works.

There was the time Michael Campbell was pickpocketed in Saigon. And the next day the couple accidentally left their backpacks — including Debbie's phone — in a cab. They managed to track it using the Find my Phone app and happily recovered the items.

And when traveling on a tight budget, every mistake can feel costly. The Hoctors accidentally double-booked flights from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro. They caught the problem within 24 hours, but the carrier refused to refund the $522.

The ideal nomad retiree is someone who is both able to plan and be flexible, who is eager for new experiences and meeting different people, but can also enjoy their own company for stretches of time.

“You need to take an introspective look to see who you are and what will work for you and what will not work for you,” says Manisha Santosh Parulekar, a doctor of geriatric medicine. “You are exposed to various languages. You’re exposed to new people, cultures. So that is stimulating for your brain and mind. And you are active when you’re traveling, so it is good for your physical health as well. But if you have not planned well, and if you don’t travel in a coordinated format, things can get complicated, and it can actually add more stress.”

One thing it doesn’t take, experienced nomads say, is a lot of money.

The Hoctors, for example, set a budget of $5,000 a month; on one video on their YouTube channel, they break down their 2024 costs and estimate they spent about $63,000. Like the Campbells, they have monetized their travels to some degree; besides the YouTube channel, they have a website, FindingGinaMarie.com.

The income from their video views, affiliate links and membership fees came to around $36,000 last year, Hoctor says.

The Campbells don’t make their spending public but say their goal was to average about $90 a night for lodging. Travel days are expensive, Campbell says. Like many others, they settle down in one place for several months each year — for them, it’s winter in Mexico.

One way to cut out the cost of accommodation: house-sit or pet-sit. Trusted Housesitters is one popular global site where people exchange pet-sitting for housing. Annual membership for pet-sitters starts at $129.

For many, the joy of traveling is not to replicate the lifestyle they had at home but rather to shed it.

That was the case for Sandra Rosenau, 53, and her husband Paul Ryken, 60, of Sydney, Australia. Tired of their corporate lives and looking for a change, they winnowed down all their possessions to a safety deposit box and left Sydney in 2016 with one backpack each. They spend about $40,000 annually and write about living a simple lifestyle on the road on their website MinimalistJourneys.com.

Healthcare when you global nomad

Healthcare is one overarching concern for those traveling in their later years. Regular Medicare can’t be used overseas; some Medicare Advantage plans will cover treatment — typically only emergencies — in foreign countries.

One option is to purchase global health insurance, which is different from travel insurance. The best known companies for such insurance include Allianz, AXA, Cigna and IMG; some plans also cover pre-existing and chronic illness.

The Hoctors chose a Cigna Global Health mid-level plan. It cost $5,781 annually for both of them for $1 million coverage outside the U.S. and includes a $3,000 deductible.

They most likely will also sign up for Medicare when they reach 65, to avoid late penalties if they don’t — even though they don’t plan to settle back in the U.S.

Planning ahead is key to a healthy experience, Parulekar, the doctor, says: “Are you on top of your prevention and screening? Are you up to date with all your vaccinations?” she says. Plan in a systematic and timely manner, so that when you do get [to your destination], you are able to enjoy the true potential of that place, rather than then getting sick.”

That said, many nomads rave about the healthcare they receive locally.

“Good healthcare exists everywhere, not just in the U.S., and it’s cheaper,” Hoctor says. “Kevin had a hernia repair surgery when we were in Serbia, and we’ve also had medical health checkups in Thailand, glasses in Japan, dental appointments everywhere. We’ve felt very comfortable and gotten excellent care at meaningfully cheaper prices than the U.S.”

Sickles says she schedules her doctors’ appointments in New York in one-or-two-day blocks when returning to the area but has found medical care over seas for relatively minor problems to be exemplary. And since Medicare doesn’t cover dental care, the Sickles now have all their dental work done in Mexico, where they go annually for some longer-term stays.

“We’ve found the dentists in Mexico to be first rate, using modern techniques and equipment and the cost is about one-fourth to one-fifth of what we typically paid in the States,” she says.

Taxes and other logistics

Nomads are still required to pay federal taxes on Social Security, investments and other income and state taxes depending on the state they live in.

Some, like the Sickles, who don’t own property and aren’t working, chose to “move” to a state that doesn’t charge income tax and declare that as their tax domicile — in their case South Dakota. They were required to show proof that they spent one night in the state before they could apply for their drivers’ licenses and register their cars.

And how about the rare but important pieces of real mail? One way is through a virtual mailbox, which is a digital mail service with a real street address. Numerous companies offer services such as forwarding or storing hard copies of mail, shredding, digitally scanning the outside of all mail for the traveler to see it online and then the contents if requested. The cost is typically $120-$200 annually, sometimes with additional fees.

The downsides of a nomad retirement

While the Instagram photos and travelogues make the nomad life look like non-stop fun — and even the hiccups become humorous anecdotes — the lifestyle requires trade-offs. For Sickles it’s missing everything from a monthly book group to weekend getaways with the tight group of friends she developed over 31 years in Mamaroneck.

“That’s probably the hardest,” she says. One way they’ve addressed that is to stay for six weeks every year in the same area of Mexico and invite friends to cycle in and out. Her mother-in-law also joins them there.

One potential nomad asked in a Reddit forum about the difficulties of everyday life, especially if traveling solo.

“I think the main challenge aside from logistics is going to be boredom,” says one respondent, who also runs a website, bonusnachos.com, on the topic. “Hanging out in foreign cities where you don’t speak the language makes it hard to make friends. You really need to figure out how you’re going to entertain yourself.”

For some, the people they meet on the road — other nomads or locals — become a community of its own. And technology makes it fairly easy to stay in touch with family and friends. But the pull remains.

For the Campbells, one of the tradeoffs of living a 12-year-long adventure was being away from their six grandchildren for long periods of time — although the three that live in France they saw more frequently than they would have had they stayed in Seattle.

“That was really hard, because we were gone during a chunk of their growing up,” Campbell says. One of the reasons they decided to end their wandering life— besides the feeling that they had essentially done all they wanted to do—was to be close to their four-year-old grandson, the youngest.

“He’s kind of the pin in the map for me right now,” she says. But the couple has no regrets. “We knew that by traveling, we were giving up some time with grandchildren while they were growing up, but we felt like we were role models for our adult children and for our grandchildren,” Michael Campbell says. “That in retirement, one doesn’t just have to sit in a rocking chair on their porch.”

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that's right on the money.

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Locations in five countries in Europe are offering financial incentives to new residents meeting specific qualifications, according to a report from InternationalLiving.com. The countries — including Italy, Spain, Greece, Ireland and Portugal — have available grants, subsidized housing or long-term tax incentives that can meaningfully reduce the cost of relocating abroad when paired with the right visa.

“For retirees, these incentives can meaningfully reduce the upfront cost of starting a new life overseas,” says Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living. “Whether it's a tax break in Italy or Greece, a housing refurbishment grant in Ireland, or relocation support in Portugal, these programs can help stretch retirement savings further.”

But, as the report makes clear: Make sure you understand the details before moving. Because there's always a catch.

Report author Ted Baumann says, “One of the most important details to consider is that in many cases, it's not actually the country offering an incentive — it's a small town or a region of a country. And while the incentive may suit you well, keep in mind you'd still need to qualify for residency with that country's federal government.”

1. Italy

Italy is known for €1 home schemes. Usually located in rural or shrinking towns, these schemes typically offer dilapidated houses for as low as €1 if the buyer fixes them up within a fixed timeframe and puts down a deposit to guarantee the work is completed. Some towns also offer rent or energy subsidies to newcomers. “If you can combine this with a pathway to residency and you don't mind living in a rural area, this can be a great option,” Baumann says.

Some regions offer larger incentives: Trentino has granted up to €100,000 toward the purchase and renovation of a home, provided the recipient lives in it. The town of Radicondoli, south of Florence, offers grants and subsidies with a requirement that new residents live there for at least 10 years.

Italy's most significant nationwide incentive is tax-based. “If you settle in specific southern municipalities and regions, Italy will give you a 7% flat tax concession that lasts 10 years,” Baumann says. With top marginal tax rates exceeding 40%, he notes, “this is a hefty incentive.”

Read more: Retire in Italy for Culture and Beauty & Want to Move to Italy? What to Consider Financially

2. Spain

Spain offers financial incentives through rural municipalities. These can include cash grants, free or discounted land, and other benefits — but they come with strings attached.

“You need to be listed on the municipal register as a resident and taxpayer and promise to make it your main home for a minimum period,” Baumann explains.

Examples include the town of Ponga in Asturias in Spain's northwest, which offers about €3,000 to new residents, and the Extremadura region in the central-west, next to Portugal, which provides relocating digital nomads with grants of up to €15,000.

Spain's most powerful incentive is also tax-related. Baumann points to “Beckham's Law,” a special expat tax strategy that offers a flat rate on certain employment income, along with exemptions on some foreign-source income.

Read more: Retire in Spain for Rich Culture, Cuisine and Coastal Bliss

3. Ireland

Ireland's incentive programs are tied to housing restoration rather than relocation cash. The national government offers grants of up to €70,000 to refurbish vacant or derelict houses. On offshore islands, that amount can rise to €84,000.

“The catch is that you must refurbish it to live in as your principal residence or make it available to rent,” Baumann says. “And you must own it in your own name.”

As with similar programs elsewhere, he adds, “This isn't cash for your own pocket; it's money that must be used to restore property.”

Read more: Retire in Ireland for Lush, Green Landscapes and Bustling Cities

4. Greece

Some small islands have offered housing, land and monthly stipends to attract residents and essential workers. “The most famous is Antikythera, which will give you a house and a plot of land as well as €500 per month for up to five years,” Baumann says.

Greece also offers a significant tax incentive: “a 7% flat tax rate for up to 15 years for new residents,” Baumann says, calling it a major draw given Greece's high marginal tax rates.

Read more: Retire in Greece for Relaxed Living With a Cinematic Backdrop & Can You Afford Retirement in Greece? 3 Tax Benefits Make It Possible

5. Portugal

Under the government-backed Emprego Interior Mais program, eligible applicants can receive a grant of up to €6,000 to help cover moving and other costs associated with relocating to the countryside. Households may also qualify for an additional 20% per dependent who joins the move.

“If you're a foreigner, you first need to have residency, which in this case would mean the D8 digital nomad visa — having a job is a prerequisite for the relocation grant,” says Baumann. “The D8 requires an income of around €3,500 a month.”

Read more: Where to Retire: Living in Portugal as a US Retiree & Want to Move to Portugal? What to Consider Financially

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that's right on the money.

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There is more great music being made today than ever before. Yes, we said it. Whatever you may consider the “golden age” — the '60s, the '70s, the '80s, the Jazz Age, the Baroque period, you name it — there is simply a greater quantity of top-flight creativity coming from every continent, every culture, every style, every genre today.

Sorting through it? Well, that's the problem. You can ask your kids, or ask your grandkids, or let the algorithms do their stuff. But let us give you a hand with our annual “Grandparents' Guide,” here with three tips on rising stars from across genres to keep you ahead of the curve and in the conversation, not to mention immersed in some great music.

If you liked Amy Winehouse… try Raye

Looking for new music that you didn't know you needed? Here's This Music May Contain Hope, the new album by London-born singer Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye. It's right there in the title.

It's the message carried in Raye's recent rocket to international stardom, fueled by her heady mix of big-band extravaganzas (“Where Is My Husband”) and clubby pop (“Escapism”), all wrapped in a personal story that's wholesome and bold.

Think Amy Winehouse (without the self-destructive darkness) or Lady Gaga (without the meat suit), though there's a lineage stretching back to, oh, Julie London, showcased in a dazzling “Cry Me a River” that Raye performed at the British Fashion Awards show in December at Royal Albert Hall.

Coming from a musical family, Raye started releasing her own recordings in her teens, even collaborating with Charli XCX and other current “name” artists. But it was her 2023 debut album, My 21st Century Blues, when she was 24, that launched her rise to the top, winning British Album of the Year in the 2024 Brit Awards and gaining a Mercury Prize nomination.

Just this year, the album's song, “Ice Cream Man,” addressing the issues of sexual violence, was named the Recording Academy's Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change. That focus on matters of import and substance continues on the new album (again, see title), with ambitiously varied music to match.

She also shows off her Broadway-ready theatrical flair and personality. Starting with a short, dramatically spoken prelude, “Girl Under a Gray Cloud,” the album finds her running through life's storms with determination (“I Will Overcome”) and wit (the snarky “Beware… The South London Lover Boy,” the bopping “I Hate the Way I Look Today”), some cool guests (Al Green, yes that Al Green, on “Goodbye Henry,” film composer Hans Zimmer on “Click Clack Symphony”).

In the end she finds “Joy” (featuring two of her sisters) and sets out for “Happier Times Ahead,” where Hope, indeed, blooms. See? Just what you needed.

If you liked Radiohead… try Geese

The quintet's appearance in January on Saturday Night Live stirred a good deal of debate. Is this the new great hope for creative art-rock? Or too pretentious and precious? Formed in high school in Brooklyn, Geese centers on singer Cameron Winters' detached cool/utter anguish dichotomy and guitarist Emily Green's brittle sting in songs of shifting textures and tones, though discomforting is pretty much the default setting.

“Trinidad,” the opening song on last year's Getting Killed album (and one of the two played on SNL), flips from stark dread to sheer terror in an instant — “There's a bomb in my car,” Winter screams.

The churning “100 Horses” (“all people must go dancing, there is only dance music in the time of war”) has Jim Morrison/Patti Smith echoes in the imagery and in Winter's tone. “Half Real” has some U2 in its recipe, though it's hard to imagine Bono wishing for a lobotomy and declaring “I have no more thinking to do.” And then in “Au Pays du Cocaine,” Winter pleads, “You can change … you can be free … just come home, please!”

Radiohead, which also blends coolness and mania, is perhaps the most ready comparison, though through them we can look back to some classic progressive rock a la King Crimson, some Genesis/Peter Gabriel, even Led Zeppelin (though something of a stretch to say they “sound” like those). In concert they've shown their reach with covers of everything from the Beatles to Talking Heads to Television to Leonard Cohen.

And an explosive, triumphant Coachella appearance in April demonstrated that Geese will certainly be among the most talked-about rock bands of the coming years. (But nota bene: If you want to seem up with things, don't commit the fowl of confusing Geese with the jam band Goose.)

If you liked Miles Davis… try Dave Adewumi

The Flame Beneath the Silence, the New York-based trumpeter Dave Adewumi's debut album, took a while coming, with the pandemic stalling a lot of his plans. But it's a stunner, bristling with talent and imagination, and benefiting from the growth and experience he's had playing with some of jazz's top creative figures.

Three of them accompany him here on this vibrant in-concert recording: vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Marcus Gilmore, an all-star ensemble of spectacular musicians complementing and enhancing Adewumi's sparkling playing.

Straddling post-bebop exploration and lyrical classicism, this album announces Adewumi as one to watch in the very rich generation of newer jazz artists — sax players Immanuel Wilkins, Melissa Aldana, Lakecia Benjamin and vocalist Samara Joy among them — showing the form to be vibrant and thriving. He's also in demand as a sideman himself, including a spot in guitarist Mary Halvorson's bracing quartet Canis Major.

The title piece of Adewumi's album introduces his mastery of tone, sometimes pure and resonant, sometimes crisp, sometimes a guttural growl, giving a conversational sense to his lines as he banters with the other musicians. “Is” builds on a Morse-like pulse from Ross' before taking on an Iberian mode, evoking Miles Davis' “Flamenco Sketches,” though overall this ensemble calls to mind Davis' classic '60s groups, which transformed the language of jazz with such forward-looking works as “Seven Steps to Heaven” and “Filles de Kilimanjaro.” And in some places Adewumi luxuriates in long, drawn-out notes, a Davis trademark.

But he's no Miles clone. There's a distinctiveness to his approach and composition, sometimes taking on a chamber-music structure, as in “Abandon” and the brief, impressionistic “Pensive,” which with Ross' presence might bring some to think of the Modern Jazz Quartet or vibes great Bobby Hutcherson.

It's hardly all serious, though. You can hear how much fun he and his mates are having. And there's the longest piece on the album, a 10-minute climb from primordial improvisation to galactic frenzy in which everyone shines, everyone grabs the moment. The title? “If I Need to Do This Again I'm Going to Throw a Fit.” Kinda want to take him up on that dare.

You can find a playlist based on this article here.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that's right on the money.

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Oh, Italy. I miss you! It's been almost three years since our family vacation there. Like many people, I was awed by the beauty and simple details that make life there so remarkable: the culture, food, music and style. I would love to return soon, but with airfare so expensive and inflation in Italy spiking, it's just not happening. I may even have to wait a few years until I'm retired to go back for the long soak in Italian culture I crave.

Honestly, I'd like to be fluent in Italian for my next trip, dressed as stylishly as any Milanese woman as I sample tiramisu in a piazza. While that may be a high bar, I have found very affordable — even free — ways to enjoy Italian food and culture, as well as tricks for practicing the language, all without leaving home. These tips will also make my next venture there more fun.

Whether you've already been to Italy or are just dreaming about it, here are my tricks for feeling like you're living la bella vita at home.

Start the day with cappuccino

Yes, you could go out and spend a fortune on a fancy espresso machine, with all of its breakable parts and hulking mass on your counter. Or, you could brew good, strong espresso using your current method and top it with foamy milk. I've had the Aerolatte Handheld Milk Frother ($29.95 at Williams Sonoma) for years. It's simple, battery-operated and works like a charm.

Treat yourself to some real Italian ingredients

Most European goods have been subject to a 10% or 15% tariff during President Donald Trump's second term, which has, in turn, increased prices for some Italian imports. Still, you can find good shelf-stable products online and likely many at your local grocery store. If you have access to a farmer's market, buying fresh produce in season is the best first step to cooking Italian.

The basis for most Italian cooking is cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil (often called EVOO). You may have heard about rampant olive oil fraud a few years ago, when manufacturers blended old oil with fresh, or lied about its origin. Some of these issues have improved, but you can avoid this trap by buying oil certified in North America or the EU under PDO/PGI designations. In general, look for oil sold in a dark glass bottle, with a harvest date no more than two years old and a single country of origin.

Wirecutter's taste test of different olive oils can help you learn how to sample oil (spoiler alert: The test found Whole Foods 365 California Small Batch olive oil to be the tastiest). Costco also has a good selection of affordable Italian EVOOs.

If you're serious about olive oil, try getting to know the different kinds of olives, just as you would pay attention to the variety of grapes that make up fine wine.

For a deep dive into the culinary traditions of different regions, I highly recommend the TV series, Tucci in Italy. The veteran actor and gourmand devotes each episode to a different ingredient, dish or food tradition.

For a deep dive into Italian wines and food zones, you can plan to visit farms via agriturismo on your next trip.

Don't forget the gelato!

Adherents to the Mediterranean Diet will be delighted to know that gelato can be an occasional treat. The true Italian version is healthier than ice cream, with less fat and fewer calories, and is often made with local fruit and nuts for flavor. Just don't top it with candy bars.

I'm lucky enough to live in a town with multiple gelato shops. If your area is sadly without them, you could try all-natural versions from the grocery store. A good option is Gelato Boy, with its emphasis on fresh ingredients and wide availability.

Listen to some Italian opera

I prefer little bites of opera as opposed to an almost four-hour-long production of The Marriage of Figaro. Italy understands this sentiment and has organized frequent hour-long "greatest hits" performances in historic churches and other venues throughout the country. Even my uninitiated husband and kids loved these performances, and I highly recommend them for your next trip.

Your kitchen may not be a 16th-century church, but you can still enjoy listening to opera while cooking a fabulous Italian dinner. Put on an apron, uncork some wine and experiment with Spotify or YouTube playlists for Italian opera classics, and you'll enjoy some of the greats: Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Andrea Bocelli, Jessye Norman and more.

Brush up on your Italian — or start learning from scratch

There are so many fun ways to start learning or improving your Italian. As someone who taught college-level Spanish, I have a leg up in terms of vocabulary and comprehension, but Italian is different enough that I knew I needed to start as a complete newbie.

If learning a foreign language just isn't your thing, some generations of Apple AirPods offer a translation feature. That means you can ask your iPhone to "listen" to an Italian speaker and hear spontaneous translation in English.

Apps

For beginners, there are gamified apps that ask you to speak, type and listen in a foreign language. I can attest to how addictive Duolingo can be; I have a 1,200+ day "streak," meaning I have played the app pretty faithfully every day for the past three years. Duolingo offers a free Italian course and more elaborate paid courses, called Super (about $13/month) and Max (about $30/month). I have tried both and recommend the Super level. The AI functions in Max are clunky and not worth the price, in my opinion. The free version is a great way to sample the app, but frustrating if you intend to stick with it.

Podcasts

I also think that listening to podcasts while you're taking a walk, cooking or doing chores is a fabulous way to get a language in your head. Postcards from Italy is a charming conversational podcast that breaks down vocabulary, phrases and Italian traditions. It is a free podcast, but you can elect to pay for additional access.

TV and Film

Who says learning a language has to be dry? Check out Italian shows on Netflix, like the dramedy "My Family," which is likened to "This Is Us." Set the language to Italian and add English subtitles if needed. Or on Amazon Prime, watch "My Brilliant Friend." Most streaming services will carry classic Italian films such as La Dolce Vita. And if you need a reason to rewatch Life is Beautiful, remember the delight of Roberto Benigni accepting the Best Foreign Language Film award from Sophia Loren at the 1999 Oscars. Other titles to explore: Il Postino, Cinema Paradiso (in Italian and Sicilian) and of course, almost anything by Fellini.

Embrace Italian style

You don't have to go to Milan Fashion Week to look fabulous. One of the best ways to embrace the style is to wear vintage scarves and take time to learn how to tie them. In general, Italian style for both men and women centers on classic neutrals, smart layering and accessories galore.

Oh, the tiramisu ... and Airbnb Experiences

If you have Italian relatives who will open their home and give you a sense of how regular folks live, consider yourself lucky. The rest of us have to make do with friends of friends or even Airbnb. Yes, we all have a bit of a love-hate relationship with vacation home rental companies like Vrbo and Airbnb; they drive up real estate prices for locals, but they also provide (often) more affordable accommodations for families.

One way to support the local economy and get a more authentic meal is to book an Airbnb Experience. Some friends of ours had raved about the funky tours or excellent meals they had abroad, so we decided to give it a try. We booked a lunch with a charming Italian couple in Rome. Over a five-course meal in their apartment, we learned that they enjoyed playing music — as do we. Before we knew it, they brought out two guitars, a mandolin, and a violin, and we had a lovely time eating tiramisu and playing music together. Priceless.

While it's far better to be in Italy for this kind of experience, Airbnb does offer pasta-making or similar experiences in the U.S. In some cases, a chef will come to your home to prepare an Italian meal.

If you can't hire a "nonna" (Italian grandmother) to come cook for you, try venturing to a "Little Italy" if there's one near you. While many are on the East Coast, you'll still find great Italian (or Italian-American) food in places like Cleveland, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and of course, Chicago.

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Deciding when to collect Social Security — whether early, at full retirement age or age 70 — is a high-stakes decision. Your choice has a lasting impact on your retirement cash flow, your lifestyle and your family's financial security.

You have up to a year to change your mind, but after that, your decision is essentially etched in stone for life. It doesn't help that the rules and combinations surrounding Social Security can get complicated; at last check, there are hundreds of different claiming paths you can employ.

"Social Security comes up a lot for my clients," says Cindy Wilson, a senior wealth adviser at HB Wealth. "There is never a standard answer since your life situation, assets saved and goals are all different."

While you can start collecting benefits early at age 62, doing so means an up to 30% reduction in lifetime benefits. If you were born in 1960 or later, you must wait until age 67 to hit your full retirement age (FRA) and receive your full amount. For every year you delay until age 70, your benefit grows by an extra 8%.

That timing significantly impacts your monthly check. For example, take the 2026 average Social Security benefit of $2,071 for someone with a full retirement age of 67. If you claim at 62, you'd receive $1,450 a month. Wait until your full retirement age, and that increases to $2,071. Hold out until 70, and the check jumps to $2,568 a month.

But there is more to this decision than just the monthly amount. Your longevity, cashflow needs and the impact on your family all come into play. That's why it's vital to weigh every factor before committing.

With that in mind, here are three questions to ask yourself before deciding when to begin collecting Social Security.

1. Does longevity run in my family?

Nobody knows for sure how long they'll live, but when it comes to deciding when to begin collecting Social Security benefits, it's a big factor to consider.

Denny Artache, president and CEO of Artache Financial Group, says whether longevity runs in your family is one of the first questions you need to ask yourself. If you begin collecting benefits at 62 and live to 90, you may have benefited from a bigger monthly payout.

But if you wait until your full retirement age of 67 and die a year later, you'll never reach your break-even point. That occurs when the cumulative amount of the higher monthly checks you receive by waiting finally exceeds the total amount you would have collected by starting early.

"I have some people who come to my workshops and say, 'What if I die in a year or two?' If that is your mindset, then go ahead and take it (early)," says Artache. "But if you do live into your 80s and possibly 90s, it could mean a difference of six figures in benefits you are collecting."

That's why longevity is so important. If your family has a history of living long, you might want to consider delaying until at least your full retirement age or even later. If your family history points toward a shorter lifespan and/or your health is failing or compromised, you might want to begin collecting earlier.

While there's no hard and fast rule to determine if there's longevity in your family, you can gauge it in part by looking at your ancestral lifespan, or the age at which multiple family members lived. Having a great aunt who lived to 95 is great, but having multiple relatives who lived past 90 is a stronger indicator of longevity.

The age at which family members fell ill, your inherited trends in blood pressure and cholesterol, and their specific lifestyles can all provide clues about your own health trajectory. However, keep in mind that genetics doesn't paint the whole picture — your daily habits have a direct impact on your longevity.

2. Do I need the money now, or can I wait?

Cashflow is a big consideration in retirement. When the paychecks stop, unless you have a pension, you have to rely on your savings and your Social Security to get by for what could be 30 years of retirement.

That's why Isabel Barrow, executive director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines, says the next question you need to ask yourself is: Do you need the money right away, or can you wait?

"If you don't have enough money to cover your expenses and you have to use Social Security to pay for Medicare or pay for food," then taking it earlier is more important than waiting for a bigger payout, she says.

But if you can hold off and tap other sources without getting into debt or selling investments in a down market, it might be more advantageous.

Keep in mind that Social Security has a cost-of-living adjustment, which isn't true of many pensions and investments. That's why Artache says it might be better, depending on your retirement savings and longevity picture, to delay Social Security and live off the investments first.

Some people who don't need the money will elect to take Social Security as soon as possible out of fear that it will run out of money. They don't care if it means a smaller payout; they just want their fair share.

While it's true that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays Social Security benefits, is projected to run out of money in the first quarter of 2032, it won't go bankrupt. If nothing is done by then, benefits would be cut by 23%, and beneficiaries would receive 77% of their benefits.

3. What impact will my claiming decision have on family members?

If you're married, when to collect Social Security benefits isn't an individual decision. The timing will impact how much your spouse receives when you pass.

If you wait until at least your full retirement age, that guarantees your spouse will have a bigger check than if you take it before that. That's why the third question to ask yourself is: What impact will my claiming strategy have on family members?

Wilson says it's common for the spouse with the bigger check to delay collecting Social Security benefits, while the other spouse begins receiving payments. That ensures a bigger benefit for the surviving spouse.

Another consideration, says Wilson, is the impact collecting will have on your legacy. If you delay and must spend more of your assets while you wait for a bigger check, are you OK with depleting your retirement savings and reducing the amount that gets passed on to heirs?

"For some people, it's not worth delaying. They want to leave a bigger pot for their family," she says.

Whether or not you'll work in retirement is yet another factor. If you are under your full retirement age and earn more than $24,480 in 2026, the Social Security Administration will temporarily withhold $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit.

Additionally, you must consider the tax bite. If your combined income, including Social Security, exceeds certain thresholds, up to 85% of your benefits might be subject to federal income tax.

Working while collecting benefits can also potentially trigger higher Medicare premiums (IRMAA) if your total income crosses specific levels. All this will have an impact on your family.

Get help if you're unsure

Deciding when to claim can be complicated, which is why Barrow says to seek help from a financial adviser or the Social Security Administration before making a final decision. There are also online calculators, tools and software that can help with the decision.

You can contact a Social Security office to get answers to your questions, whether in person or on the phone. Keep in mind that while staff can explain the rules and provide your specific benefit numbers, they're prohibited from telling you when you should claim. Ultimately, that decision is yours to make.

"It can be really costly to make a mistake because once you decide and start taking Social Security, that decision in many cases is irreversible," says Barrow. "Usually, people decide without all the information. Do not go this alone."

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early, 3 Questions to Ensure Your Retirement Nest Egg Is Inflation-Proof and 3 Questions to Ask Before Unretiring.

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When it comes to imparting retirement advice, Dave Ramsey has been at it for more than three decades. The retirement expert, author and podcaster has helped millions of people navigate the complexities of retirement saving and preparing.

While not everyone agrees with the advice Ramsey has to offer — from saving 15% of your annual salary to not relying on Social Security only in retirement — most can agree that Ramsey is influential in the world of personal finance.

As you approach your golden years or if you're already in them, filtering his high-energy principles into actionable strategies can be the difference between a stressful retirement and a secure one. With that in mind, here are nine pieces of Dave Ramsey advice that retirees might want to live by.

Nine pieces of Dave Ramsey advice that can help guide retirement

1. "Always think of this payout [Social Security] as icing on the cake, not the cake itself."
Ramsey Solutions blog, June 11, 2024

Social Security is a crucial source of income, and for many retirees, it's often the only one. Unfortunately, it might not be enough.

For 2026, the average monthly Social Security check is $2,081.16. If that's your sole source of income, you might have to downgrade your lifestyle or get a part-time job to make it work.

Ramsey suggests people save about 15% of their income each year for retirement, instead of assuming Social Security will be enough. Remember, any amount you can save for retirement is better than nothing.

2. "Inflation comes and goes, so do returns. … What you don't want to do is draw out so much that you end up running out of money before your life is over."
Ramsey Everyday Millionaires, podcast May 15, 2025

When creating a retirement withdrawal plan, inflation has to be taken into account. It can impact your daily expenses and cannot be ignored. The same can be said of market returns. They can ebb and flow, creating short-term volatility.

The trick during these times is to keep withdrawals steady and on plan. You can run out of money in retirement if you withdraw too much, warns Ramsey. If you withdraw money during a downturn in the markets, you're more likely to sell a holding for a lower amount.

The right withdrawal strategy will be different for everyone, but common ones include the 4% rule, the bucket approach and the pay yourself strategy.

3. "Retirement planning isn’t an 'old people' thing. It’s a smart people thing. And it’s never too early to start planning for your retirement future."
Dave Ramsey blog post, January 6, 2026

It's never too early or too late to start planning and saving for retirement. Young people might think it's something they can worry about later, while older adults might assume it's too late to make a dent.

Both assumptions are wrong — anyone can plan for retirement, and the benefits can be substantial. Even a little bit saved can grow significantly, thanks to market returns and compounding.

If you don't want to hire a financial adviser to create a retirement plan, there are plenty of online calculators, software and tools to help you build your own.

4. "No one leaves a legacy by accident. You must live life on purpose and come up with a plan to protect your legacy and make sure the baton is passed to the next generation."
Ramsey Solutions blog post, May 8, 2025

If legacy is at the top of your priority list, this one is for you. With these words, Ramsey is reminding us that you must work hard and plan hard to build a legacy you can pass on to the next generation.

That means not only setting financial goals and boundaries and living within them, but also creating an estate plan to protect them.

It might be the last thing you want to do, but creating a will, trusts and healthcare directives ensures your legacy can carry on. Find a comprehensive guide to estate planning here.

5. "At most any age at any income, 15% is a good, healthy amount (to save) ... but it's not a magic number."
The Ramsey Show, March 11, 2022

The sooner you start saving for retirement, the bigger the nest egg you'll amass. Whether you have years left in the workforce or are thinking of retiring soon, saving for it can have a big impact on your retirement lifestyle.

Ramsey thinks people should save around 15% of their annual income for retirement, but cautions it's not a "magic number."

You might need more or less depending on your age and goals. Contributing that much to a 401(k) or IRA might not be possible for some individuals. In that case, aim for at least the company match, if it's offered.

Ramsey says the key to making sure you have enough saved is to create a budget that you can realistically stick to. It gives you permission to spend, and it also brings you peace of mind.

6. "The trick to knowing when to take Social Security is knowing when you are going to die. Once you have that figured out, then you can calculate it precisely."
Ramsey Everyday Millionaires podcast, May 15, 2009

Nobody knows when they'll die, which makes deciding when to claim Social Security so scary. Do it too early and live to 90, and you could run out of money. Take it so late that you don't have much time to enjoy it while you're still healthy, and you'll regret waiting.

While there isn't a precise way to decide when to claim Social Security benefits, there are some things to consider:

• If you take it before your full retirement age (67 for people born in 1960 and beyond), you'll receive up to a 30% reduction in your lifetime benefits.
• If you wait until your full retirement age, you'll receive your full benefits.
• Every year you wait after your full retirement age (up until age 70), you'll receive an 8% increase.

7. "Retirement is not an age; it’s a financial number."
Ramsey Solutions blog April 17, 2025

It's hard to call it quits if you won't be able to live comfortably in retirement, which is why Ramsey calls it a "financial number." You might want to retire at 62, 65 or even 70, but if you don't have enough money, you can't. Your retirement isn't dictated by age; it's dictated by your bank account.

To put yourself in a good retirement position, Ramsey is a fan of investing and paying off your mortgage. If you invest your savings, you have the opportunity to see them grow and compound. If you pay off your mortgage, it's a large expense you're eliminating in retirement, he says.

Still, critics argue that if you have a low mortgage rate, it's better to invest that money instead of paying it off.

8. “People underestimate how long they’ll live and how much money they’ll need…They retire broke or way too early. It's like jumping out of a plane without checking your parachute.”
Interview with Kiplinger, October 21, 2025

Retirement can last 30 years, and who knows how much longer as advances in medicine and technology continue undeterred. That means you'll need a lot of money to live comfortably in retirement. Whether you amass a small fortune or a little nest egg, determining how much you'll need is the key to success.

Do that by coming up with a realistic number that takes into account every expense, including needs and wants. Once you know how much you'll need, you can plan.

It could mean increasing your savings rate, finding ways to cut expenses or simply staying the course. That number is your parachute, so make sure you calculate it correctly.

9. "The emergency fund is not about making money, it's insurance to keep you from cashing out or going into debt for stuff."
The Ramsey Show, Feb. 11, 2016

Whether you are nearing or are in retirement, you should have an emergency fund that covers three to six months of expenses.

For pre-retirees, that emergency fund will prevent you from taking on debt close to retirement. For retirees, it prevents them from withdrawing money from their retirement account at an inopportune time.

The last thing Ramsey wants them to do with their emergency fund is worry about making money off of it. The focus of the emergency fund shouldn't be on earning a return but on having money easily accessible in case of an emergency.

Plan, plan and more planning

Retirement doesn't have to be a giant question mark. If you take a page out of Ramsey's playbook — saving for retirement and mapping out the journey step-by-step — you can enable a more confident future.

Whether you're deciding when to collect Social Security benefits or thinking about your legacy, following Ramsey's advice can help you retire with peace of mind.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series featuring the best retirement quotes and wisdom from top financial experts, leaders, and public figures. Other articles feature Warren Buffett, Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. Seuss, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Vince Lombardi, Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, George Carlin, and Billy Joel.

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America's snowbirds are refusing to let inflation ground their flight. To keep their calendars filled with sunny, warm days year-round, retirees are finding creative ways to offset the rising costs of maintaining two homes.

But it isn’t easy, and I should know. Until recently, my wife and I juggled two residences: one in Puerto Rico in the winter/spring months and one in Pennsylvania in the summer/autumn months. Just for starters, keeping track of bills, doctor appointments, and travel budgets proved tough, but it got easier thanks to more precise financial planning. We finally bought a property on the east coast of Puerto Rico and now spend more time in the area, but we learned, often the hard way, about the pros and cons of seasonal living.

I know we’re not alone.

“Seasonality is becoming a key driver in budgeting, as costs are starting to break out regionally,” said David Kang, founder and taxation advisor at San Francisco-based Keeper Tax. “The cost of insurance premiums, property taxes, and utility bills also varies greatly from state to state, affecting retirees with fixed incomes more acutely.”

No doubt, two-season snowbirds face burgeoning day-to-day costs, including groceries, dining, and services, and those costs can grow higher depending on where in the country you live, as well. Then there’s the matter of keeping utilities running in two homes, as well as facing complex tax realities by living in two homes year in and year out.

“Costs depend significantly on the retiree's financial situation,” said Adam Spiegelman, founder and wealth advisor at Spiegelman Wealth Management in Alamo, CA. “For those people with unlimited wealth, seasonal cost swings may be negligible.

"But for retirees on fixed or single incomes, costs like air conditioning in Florida, insurance rates in Texas versus New Mexico, dining, and crime-related insurance all matter as the financial burden of seasonal living is growing,” Spiegelman said.

Tips on managing two residences in retirement

While there are no hard-and-fast figures on how many U.S. retirees manage two homes, data indicate the trend is growing. For example, the state of Florida, a popular winter destination for snowbirds, sees its population grow by 5% during the winter months, as it adds about 1 million seasonal residents to its rolls before they head north in April or May.

Heading to a warm winter state like Florida, Arizona, or South Carolina? A bit of planning ensures your seasonal, two-state retirement goes smoothly.

Pay attention to taxes

The most significant state tax implications for retirees who spend six months in one state and six in another center on determining which state is considered your permanent home base (your residency) and on whether establishing residency in a specific state improves your tax situation.

“Your permanent home base is the state where you intend to return indefinitely, while residency is typically based on where you physically live for a significant portion of the year,” said Lisa Greene-Lewis, tax expert and financial analyst at TurboTax.

“Some states use the 183-day rule to determine residency, which can be challenging for snowbirds who split their time between a high-tax state and a no- or low-tax state,” Greene-Lewis said.

To establish domicile in the low-tax state, Greene-Lews advises snowbirds to ensure they spend at least 183 days there, as simply splitting time evenly may not suffice.

“Snowbirds dividing their time between a high-tax state and a low-tax state must avoid spending 183 or more days in the high-tax state to prevent being classified as a statutory resident there, which could subject them to that state's taxes,” she noted.

As a non-resident snowbird, you may rent out your property for part of the year, and any rental income could still be taxable in that state, regardless of your primary residence. “To minimize your taxable rental income, deduct eligible expenses,” Greene-Lewis said.

Stretch your calendar to get the full snowbird cost picture

It’s best to leverage a location's advantages by spending time in lower-cost areas during high-cost periods.

“Retirees are becoming more aware of residency laws so they don’t create tax obligations by filing in the wrong state,” Kang said. “Low fixed costs, especially housing and insurance, also go a long way to your overall financial health. The main benefit is flexibility; if it’s used wisely, it can save you a lot of cash.”

Know your fiscal realities

You likely don’t need a financial advisor to tell you how fast things can add up living the snowbird life, especially on a retiree fixed income. That means building more room in the household budget, which matters when you go south for the winter.

“Here in South Florida, things got expensive over the past few years,” said Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO and broker at Echo Fine Properties in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “For instance, there’s some adult peer pressure to go out for dinner, for instance, as lifestyle has changed.”

Buying in planned communities or 55-plus communities with hefty club or HOA monthly charges of $300 or more can change budget realities, as can the weather.

“By the water, the salt in the air also means things don't last as long,” Lichtenstein said. “Roofs last 20-25 years, and if older than 15 years, oftentimes a mortgage with insurance is very difficult and costly. The problem is snowbirds expect things to be like they are in New York instead of having the ‘when in Rome do as the Romans’ mindset.”

Look for home insurance savings opportunities

Financial experts say insurance cost-cutting measures are in play, but the issue can cut two ways.

“Moving your domicile to a lower-risk state can reduce homeowners insurance costs significantly, especially when compared to high-risk states like California and Florida, where premiums have spiked dramatically,” Spiegelman said.

Renting instead of owning in those higher-risk states eliminates the insurance burden. However, retirees also need to watch for estate tax exposure. “Some states with no income tax still carry significant state estate taxes, which can cost beneficiaries dearly,” Spiegelman noted. “Reviewing and adjusting coverage based on actual time spent in each location is also worth exploring.”

The bottom line is to coordinate with both your tax advisor and insurance professional. “That’s because the variables are numerous and the financial stakes are real,” Spiegelman said.

The takeaway on seasonal living in retirement

There is a hidden asset that most retirees in a snowbird situation often overlook: their life insurance policy.

“I work with clients who are stretched financially and considering downsizing or selling a property, but never think to ask whether the life insurance policy they have been paying into for decades has market value,” said Alex Barba, a licensed life settlement broker at Lifeforce Financial, in Miami, Fla.

If you're 65 or older, have a life insurance policy with a face value of $100,000 or more, and no longer need the coverage, the policy may be sold in the secondary market through a life settlement, Barba said.

“The proceeds can fund a more comfortable seasonal living arrangement without touching retirement accounts or selling real estate,” said Barba. “Most retirees have never heard of this option, but it’s a gap worth addressing.”

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Retirement is what dreams are made of. You finally get to kick back, relax, and pursue all those things you never had time for. But sometimes it isn't what you imagined.

Perhaps you need extra cash, have too much time on your hands, or miss the social connections that come with going to work every day. Maybe it's a little of all of the above. That may have gotten you thinking, should I go back to work in some capacity?

If so, you aren't alone. A recent AARP survey found that 7% of adults over 50 re-entered the workforce, with nearly half citing a need to earn money; 14% said they wanted to stay active. And they're not the only older members of the workforce. A recent study from Pew found that nearly 1 in 5, or 19.2% of Americans over the age of 65, are working, either due to financial necessity or personal preference.

Those who retire and then return to the workforce are largely doing it part-time, freelancing, consulting, and participating in the gig economy, doing everything from car sharing to delivering groceries.

"Almost 20% of boomers report having a side hustle," says Toni Frana, a career expert at FlexJobs. "Retirement is much more of a transition rather than a hard stop. There are plenty of opportunities out there in terms of the type of work you can do in retirement." To find out what, click here for a list of the top ten gig jobs for retirees.

Returning to the workforce may sound appealing to you. But before you join the ranks of retirees with a job, ask yourself these three questions.

1. What do I need this job to do for me?

Your motivation for returning to work will dictate the type of job you look for and, quite honestly, your happiness, which is why the first question you should ask yourself is: What do I need this job to do for me, says Frana.

If you're looking to supplement your income, consider getting a steady part-time job. If you're looking to go back to work more for the social connections, a job in an area you love may be a better fit. If you want to give back, a volunteering role with a small stipend could be the optimal choice.

"Is it must-have income or nice-to-have income? That should be the distinguishing factor," says Frana. "If the money is an essential piece, prioritize jobs with predictable pay and hours. If purpose or flexibility is the goal, then prioritize freelance and project-based work."

2. Will my new income actually cost me?

Assuming you aren't going back to work because you need the cash, the second question you have to ask yourself is: Will this job cost me more than I earn, says Caroline Bruckner, senior professional lecturer at American University. "Start with a cost-benefit analysis," she says. "Everything is a trade-off. What is the trade-off?"

If you return to work part-time and earn enough income, will it cause your Social Security benefits to be taxed or push you into a higher income bracket? Will it cause your Medicare premiums to increase or force you to spend money on work attire or transportation?

"Is it going to adversely impact your benefits, and does that matter? Will it adversely impact your taxes, and does it matter?" says Bruckner. "There are very different answers depending on whether you are on a fixed income or not."

3. Am I up for the challenge?

Just because you want to go back to work doesn't mean you will be able to handle it day in and day out.

Life happens, and that part-time dream job could quickly turn into a nightmare if it's too taxing on your time, body, or mind. That's why the third question you should ask yourself is: Am I up for the challenge?

"I've seen retirees make efforts to go back to work part-time and have challenges due to physical limitations," says Bruckner. "And depending on the nature of the work, I've seen older clients not have the confidence to navigate the digital world."

Set boundaries

If you can answer all those questions and are ready to get to work, Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, says it's important to set boundaries before you start searching for your part-time gig.

"Job seekers need to define what are acceptable hours, physical demands and stress levels before they apply and network," says Salemi.

After all, you do want to have a happy and healthy retirement, both from an emotional and financial perspective, and not end up in a role that forces you to work long hours or causes undue stress.

If you ask yourself these three questions and follow this advice, you are one step closer to achieving that.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early and 3 Questions to Ensure Your Retirement Nest Egg Is Inflation-Proof.

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Question: I am 62 with $4 million saved for retirement. My wife and I have worked hard to pay off our mortgage, and we have no debt. Our kids are successful and have independent lives.

I love my tech job, earning $250,000 a year, and didn't plan to retire until at least 67, when I reach full retirement age. Unfortunately, my company is going through a round of downsizing, and I was just offered a buyout that includes six months of severance and six months of health insurance.

I'm not sure whether to accept the offer and retire or decline it. I'm afraid we won't have enough money for retirement if I take it, but I'm also worried the company could struggle, and I'll eventually be out of a job anyway. My wife doesn't work, so this decision will have a big impact on her lifestyle. What should I do?

Answer: You are not alone. Unfortunately, buyouts and layoffs are common in the current environment, particularly in the technology industry.

According to one estimate, over 81,000 tech jobs have been lost in the first quarter alone. Meanwhile, Microsoft just offered buyouts to about 7% of its U.S. workforce, the first time in the company's 51-year history.

Deciding whether to take a buyout is a big deal at age 62. After all, it typically means retirement. Sure, you can consult or get another job, but one that matches your current role and salary will undoubtedly be hard to find.

Of course, your job provides more than financial security. You have to consider both the financial and emotional aspects of taking a buyout. Working with a financial adviser may come in handy.

The financial side of the decision

Let's start with the financial piece of the decision. Whether or not $4 million is enough for retirement at age 62 depends on your lifestyle.

"I have one client who gets away with spending $3,000 a month and another who spends $50,000 a month," says Stephanie Bruno, a partner and senior wealth advisor at Mission Wealth. "Having most of your housing costs covered is great, but there are still issues that can make it expensive, like insurance and real estate taxes."

That's particularly true if you live in a state prone to natural disasters, such as California or Florida, or if you live in a sprawling home that is expensive to heat and cool. There are also maintenance costs to consider.

Having $4 million in savings is a huge plus, given that the median retirement savings for a person aged 62 is less than $200,000, says Bruno. But if you and your wife are healthy, you could face thirty or more years without your $250,000 a year salary.

Social Security pay cut

At 62, you are eligible for Social Security, but if you decide to start claiming before your full retirement age of 67, you will receive an up to 30% reduction in benefits over your lifetime.

That's another consideration when mulling the buyout: Do you have enough cash flow to wait to collect Social Security until 67, or will you need it now? If so, are you OK with less money? After all, six months of compensation is great, but you'll have to wait five years until you can collect all your benefits.

Sure, you can withdraw from your retirement savings, but do you want to start doing that earlier than you planned? If you do so in a down market, you could end up with less money to live on later. That's known as sequence of return risk, and it's a real issue for retirees.

Plus withdrawals, if they come from a traditional 401(k) or IRA, are taxed as ordinary income and could push you into a higher income bracket, which means you'll owe more money in taxes.

Medicare doesn't kick in

Don't forget about health insurance. Medicare doesn't kick in until 65, and while your company has agreed to cover your medical expenses for six months, there will be two-and-a-half years where you have to pay for it, and that isn't cheap.

Even with Medicare, healthcare in retirement is pricey. In 2025, Fidelity Investments pegs the out-of-pocket costs at $172,500 for a 65-year-old. That too is an expense that needs to be added to your budget for you and your wife.

"You have to really pin down what your lifestyle expenses are really going to be," says Abigail Gunderson, a senior wealth advisor at Tanglewood Total Wealth Management. "One thing I see, whether it's with my clients or my own family, is when people retire, typically in the first five to ten years, they spend time traveling, and that's not cheap. That's part of the lifestyle."

Once you figure out realistically how much your lifestyle is going to cost, you can determine on your own or with a financial adviser if your $4 million will be enough to last thirty years.

With $4 million, a traditional 3.5% to 4% withdrawal rate provides $140,000 to $160,000 a year before taxes. Is that enough money to sustain your lifestyle?

If you answer yes, then the buyout is an option. If you answer no, you may want to continue working a little longer or find ways to reduce your expenses to make it work. "In a situation like this, it's really helpful to hire a wealth adviser," says Bruno.

The emotional side of the decision

Beyond the finances, accepting the buyout before you're ready to retire probably means you haven't fine-tuned your plan for what you will do once you stop working.

For many people, work brings purpose, social connections and routine. Since you love your job, leaving it behind may cause some emotional distress.

Ask yourself what you will do with your free time, and whether you will be OK leaving your work family behind. Do you have a plan for staying connected with your work friends and developing new ways to stay social?

Moreover, your wife may not be ready for you to be home all the time. That's why it's important to discuss the buyout with her. It's not a "you only" commitment; it's a "both of you" decision.

Take your time with the decision

You probably don't have too long to decide if the buyout is for you, but the decision also doesn't have to be made overnight.

It's important to think long and hard about the buyout, seek professional help, talk to your family and consider all the scenarios — the good, bad and ugly.

"It's a major life decision that requires thought. Retirement is a big transition financially and from a mental standpoint," says Bruno. "Look at all your options and make sure you are comfortable with the outcome."

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Unless you've been avoiding the news lately, you have likely heard about the hantavirus outbreak now affecting several countries, including the U.S. The virus originated on the Dutch MV Hondius cruise line, which departed from Argentina on April 1.

While the spread of the virus is sparking panic and fear that it could be the start of a COVID-like pandemic or even worse, the good news is that the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and infectious disease doctors don't think that's likely at this point.

The CDC has classified the outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, reported ABC News. Level 3 is considered to be the lowest level of emergency activation, and the WHO said its overall public health risk is low.

What is the hantavirus?

The hantavirus is a rare infection in humans that causes fever, muscle aches and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. It can be deadly and has a mortality rate of up to 40% when pulmonary symptoms develop. Infections in humans are typically caused by exposure to infected rodents' urine, feces or saliva.

What is the Andes strain?

The Andes strain of the hantavirus is rare and can spread between humans. Authorities think it's the cause of this outbreak because of the pattern of illness among passengers and the lack of rodent exposure on the ship suggests person-to-person transmission.

Here's what is known so far

• Dozens of people disembarked from the MV Hondius on St. Helena on April 24 and traveled around the world. They are being contacted, and contract tracing has begun.
• A passenger who disembarked in St. Helena has since tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland, sparking concern and panic.
• Seventeen U.S. passengers from the cruise arrived at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which is the country’s only federally funded quarantine center. One of the passengers has tested positive for the virus. Another passenger had "mild" symptoms, the New York Times reported.
• Health officials are monitoring people in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia and other states who had disembarked from the ship
• and returned to their homes before the outbreak was identified.
• The incubation period is between one and eight weeks, which means illness may not show up for up to two months after exposure.
• Symptoms of hantavirus include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, often followed by coughing and severe difficulty breathing.

What it means for cruise-loving retirees

If you're a retiree who has a cruise scheduled, this outbreak is not a reason to cancel your plans, says William Schaffner, a professor of medicine, division of infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who called this a "one-off" incident.

"This is not a fun-and-frolic cruise," says Schaffner of the MV Hondius. "This was a group of people interested in nature, scenery and the environment. Because it originated in Argentina, it's likely the individual who became sick acquired their infection on land hiking or birding and then brought it aboard the ship and may have spread it to a few other people."

He said retirees going on a cruise should be more worried about norovirus than hantavirus, which is far more common on cruises. The CDC reported more than 100 people on a Caribbean Princess cruise were sickened with the norovirus during its April 28 to May 11 voyage.

"The most important thing is if you are ill, don't go on the cruise; postpone your trip because you may be the person who brings the virus on board and spreads it to others," said Schaffner.

Keep in mind that hantavirus is predominantly spread through rodents, something the cruise industry goes to great lengths to keep off its ships. Health officials across the U.S., Europe and Canada share this priority, inspecting all ships at their ports to provide official hygiene and sanitation scores

The CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) conducts unannounced public health inspections twice a year for cruise ships that carry 13 or more passengers. Ships are graded on a 100-point scale. A score of 85 or lower is considered a failing grade.

The VSP also maintains a public record of outbreaks triggered when at least 3% of those on board report stomach virus symptoms to the medical team. You can search the databases on the VSP website or through its Inspection Query Tool. The EU SHIPSAN and the Public Health Agency of Canada do the equivalent of VSP.

How you can stay safe

The only way to completely prevent an illness is to skip the cruise in the first place. Short of that, there are steps you can take to stay healthy on your next cruise.

Brunilda Nazario, MD and chief physician editor, medical affairs, at WebMD, says to prepare a health kit with over-the-counter items you’d normally need if you got ill, including pain relievers, anti-diarrheal medication, antacids and motion sickness remedies.

If you travel to risky areas, Nazario says to listen to your body, monitor yourself for symptoms, take daily temperature checks, and if any symptoms appear while you are on the ship, contact the medical or health officials immediately.

"It’s important to stay up to date with your vaccinations, clean your hands frequently while you travel, stay away from anyone who appears ill, and get medical attention right away if you’re feeling ill, especially if you are at high risk for severe illness," she said.

Travel insurance for peace of mind?

You might also want to consider travel insurance. However, it comes with limitations, depending on what type of coverage you buy.

Basic travel insurance covers prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs when a customer with cancellation coverage must cancel their cruise due to a reason covered by their policy, says Daniel Durazo, a spokesman for insurance provider Allianz Partners USA.

Travel insurance with emergency medical coverage and medical transportation, which is more expensive, typically covers emergency medical treatment while traveling and might reimburse the cost of a visit to the ship’s infirmary. It can also pay to get you home if you become seriously ill or injured while traveling, he said.

"Other products, known as cancel-for-any-reason products, may allow insured customers to cancel their trip for almost any unforeseen reason, providing additional flexibility," says Durazo. "These products are typically more expensive than standard products and may only cover a percentage of non-refundable expenses, so consumers should consider whether a standard product may provide the coverage they need."

Just breathe and don't panic

While news of the outbreak is scary, and it's understandable to worry about a pandemic, the best thing you can do is go about your life, and if you have a cruise booked, proceed accordingly.

Take the normal steps you would to prepare, follow proper hygiene, stay on top of any updates from the CDC and WHO and get ready to enjoy your trip.

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Question: I am a 63-year-old, retired dad of three adult children. I spend most of my time with my wife at our brownstone in New York City, but we are also lucky enough to have a $3.2 million beach house in Hampton Bays, New York. We spend the summer there, hosting friends and family.

With prices rising on everything from gas to groceries, I'm not sure if we can afford to entertain all summer.

We don't want to say no to anyone; we look forward to it all year. But either we are going to have to cut back or tap into our retirement savings to make it work this year. What should we do?

Answer: It is understandable to be worried about hosting this summer amid rising prices. Everything from heating your pool to feeding your guests will be more expensive.

Let's not forget utilities, maintenance, supplies, entertainment, and staff, to name just a few of the costs associated with operating a multi-million-dollar beach house in the Northeast. With everything more expensive, it's no wonder you're concerned about blowing your budget.

As you know, there are two options in this scenario — cut back on entertaining or spend more — but before we get into either choice, Pam Krueger, founder and CEO of Wealthramp, wonders if there isn't something bigger happening. Are your concerns actually the early cracks in your financial foundation?

"You have to stop and ask yourself: is this lifestyle the right size for me?" says Krueger. "Do you feel like this is a superficial cut back, or are things changing with your financial situation?"

If it's the latter, Krueger says it's time to check your financial plan and gauge whether owning the $3.2 million beach house is helping or harming your financial well-being.

Even if gas, electricity and food prices come down, you still have to pay property taxes, insurance and potentially a mortgage. Can you afford it? Will this year's worries spill into next year?

"If wealth equals freedom, does owning this expensive asset equal freedom, or is it infringing on your freedom and becoming a stress point?" says Krueger.

Summertime dilemma: cut back or spend more?

If it is truly a short-term concern, your options this summer are to cut back or spend more.

If you want to save money by curbing your expenses, you can't worry about keeping up with the Joneses. Instead, create new boundaries and expectations for yourself, friends and family, and stick to them.

"People can still come, but they don't need to come every weekend. The season doesn't have to be from Memorial Day to Labor Day," says Krueger.

Easy ways to save — in addition to shortening the season — include lowering the temperature on the heated pool, cutting back on the landscaping and hired staff and hosting potluck dinners or casual meals.

Guests don't have to use the spare car to go into town three times a day and you don't have to stock every guest bathroom with high-end toiletries. Cuts here and there can go a long way in saving you serious cash.

"Everything doesn't have to be polished every minute," says Krueger. "You don't have to have everything up and running all season."

Be careful how you spend more

If you don't want to cut corners and prefer to maintain the status quo, you can withdraw money from your savings account to cover the difference.

But financial advisers say this makes the most sense only if you have extra money to spare, already have three to six months of emergency funds set aside and can withdraw it from a short-term bucket designed for these types of situations.

The last thing you want to do is take money from the growth portion of your retirement savings account, especially if we're in a down market. You are early in retirement at 63. If you withdraw money that is supposed to be growing and compounding, you could have less to live off of later.

"There should be a big emphasis on cash planning," says Matt Coursen, a relationship manager at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. "You want to make sure you have adequate cash for those short-term expenses that might come up."

Having money easily accessible in a high-yield savings account, money market account, or CD is one way to cover any unexpected expenses brought on by inflation.

Coursen said to also be mindful of the tax implications of withdrawing extra money in retirement.

"It might push you into a higher tax bracket, increase your Medicare premiums or make your Social Security taxable," he said. "There's a lot to think about."

Don't feel guilty

If you find you have to cut corners and/or spend more, don't beat yourself up about it. You are supposed to enjoy your retirement, and if hosting friends and family is what brings you joy, don't apologize.

Just make sure you are separating your wants from your needs and that your needs are taken care of.

After that, if your wants include a $3.2 million beach house in the Hamptons where friends and family hang out all summer long, then take in the sun and fun, even if it has to be a shortened season.

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From gas to health care, prices are rising, and while some costs may come back down, retirees need to prepare for fluctuating expenses in retirement. After all, it wasn't too long ago that inflation was around 8%.

Sure, your Social Security benefits will keep up with the pace of inflation, but your retirement savings, pension and other income won't, which can significantly affect your retirement lifestyle.

"Inflation is something that is constantly changing," said Chandler Riggs, CFP, VP and financial consultant at Fidelity Investments. As a result, "it should be a concern to retirees."

At last check, inflation stood at 3.3% in March, up from 2.4% in February. Where it's heading is unclear, which is why making sure your retirement savings are inflation-proof should be a top priority.

To ensure you're on the right track, ask yourself these three questions.

1. Is there enough growth in my portfolio?

During our working years, we focus on amassing a retirement nest egg and growing our portfolio, which often means taking on risk. But when we shift into retirement, preservation kicks in, and many of us become conservative.

However, being too conservative can backfire if our risk-averse nature results in an investment portfolio that doesn't keep up with inflation. That's why Riggs says the first question you need to ask yourself is: Is there enough growth in my portfolio?

"Inflation doesn't destroy a portfolio overnight; it erodes it slowly," says Riggs. Without enough growth, your purchasing power could diminish over a twenty or thirty-year retirement, making the risk of outlasting your savings real, she said.

How conservative is too conservative depends on how much you saved, how much you plan to withdraw each year, the lifestyle you envision, and your sources of income. If you have enough income to leave your investments alone for several years, you can be more aggressive than if you need your money in the short term.

Riggs says some people set aside money in an easily accessible "inflation bucket" that is outside their growth, and an emergency bucket to be used for any extra costs in retirement.

That will prevent sequence of returns risk, which occurs when you are forced to sell stocks in a down market early in your retirement to cover expenses. These often badly-timed withdrawals can be a permanent drain on your nest egg, making it difficult for your portfolio to fully recover when the market turns around.

"Having an inflation strategy is really important," Riggs said.

2. Can my spending withdrawal strategy sustain an increase in inflation?

Saving is part of retirement planning, but so is determining how you'll withdraw the money once you retire.

If you draw down too much too quickly and inflation rises, you could end up running out of money. That's why Annette Anderson, Sr. Wealth Consultant at Charles Schwab, says the second question you need to ask yourself is: Can my withdrawal strategy sustain an increase in inflation?

Anderson says retirees have to test their withdrawal strategy under different circumstances to see if their money will last twenty or thirty years. Start with 4%, the traditional rule of thumb, and then see what happens if you are forced to withdraw 5%, 6%, 7% or 8% a year due to rising costs.

Will your money last for three decades in those environments? If you can answer yes, you should be fine. If not, you may have to adjust your portfolio's risk or find areas in your budget where you can trim your expenses.

"If inflation does impact it, it's not a successful plan," says Anderson. "One has to make an adjustment somewhere in the savings or spending."

3. Is my retirement plan adaptable?

Inflation is a big question mark in retirement planning. It's one of the things that can throw your plan off course, especially if it jumps 8% like it did in 2022. That's why Riggs says the third question you need to ask yourself is: Is my retirement plan adaptable?

"Most inflation-resistant plans aren't rigid," said Riggs. "They are built to adjust as spending changes, as the market changes, as prices change and as life changes."

Just as the active "go-go" years of retirement require different spending than the later "slow-go" years, inflation could force you to spend more at unexpected times. You need a plan that can easily adjust.

If not, you may get anxious and react with emotion, leading to costly mistakes such as panic-selling stocks at the market bottom, moving your entire portfolio into low-yield cash, or canceling long-term insurance that you may need later on.

So, how do you ensure your plan is adaptable? Structure your strategy into a three-bucket framework — short-term, medium-term, and long-term — and make sure you hold one to three years of expenses in highly liquid vehicles, such as CDs, money market funds or high-yield savings accounts.

Additionally, review your portfolio once a year to ensure your asset allocation remains aligned with your risk tolerance and changing living costs. "Think through what you have and revisit your plan each year," said Riggs.

Building an inflation-proof retirement

Retirement isn't set in stone, nor should your saving and spending habits be. Inflation can crop up at any time, throwing a curveball to even the best laid out plans.

If there is enough growth in your portfolio, you have a withdrawal strategy that can handle rising costs, and you and your plan are adaptable, you should be able to handle whatever life throws your way.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series looking at three questions to ask yourself before making a major financial or lifestyle decision. The other stories in the series are: 3 Questions to Ask Before Deciding if a Roth Conversion Is Right for You, 3 Questions That Reveal If You're Actually Ready to Age in Place, and 3 Questions That Determine If You're Actually Ready to Retire Early.

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It's that time of year again when college is on many people's minds. Students are preparing to graduate after years of learning, growth, and hard work, and high schoolers across the country face Decision Day as they choose where to spend their next four years.

But amid the college admissions and graduation frenzy, there's another interesting trend to consider: from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Durham, North Carolina, and beyond, so-called "college towns" are emerging as appealing pockets for some older adults.

It's not that hard to see why. Yes, familiarity or nostalgia is likely a factor for some. But the fact is that many college towns offer advantages that surveys show many retirees value. Older adults often seek affordability, good access to healthcare, and a sense of community when deciding where to live, and some college towns check those boxes.

But…financial and tax considerations are often a major part of the "where should I retire" decision, with the latest tax migration data showing millions of people leaving high-tax states for those with low or no personal income taxes.

So, a key question comes to mind…do college towns benefit retirees from a tax perspective?

Why college towns can be ideal for retirement

Some of the most frequently cited reasons that some older adults are attracted to areas anchored by colleges and universities overlap with factors many retirees have long sought in places to live.

For example, an AARP survey underscores that affordable housing and high-quality healthcare are primary drivers in decisions surrounding where to live in retirement. But the survey findings also point to a growing emphasis on lifestyle factors.

• Respondents reportedly highlighted the importance of social connection and communities with local activities and shared spaces.
• Walkability and easy access to everyday essentials also ranked highly.

Interestingly, many of those elements are built into some college towns. Depending on location, housing might be more attainable, while university-affiliated hospitals and medical networks can improve access to high-quality healthcare.

The college environment also often supports convenience, with shops, services, and daily necessities clustered in walkable areas.

Meanwhile, the presence of a college or university in a community often translates into an ongoing mix of events, cultural programming, learning opportunities, and shared spaces. That can make it easier for retirees to create and maintain social connections.

Additionally, various studies find that older adults tend to prefer environments they know well, and that familiarity is associated with comfort, perceived safety, autonomy, and a lower decision burden.

• As a result, some people gravitate toward places they already know. (Enter former college towns or communities they’ve lived in or visited before.)
• That comfort can also make a move feel easier or more natural, especially when paired with the practical benefits some of these places offer.

The overall result is a combination of relative affordability, healthcare access, and everyday accessibility that closely matches what many retirees say they seek.

And let's not forget learning. College towns have built-in infrastructure for lifelong learning that, in some cases, goes beyond casual interest in taking a class or two.

Many universities host formal programs alongside discounted or tuition-free auditing options for older adults. That can turn a college town into an intellectual community for retirees, where lectures, workshops, performances, and public events are part of the everyday landscape.

Best college towns to retire?

Familiarity and lifestyle benefits matter, but affordability, especially housing costs and retirement taxes, are consistently cited as priorities in retirement decisions.

That said, these tradeoffs don’t carry the same weight for everyone. According to AARP’s Home and Community Preferences Survey, things like affordability, healthcare access, and community features vary significantly across adults 50 and older, depending on age and stage of retirement.

That means the “best” college towns for retirement depend less on a universal checklist and more on which constraints matter most to a particular retiree.

Below are several well-known college towns and key tax and cost tradeoffs that help define their appeal. (These are listed alphabetically by town, not ranked, and are merely a handful of examples. And yes, some are technically cities.)

Ann Arbor, Michigan — Home to University of Michigan

Ann Arbor combines a strong academic medical center with Midwestern housing costs.

Median home values typically run at roughly $450K–$550K (estimates cluster between the high-$400Ks and low-$500Ks, depending on methodology and month).

Rents are around $1,800–$2,100. The University of Michigan Health System anchors access to highly ranked care.

Michigan has a relatively modest tax burden on retirement income.

• The state has relatively high property taxes (about 1.5%–1.6% effective) and a 6% sales tax.
• Retirement income is partially taxed, though Social Security is exempt, placing Michigan between no-income-tax states and high-tax coastal markets.

What it means: Ann Arbor offers retirees solid fundamentals — strong healthcare and walkable neighborhoods — with a relatively steady tax burden overall. Housing costs, while less obvious, often act as the main constraint on how much they can afford to spend.

Austin, Texas — Home to University of Texas at Austin

Austin has some of the highest housing costs in this group of popular college towns. Median home values are typically around $500K–$600 or more, and rents are around $1,800–$2,200.

The University of Texas system and Dell Medical School anchor a growing healthcare ecosystem.

• Texas has no state income tax, meaning retirement income is not taxed at the state level.
• A key tradeoff is higher property taxes (often 1.6%–2.0%+) and an 8.25% sales tax.

What it means: Austin’s appeal for retirees depends as much on its structure as on its lifestyle. The city offers strong income‑tax advantages, but those are offset by higher housing and property costs that can limit how far a retirement budget stretches.

Charlottesville, Virginia — Home to University of Virginia

Charlottesville sits between small-town scale and elite university infrastructure. Median home values are around $450K–$550K, and monthly rents are roughly $1,800–$2,000.

• Virginia has a progressive income tax up to 5.75%, along with moderate sales and property taxes that are generally below Northeast levels but higher than those in no-income-tax states.
• Retirement income in the Commonwealth is generally taxable, with partial exemptions available.

What it means: Charlottesville offers high-quality amenities and a strong university presence, but without the intensity of some larger markets.

Durham, North Carolina — Home to Duke University / UNC system

Durham reflects the Research Triangle's growth, with median home values around $400,000 and rents of roughly $1,700–$1,800.

Duke University Hospital and the nearby UNC-Chapel Hill system create a strong healthcare network.

• North Carolina has a flat 3.99% income tax and a combined sales tax rate of about 7.5%.
• Retirement income in NC is generally taxable, though Social Security benefits are exempt, placing retirees in a mid-range tax environment.

What it means: Durham offers a relatively steady tax landscape, while the more noticeable challenge for retirees is the pace of growth. Rising housing costs shape how far retirement budgets can stretch over time.

New Haven, Connecticut — Home to Yale University

New Haven offers relatively moderate median home values ($315K–$325K) by Northeast standards, while rents average $1,900–$2,000 a month.

Yale New Haven Hospital anchors one of the region’s top academic medical systems.

• Connecticut’s tax structure is among the more demanding in this group: property taxes can be high depending on the municipality, sometimes exceeding 2% effective rates.
• The state income tax is progressive, and most retirement income is included, though Social Security is exempt below income thresholds.

What it means: New Haven offers a strong mix of healthcare access and cultural amenities that may appeal to some retirees. However, this can come with a potentially heavier tax burden in Connecticut that can add up over time.

Moving to your college town to retire: Bottom line

Across college towns, differences in housing costs, healthcare access, and tax structures ultimately shape different retirement tradeoffs.

Yet a common thread runs beneath the numbers: the way university anchors can shape daily life in retirement. For some, that makes a college town worth it despite tax or other financial trade-offs.

And in some cases, the decision of where to live in retirement will come down to something simpler: the pull of a familiar place and the chance to reconnect with a town they may never have fully left behind.

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Americans are worried about the future. Inflation, market swings, the rising cost of healthcare, the long-term fate of Social Security… the list of things keeping people up at night seems only to grow.

Eleanor Roosevelt, who lived through her own share of national anxiety as first lady during the Great Depression and World War II, offered a piece of advice that still applies: "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."

There’s plenty of fear to look at right now. A new Allianz Life study found that 67% of Americans worry more about running out of money than about death. It’s a record high. Nearly half don't have a written financial plan, 57% feel anxious when markets drop and shockingly, 34% say they pull money out of investments during downturns.

Retirement confidence has taken a similar hit. The 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey found that confidence among American workers and retirees has fallen to its lowest level since 2017. Just 64% of Americans say they feel confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement, as financial strain, rising costs, and growing concerns about the future of Social Security and Medicare weigh on workers and retirees alike.

The good news, financial advisers say, is that you’re far from powerless. With the right steps, it’s possible to build the resources — and the confidence — to move forward.

Confidence isn't about the size of your nest egg

Americans believe they need $1.46 million to retire comfortably, according to Northwestern Mutual's 2026 Planning & Progress Study. But hitting that number doesn't necessarily buy peace of mind.

"I’ve worked with households who have $5 million and feel uncertain, and others with less who feel fully in control," says Preston Cherry, CFP® and founder of Concurrent Wealth Management. "The difference is structure, clarity, and lived experience, not just assets."

Melissa Caro, CFP® and founder of My Retirement Network, sees the same pattern. "Two individuals with the same balance sheet can feel completely different levels of security depending on their past experiences, their tolerance for uncertainty, and how they interpret risk. That psychological layer is often more important than the raw dollar amount."

In other words, if you’re feeling shaky about retirement, the instinct is usually to save more. But that may be only part of the answer. Without addressing the concerns underneath, no amount will feel like enough.

Build a guaranteed income floor

Perhaps the single biggest confidence builder comes down to one word: guaranteed. Social Security, pensions and, in some cases, simple income annuities can help cover essential bills no matter what the market does.

Workers seem to agree. According to the EBRI, more than four in five workers say they’re interested in purchasing a guaranteed monthly income product with retirement savings, and two-thirds are interested in a Social Security "bridge" annuity that would provide income until age 70 to maximize Social Security benefits.

"When clients know the essentials are covered for life, their anxiety drops dramatically," says Patrick Huey, CFP® and founder of Victory Independent Planning.

He calls delayed Social Security the most underrated tool retirees have at their disposal: “Delaying Social Security, where health and circumstances allow, is often the single best ‘annuity’ most retirees can buy. It’s inflation-adjusted, government-backed and lasts as long as you do.”

The psychological effect of guaranteed income may be bigger than the dollars suggest. Caro explains why: “One of the hardest transitions in retirement is behavioral — people are conditioned to rely on a paycheck while their savings grow in the background, and retirement flips that dynamic overnight.” Pensions, delayed Social Security or annuities, she says, can act as “a stabilizer” during that shift.

Morningstar research backs up the case for layering in guaranteed income, finding that allocating a portion of a portfolio to an immediate annuity could meaningfully increase lifetime spending and help mitigate sequence-of-returns risk.

Keep a cash reserve to weather downturns

Once your essentials are covered, the next layer of confidence comes from liquidity. A meaningful cash reserve can help you ignore short-term market noise.

Eric Nelson, CFP® and founder of Independence Wealth, recommends two to three years of living expenses in cash or short-term fixed income.

"If the market drops 25%, a client with two to three years of expenses sitting in cash or short-term fixed income doesn’t need to sell anything," Nelson says. "They can wait it out. That’s what separates a temporary decline from a permanent loss of capital."

Another way of putting it: cash reserves don’t just fund spending, they buy time, which can turn a scary downturn into a manageable one.

Have a written withdrawal plan

Knowing you have money is one thing. Knowing exactly how you’re going to spend it and how you'll adjust if conditions change is another.

Consider that Americans with a financial plan in place are more than twice as likely as their peers (83% vs. 38%) to feel confident about their retirement prospects, according to Fidelity’s 2026 State of Retirement Planning study.

"When clients have a written plan, the anxiety around ‘am I doing this right?’ largely disappears," Nelson says. "They know what they’re spending, where it’s coming from and what the guardrails are if something changes."

Huey adds that a real plan goes beyond rules of thumb like the 4% rule. It should spell out which accounts you’ll draw from first, how you’ll respond in bad market years and when you’ll refill your cash bucket.

"A written plan is what keeps people from making sleep-robbing decisions in the middle of a downturn," he says.

Cherry emphasizes flexibility: "Confidence comes from having a written, flexible withdrawal strategy. Not just a rule of thumb, but a plan that adjusts based on markets, taxes and life events."

Look beyond the numbers

The financial scaffolding matters, but advisers are nearly unanimous that some of the biggest factors in retirement confidence aren’t financial at all.

Amy Mullen, CFP® and president of Money Quotient, suggests that low confidence is often misdiagnosed as a planning problem. "Even the most well-crafted financial plan can’t fully resolve uncertainty or fear. When confidence is low, the issue usually isn’t a lack of strategy, but a lack of clarity around what truly matters and what the plan is meant to support."

That clarity, she says, comes from the non-financial side of the ledger: purpose, health and relationships.

"Retirement is an identity transition," Cherry says. "When people retire from something without clarity on what they’re retiring to, confidence often erodes regardless of wealth."

Lived experience matters, too. Someone who watched their parents lose everything in a downturn may carry that fear long after their own balance sheet has made it irrelevant.

Huey says naming that history is part of the work: "The goal isn’t to eliminate emotion; it’s to build a plan sturdy enough that you don't have to rely on willpower in the worst week of the worst year."

Doubts about the future may feel uncomfortable, but as Roosevelt suggested, they can also be valuable. It’s an opportunity to look fear in the face and find the strength, courage and confidence on the other side.

Next Steps to Feel More Confident in Retirement

• Put a guaranteed income in place.
  • The Rule of 240 Paychecks in Retirement
  • How to Turn a $1 Million Nest Egg Into a Lifetime Income Machine
• Mind your mental and physical health.
  • 9 Habits for a Happy Retirement
• Face the expense of long-term care head-on.
  • How to Pay for Long-Term Care in Retirement

When it comes to the struggles and successes of life, Billy Joel is the quintessential storyteller. The iconic crooner was the soundtrack of our youth and the blueprint for our adulthood.

Through his five decades of hit songs, we learned how to live, love, and triumph over the challenges life threw our way.

Now, as many of us step into our final chapter, his lyrics can show us how to slow our pace, savor the stillness and find grace in retiring.

From embracing the "sweet" life of retirement to not caring to "know the hour," here are five Billy Joel lyrics retirees can live by.

5 Billy Joel lyrics that can guide you through retirement

1. "I don't care to know the hour, 'cause it's passing anyway."
Tomorrow is Today, Cold Spring Harbor

Time is of the essence during our working years. We are beholden to rigid schedules and endless obligations. But in retirement, those pressures dissolve. We no longer have to worry about punching a clock or rushing home to manage a household.

Suddenly, we have nothing but time on our hands, a transition that can be liberating for some and daunting for others. With these lyrics, Joel urges us to stop fixating on the clock and start embracing the present. It’s your chance to wake up when you want, spend your days as you see fit and do it all unapologetically.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a vision for your retirement. Without a sense of purpose, the days can feel hollow, potentially leading to stagnation. But you don't have to fill every hour of every day to prove you’re doing it right. Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is stop to smell the roses and not worry about lingering there for as long as you like.

2. "Your mementos will turn to dust, but that's the price you pay. For every year's a souvenir that slowly fades away."
Souvenir, Streetlife Serenade

During our working years, we spend a lot of time focused on amassing things — a bigger home, a nicer car, or the latest gadgets. These possessions often serve as trophies, reminding us of our hard-earned success.

However, as we enter retirement, the luster of those "mementos" tends to fade. We begin to realize that our true wealth isn't found in what we own, but in the experiences we’ve collected along the way.

Rather than spending your retirement trying to acquire more, focus on turning your time into memories. Whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip, finally mastering a long-neglected hobby or simply sharing a quiet afternoon with your grandchildren, the moments you live are the only souvenirs that truly matter.

Creating these memories doesn’t always require a big budget or a passport. Sometimes, the most enduring souvenirs are found in the simplest things: volunteering your time or taking a stroll with an old friend.

3. "Don't go changing to try and please me."
Just the Way You Are, The Stranger

Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and that is especially true when it comes to retirement. A recent Northwestern Mutual study suggests that Americans believe they need $1.46 million to live comfortably, yet the reality for many is quite different.

If you find yourself needing to work part-time, move to a smaller home or adjust your lifestyle, you don’t need to apologize for that. Whether you are living exactly as you pictured or navigating a new, unexpected path, Joel’s lyrics remind us not to beat ourselves up for not hitting an arbitrary goal or matching someone else’s version of the ideal retirement.

Don't feel the need to "change" your life just to meet an expectation or to keep up with the neighbors. Your retirement doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful. Embrace your reality, find peace with the adjustments you've made, and be happy with your life the way it is.

4. "And he's tradin' in his Chevy for a Cadillac... And if he can't drive with a broken back, at least he can polish the fenders."
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song), The Stranger

We spend decades diligently setting money aside for a retirement that can potentially last thirty years or more. But once we finally reach this final chapter, some people remain reluctant to spend that hard-earned money.

It doesn’t matter if they have amassed a fortune, if their heirs will be taken care of, or if they have already met every financial milestone they ever set for themselves.

They put off living to protect their nest egg, and by the time they are finally ready to spend, it’s often too late. Either their health has declined, or they no longer have the desire to fulfill their retirement dreams.

Joel’s lyrics serve as a reminder: if you don’t spend a little on yourself in retirement, the opportunity may pass you by.

A great way to ensure you can spend money without the fear of running out is to create a withdrawal plan. It’s the best way to move from simply "polishing the fenders" to actually enjoying the ride. The Permission to Spend, Me-First and Pay Yourself rules of retirement spending are some examples.

5. "I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life. Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone."
My Life, 52nd Street

Despite what some might believe, retirement isn't the end of the line; it’s the start of a brand-new chapter. Just because you stop working doesn't mean you have to stop living. Nor does it mean you have to succumb to the monotony of a sedentary routine just because you're getting older.

Countless people reinvent themselves in retirement, and you can, too. You can pursue that hobby you always dreamed about, give back to your community through volunteering or learn a brand new skill. These lyrics are the ultimate anthem for retirement; it is your permission to live for yourself and do you!

Live your life

As you navigate retirement, remember that it is not the end of the line, but the beginning of your next chapter.

Whether your reality looks exactly as you planned or you’ve had to tweak the dream along the way, take a cue from Joel: focus on savoring your freedom, embracing the present and building a collection of memories that will last a lifetime.

Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing series featuring the best retirement quotes and wisdom from top financial experts, leaders, and public figures. Other articles feature Warren Buffett, Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. Seuss, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Vince Lombardi, Dolly Parton, Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks and George Carlin.

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Discover these 9 historic places with your grandkids this year to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Whether you visit on July 4, 2026, or explore in the months before or after the 'Semiquincentennial," the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence offers a rare opportunity to build lasting memories at the places where our country's history began.

These trips can also help turn old, dusty history lessons into hands-on adventures. Best of all, many of these iconic sites (and we’ve only listed a few) are rolling out world-class experiences.

Here are 9 standout destinations that make history fun, accessible and — best of all — unforgettable.

Why America’s 250th is more than just fireworks

America’s 250th birthday isn’t just about dates on a calendar or old documents. It’s about people, places and the millions of stories that make up our nation. It’s about how a group of colonies came together in 1776 to declare their independence, and how that single courageous moment in time set the course for the country we know and love today.

The celebration also offers a chance to learn more about how the United States began, how it grew, and how it has changed over time.

1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

Carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, the 60-foot faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln tell the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country.

For the 250th celebration: This year, Mount Rushmore will host special events on July 2 and 4 to commemorate Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the United States, including military concerts with no reservations or tickets required. On July 3, tickets are required for the day’s festivities, which include a fireworks display.

However, because they anticipate large crowds, access for the event on July 3 is entirely dependent on a federal lottery system, which closed on April 12 and was managed through Recreation.gov. That means unless you reserved a ticket before the deadline, you can no longer attend the July 3rd festivities. The park will open for ticket holders at 1 pm. That said, you can still enjoy the park before or after the 250th celebration on July 3.

For the best value: Visit in May or September, when hotel rates can drop by 20% to 30%. There are typically fewer crowds, and temperatures stay in the 60s and 70s. The site is free to enter (you’ll pay a small fee to park), and no long hikes are required. Combine it with a drive through Custer State Park for wildlife spotting that the grandkids will love.

2. Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg marks the Civil War’s turning point and is the site of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Be sure to visit the Museum and Visitor Center, where you'll find resources and information to help you and your grandkids learn about the battlefield.

For the 250th celebration: Gettysburg will feature major battle reenactments (July 3–5) and special Independence Day events. Parking is on-site and dining is available in the visitor center. Tour costs vary.

For the best value: Visit in April–May or September–October for lower hotel rates and fewer crowds. Roaming the battlefield is free. But a self-guided auto tour costs about $43 for adults (with senior discounts). The Visitor Center also offers senior pricing. Grandkids will enjoy the interactive exhibits at “Children of Gettysburg 1863.”

3. Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia

America’s birthplace, Independence Hall, is where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and signed. It’s the central point for understanding America’s roots and offers a great opportunity for conversations about the beginnings of our country with your grandkids.

For the 250th celebration: Philadelphia’s “52 Weeks of Firsts” and year-long celebrations in 2026 include parades, block parties, and special exhibits. Most sites, like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, are free or low-cost for seniors and children. From 9:00 am to 9:50 am, no tickets are required. However, from 10:40 am to 4:20 pm, March–December and holiday weekends, timed-entry tickets are required for ranger-guided tours. A $1 per ticket processing fee applies, according to Recreation.gov. Tickets are not required on July 1st, July 2nd, July 3rd, July 4th, or July 14th. But expect large crowds.

For the best value: Visit in the spring or fall for comfortable temperatures and better pricing on nearby hotels and dining. The area is walkable with plenty of benches, and costumed interpreters make history interactive and fun with hands-on stations for the grandkids. Independence Hall opens at 9:00 am.

4. The Freedom Trail, Boston, Massachusetts

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile red-brick path that connects 16 Revolutionary sites — from the USS Constitution tall ship to Bunker Hill — bringing the fight for independence to life through stories of historic heroes like Paul Revere.

For the 250th celebration: Boston’s 2026 festivities include reenactments, tall ships, and special guided tours. The Trail itself is mostly free to walk. Costumed-guide walking tours run about $17 for each adult (with a $2 senior discount and $8 for children ages 6–12; free for kids under 6). Other tour tickets vary.

For the best value: Visit in late spring or early fall for savings on lodging and shorter lines. Don’t miss the Paul Revere House or the Bunker Hill Monument for lasting memories and good discussion.

5. Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital city, will be a centerpiece of America 250, with the National Mall serving as the hub of the 250th.

For the 250th celebration: Expect patriotic concerts and large-scale anniversary celebrations throughout 2026, including a special Independence Day fireworks display along with performances and ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Smithsonian museums.

The Great American State Fair, a 16-day national exposition, will be held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and run from June 25 to July 10, 2026. The fair is free and open to the public (advance registration encouraged), with a kickoff celebration on June 24 headlined by President Trump.

On July 4th, a special fireworks display called Salute to America will take place on the National Mall. The event is free and open to the public. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged and parking will be limited.

The original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights remain on permanent display in the National Archives Rotunda in D.C. with free daily admission, 10 am to 5:30 pm. Visitors are strongly encouraged to reserve a free general admission or timed-entry ticket in advance online.

Also, the Smithsonian Institution is marking America’s 250th anniversary with its “Our Shared Future: 250” initiative. Most Smithsonian museums are free, but some popular ones or special exhibits use timed-entry passes (free or low-cost) to manage crowds, especially during the 250th celebration. Visit: https://www.si.edu/visit for info.

For the best value: The best times to visit are April–May and September–October. These months offer moderate crowds, mild weather, and often the best prices on hotels and airfare. Andrew Latham, Certified Financial Planner, passes on this idea: “Going to D.C. is the obvious choice for a reason. The Smithsonian allows you to take all the grandchildren to 21 museums without paying a dime, which means you can put your cash toward food and hotels without blowing your budget on tourist traps.”

6. San Antonio, Texas

Other than just a great place to visit, at the heart of San Antonio stands The Alamo, a long-standing symbol of the Texas Revolution and a vital part of America's history.

For the 250th celebration: Visitors can explore the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, with special events including living history demonstrations, guided tours, and programs that connect Texas history to the story of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

For the best value: The best time to visit the Alamo is in the off-season (late fall and winter), when there are fewer crowds and discounted tickets (reservations for Alamo tours are required). Parking is off-site, but buses run throughout the day.

7. Statue of Liberty, New York, New York

Sitting proudly on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City, the Statue of Liberty is the iconic symbol of freedom, democracy, and hope.

For the 250th celebration: The Statue of Liberty will host several commemorative events, including lighting displays, guided tours, and educational programs for adults and children. The National Park Service strongly encourages you to purchase ferry tickets in advance of the day you plan to visit. Tickets should be purchased through Statue City Cruises, the only ferry service that brings visitors to Liberty and Ellis Islands.

For the best value: Visit during late fall and winter. Although the weather can be cooler during these months, you will run into fewer visitors and shorter lines. Hotels and dining are also often less expensive.

8. Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

These historic sites transform the Revolutionary era into a living classroom so that you and your grandkids can walk where Washington, Jefferson and Lafayette once did. During the 250th celebration, you'll witness reenactments and artillery demonstrations, explore tall ships, and participate in hands-on activities that bring the fight for independence to life.

Yorktown celebrates the Revolution on July 4th with a parade, concert, Declaration of Independence reading, and river fireworks. The American Revolution Museum hosts the Give Me Liberty exhibition, Liberty Celebration with artillery demos and October Victory programs with living history.

Colonial Williamsburg offers immersive events, including the July 4 PBS-broadcast America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together, along with music, performances, a drone show and fireworks.

Yorktown events, including Sail Yorktown on July 4, are mostly free. Museum programs require standard admission ($15 – 18 adults; discounts for children and seniors). You can buy tickets at jyfmuseums.org or on-site.

Colonial Williamsburg’s 250th events and daily activities need Historic Area passes (about $40 for adults). Multi-day passes are your best value; discounts for kids. July 4 event is free. Book Williamsburg tickets ahead at colonialwilliamsburg.org.

For the best value: Visit Yorktown or Colonial Williamsburg in late spring or early fall to enjoy fewer crowds, shorter lines at attractions and museums, and significantly lower hotel and food prices compared to peak summer and the July 4th week. These shoulder seasons still offer exciting 250th exhibits, while making the trip more affordable and relaxed.

9. Charleston, South Carolina

The city of Charleston, a major Southern port and battleground, played a pivotal role in the American Revolution.

Key 250th highlights include events at Fort Moultrie, site of the 1776 Patriot victory, with living history, reenactments and interpretive programs. The city offers a relaxed pace with beautiful waterfront walks along the historic Battery, horse-drawn carriage tours that are easy for grandparents and engaging for the grandkids, and great southern dining.

Expect special exhibits, parades, and patriotic programming throughout 2026, especially around June – July. Many events are free or low-cost; check charleston-sc.gov or sc250.com for details.

For the best value: Visit in late spring or early fall to avoid peak summer crowds and the July 4th heat. You'll also enjoy shorter lines at Fort Moultrie and the Battery, and find better rates on hotels, carriage tours and dining out. These shoulder seasons still offer a lineup of special events, exhibits, reenactments, tours and activities specifically planned for America’s 250th, while offering a more relaxed, affordable experience for you and the grandkids.

Other major national highlights for 2026

Expect a mix of big spectacles and local celebrations:

• July 3–5, 2026 “Moments That Unite a Nation”: Celebrations include the first-ever Times Square Ball Drop on July 3 to kick off the Fourth, massive block parties, concerts, and synchronized events across all 50 states, D.C., and territories.
• Disneyland is celebrating America’s 250th with “Disney Celebrates America.” Kicking off on Veterans Day 2025 and continuing through the July 4, 2026 weekend.
• America’s Block Party: Nationwide neighborhood gatherings, potlucks, and viewing parties so you can watch celebrations happening.
• The Great American Road Trip: This partnership with the Department of Transportation encourages people to drive across the country and visit famous sites in honor of the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66.
• A time capsule: A capsule containing items from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories is scheduled to be buried in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026. It won't be dug up until the country’s 500th anniversary.

Quick tips for these (and all) trips

• Check America250.org and individual national park sites for exact 2026 event calendars.
• Plan ahead. Why? Because America 250 will mark one of the most significant travel years in U.S. history. Planning ahead helps secure accommodations, tours, and tickets to the most anticipated events and celebrations.
• Grab an America the Beautiful Senior Pass ($20 annual or $80 lifetime) for free or discounted access to many national parks.
• Pack layers, comfortable walking shoes, water, and snacks — plus a journal or digital way for grandkids to record their own “trail” memories.

Celebrate with the grandkids

Although there were only 13 original states, all 50 states are planning 250th celebrations and offering both you and your grandkids a chance to experience the places and stories that shaped our nation. These places can turn those long drives into adventures, with plenty of ice cream stops and “wow” moments. Your grandkids will remember the history and the time they spend with you, long after the 250th celebrations are over. For updates, visit https://freedom250.org/celebration often.

More on America's 250th Birthday

• America is Turning 250 — But We Didn't Get Serious About Saving for Retirement Until 50 Years Ago
• America's Cost of Living at 200 vs 250: How Affordable is American Life Now?
• America at 250: The 3 Economic Headaches That Haven't Changed Since 1976
• How Has Retirement Changed in the Last 50 Years? Take Our Quiz
• Financial Advice From America's Founding Fathers
• Which Presidents Are on the Social Security Payroll?

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Choosing where to spend your golden years involves more than just calculating tax rates and climate; it’s about maintaining your mobility and independence.

While a driver’s license often feels like a permanent rite of passage, many states introduce new hurdles for older adults, from mandatory vision screenings to actual behind-the-wheel re-evaluations.

Most states have one or more driver’s license renewal provisions specific to older drivers, like shorter renewal cycles, required vision or road testing, and in-person renewal rather than online renewal or by mail. The ages at which these additional requirements apply vary by state and can be found in the tables below.

As you look toward retirement, understanding the "milestone" ages — such as 62, 70 or 75 — at which your home or adopted state might require a return to the DMV can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that you're never caught off guard by a surprise expiration.

States requiring a road (driving) test

Currently, Illinois is the only state that broadly mandates a behind-the-wheel driving test based specifically on age. Illinois drivers age 79 and older are required to pass a behind-the-wheel test to renew their licenses. However, this rule is on its way out.

As of July 1, 2026, mandatory age-based road tests for drivers ages 79 to 86 will be eliminated, following the passage of the Road Safety and Fairness Act (HB 1226). From that point on, the annual road test requirement will begin at age 87.

Rather than requiring road tests, most states mandate some combination of in-person renewals and vision tests for older drivers.

States with mandatory vision tests (age-specific)

You don't need perfect vision to drive, but your vision must meet a basic standard, which is why most state DMVs use vision tests.

A 2018 study titled "Self-reported Eyeglass Use by US Medicare Beneficiaries Aged 65 Years or Older" found that approximately 40.5 million beneficiaries used eyeglasses for either distance or near vision correction. (In most cases, Medicare does not cover vision tests, corrective glasses or contact lenses).

Only seven states — Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont — do not require a vision test at renewal for any drivers.

Meanwhile, 19 states require vision testing of older drivers at every renewal, beginning at varying ages ranging from 40 years (Maine and Maryland) up to 80 years (Florida). Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia require vision tests of all drivers at every renewal, every other renewal or at a set period.

Before you make an appointment for a vision test at your local DMV, check to see if you can skip the line. Many states now allow you to have your eye doctor fill out a vision report form in advance of your appointment to renew your license. In some cases, your eye care professional can report information to the authorities or an online registry.

If you don't see your state's name on this list, that means the rules for how often you must take an eye test to renew your license are the same for all drivers, regardless of age.

States with shorter renewal cycles

Rather than requiring a new road test, many states "check in" more often by shortening the time between renewals. For convenience, some states allow drivers to choose a shorter renewal period after reaching a certain age.

Some states (18) cap the age at which a person can renew a license online or by mail and instead require in-person license renewals, beginning as young as age 62 in Maine and as late as age 79 in Texas. In stark contrast, six states, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin, don't offer mail or online renewals regardless of the driver’s age.

If you don't see your state's name on this list, that means the rules for renewing a license or eligibility to renew by mail or online do not change regardless of age.

Staying behind the wheel

Ultimately, a little preparation goes a long way in navigating these age-related driving requirements. If you're considering a move to a new state for retirement, take a moment to look beyond the housing market and local amenities to see how the DMV handles senior renewals.

Understanding these regulations early allows you to integrate vision, health and mobility planning into your broader retirement strategy, ensuring that you remain in the driver's seat — both literally and figuratively — for years to come.

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