Retirement Fears Keeping You Up? Sleep Well With These 5 Solutions
Worried about outliving your money or paying for health care? These five strategies can erase retirement anxiety and protect your savings.
Question: I should be excited about retiring this year; instead, I’m losing sleep over worries about finances, loneliness and other problems. I'm exhausted! How can I reclaim my peace of mind?
Answer: Monsters under the bed aren't the only thing keeping pre-retirees awake at night. So are fears about retirement, and for good reason. Retirement isn’t cheap; it can last over twenty years, and one unexpected illness or bad financial move could derail your plans altogether.
Add rising inflation, the war in Iran, and economic concerns, and Americans nearing or in retirement are understandably losing sleep.
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The good news is you can slay those retirement fears; it just takes planning and adjustments.
“Fears are always surmountable. It’s nothing more than a manifestation of your anxiety bubbling up,” says Pam Krueger, founder and CEO of Boston-based Wealthramp, an SEC-registered adviser matching platform. “The fear is the monster, and if you continue to wait and put off doing something about it, the stress can kill you.”
When it comes to retirement fears, those centered around saving, health, sense of purpose, legacy and investment losses are big ones.
A lack of preparation in each area can easily conjure up nightmares and keep you tossing and turning. But there are actions you can take to slay those monsters and get a good night's sleep. Here’s how.
1. What if I haven't saved enough money?
Everyone knows they should save for retirement, especially the older they get. The general rule of thumb is to stash away 10% to 15% of your annual income in a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan.
But not everyone does that, which can lead to nightmares that you may outlive your money. It’s made worse if you don’t know how much you are supposed to save.
The solution: Start saving more, even if it’s a small amount.
“We all have a responsibility to save and invest for retirement. Social Security was never designed to support the full cost of living,” said Rob Williams, a former managing director of financial planning, retirement income, and wealth management for the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
“To save enough to sufficiently fund the move into making work optional, pay yourself first. Have that money come out of your budget almost as an expense.”
If you have a 401(k) plan, Williams said to make a conscious effort to increase your savings rate, at least by meeting a company match if available. If you don’t, you're leaving free money on the table.
If you are 50 or older and can afford to take advantage of catch-up contributions, you can save an additional $8,000 in 2026.
Super-catch-up contributions for workers aged 60 to 63 let you save up to $11,250 in 2026, up from $8,000. Keep in mind that high-income savers will be required to stash that money in a Roth 401(k), potentially throwing a curveball in your tax planning.
If you are saving as much as you can and still feel like you’ll face a shortfall, delaying retirement by a few years can help you save more and mitigate that fear. (To get an idea of how much you should have saved based on income, check out our series: Retirement Savings on Track? How Much You Should Have by 50 and 55, Retirement Savings on Track? How Much You Should Have by 55 and 60, and Retirement Savings on Track? How Much You Should Have by 60 and 65.)
If you are already in retirement and feel like you don’t have enough saved, Krueger says to take a hard look at your current expenses and spending habits and adjust accordingly, considering the impact inflation will have on your savings.
After all, it wasn’t too long ago that inflation hit a more than 40-year high. “It could mean getting a part-time job, or it might mean selling your house. The earlier you know (how much you need to save), the better a position you are in to fix it,” says Krueger.
2. Will I be able to afford healthcare costs when I retire?
The average cost of health care is soaring, especially as we age. According to Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old retiring today will need about $172,500 to cover healthcare expenses.
That figure doesn’t consider any unexpected illnesses or accidents, nor does it account for a stint in a long-term care facility, which can set you back tens of thousands of dollars, depending on how long you need care.
Moreover, the premium subsidies for the health care marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expired at the end of 2025. If you hope to retire before Medicare kicks in at age 65 and you don't have access to employer-sponsored health insurance, you're in for a shock. In fact, soaring health care premiums could tank your early retirement if you're not careful.
If you haven't been that healthy, it's understandable that health concerns might keep you up.
Even if you are healthy, getting sick in retirement and not having the cash to cover it can be scary.
The solution: If you aren’t in retirement yet and have a high-deductible health insurance plan, take advantage of a health savings account, says Dan Sudit, founding partner at Crewe Advisors, the Salt Lake City, Utah, independent advisory firm.
This is a tax-advantaged way to save money for unexpected health events. The great thing about an HSA is you can roll it over each year, essentially hoarding money that can be used for qualified medical expenses when you do exit the workforce.
“A lot of clients can set money aside in an HSA plan and don't use it until retirement,” says Sudit.
Another way to slay this fear is to stress-test your retirement plan and see whether your current retirement savings rate will be enough to cover it, considering your family’s medical history and potential longevity.
If you have adult children under 26 on your ACA family marketplace plan, you might save by signing them up for a separate plan. Young and healthy people may be able to get a cheap plan, and you can save money by getting a plan just for you and your spouse, if you are married.
It's also a good idea to check your current health insurance, whether you are in or out of retirement, to ensure it gives you the coverage you need now and in the future.
“The way to put the fear to rest is to not let questions go unanswered,” says Krueger.
Read How to Use Your Health Savings Account in Retirement for more tips.
3. I'm afraid I won't have any purpose when I retire
For people entering retirement now or in the future, a lack of purpose could be the stuff of nightmares.
That’s particularly true if you love your job, your self-worth is attached to it, or the thought of idle time freaks you out.
It's made worse if you were laid off or otherwise forced into retirement and now have to figure out ways to spend your time.
The solution: Just like you plan how much you have to save for retirement, you need to envision what you’ll do when you finally get that freedom.
“Getting rid of the 'freedom without purpose fear' all starts with thinking about what you really care about and why you wanted to retire in the first place,” says Krueger. “If you just wanted to stop the 9-to-5 grind, you have to substitute that with something else.”
For some, it could be volunteering or taking free college classes. Others might want to get a part-time job or side gig.
“Retirement is all about blending money and health and wellbeing and purpose,” says Krueger.
As you search for your purpose, Sudit says to be open-minded and test-drive different things to identify what gives you personal satisfaction. It doesn’t have to be a life-altering activity; it just has to be impactful to you.
4. Will my heirs fight over my estate?
If you’ve amassed a small fortune, own a small business, or have other assets and haven’t planned for how they will be passed down, it's understandable that you’re losing sleep.
You don’t want your loved ones fighting over your assets when you’re gone. Unfortunately, many of us don’t give our legacy too much thought until we are in the later stages of retirement, and if we wait too long, it can be too late.
The solution: Talk with your adult children or family members about estate planning — how you want your money and assets divided up.
It may be an uncomfortable conversation, but one you shouldn’t avoid. If you don’t want to do it face-to-face, Williams suggests writing a family love letter that states your values and what you want your loved ones to use the money for.
If your legacy is complicated or has a lot of moving parts, consider the help of an estate planning attorney who can come up with an inheritance plan that matches your vision (and helps with tax planning for your estate along the way).
“A big thing people need to think about is that what is important to them may not be important to that next generation,” says Sudit.
“So often people who have a family compound or lake house want to make sure the kids or grandkids can enjoy it, but in reality, it ends up being less of an asset and more of a burden.” That's just one example of the worst assets to leave your kids or grandkids.
5. Will stock losses leave me with a shortfall?
If you're planning to retire this year or are already in retirement, it's understandable to be concerned about the state of your retirement savings when the markets go south. Tapping your retirement savings in a down market can penalize you for the rest of your life, thanks to a phenomenon known as the sequence of returns risk.
The solution: Stay the course. The stock market rises and falls, and history has proven that staying invested is better than panicking and acting on emotions.
During the Great Recession and the steep sell-off in the early days of the COVID pandemic, investors who stuck to their financial plans recouped their losses and then some. If the market tanks just as you are starting to tap your retirement funds, consult a financial adviser to adjust your withdrawal rate and take other defensive measures.
Put those retirement fears to bed
Retirement can be scary. It's the next phase of your life after decades of saving and preparing for it.
But the prospect of retirement doesn't have to keep you tossing and turning at night. If you face your fears head-on, you can slay your worries and get a good night's sleep.
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