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You prepare for retirement your whole life — maybe as far back as your teenage years and your first paycheck. You put cash aside. You invest. You live within your means, and when the time comes, you downsize. So are you really, truly ready to retire?
That depends.
According to an April 2025 study by Northwestern Mutual, Americans believe they need to save around $1.26 million for a comfortable retirement. While this figure is $200K less than what was reported last year, 25% of Americans say they have one year or less worth of income in retirement savings.
Even with decades of planning and saving, surprises are likely to come your way that first year of retirement.
Here are five strategies retirees — and those about to take the plunge — should consider following.
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5. Get ready for an adjustment period
Even if you have a smart plan for retirement, there’s still an adjustment period, where leaving the labor force means far less money coming in and more going out. And let’s face it, pre-retirement habits and assumptions can be difficult to change.
Make sure to look over your budget before you retire, not after. Where and what do you spend on? What’s your projected cash inflow?
Crunching these numbers might feel overwhelming, especially if it looks like you’re going to have to make some big changes to your lifestyle, so it’s a smart idea to sit down with a financial advisor and take stock of your situation.
If you don’t have one yet, researching and calling multiple advisors can be a hassle, but there are easier ways to find one fast.
Advisor.com connects you with vetted fiduciary financial advisors near you. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions about your finances, and Adivsor.com matches you with a short list of certified experts to choose from.
You can then set up an introductory meeting with no obligation to hire.
4. Make sure your loved ones are protected
No one ever feels ready to start thinking about life insurance.
But the truth is, the younger you are when you purchase a policy, the lower your premiums will be. Life insurance can be used by your loved ones to make up for lost income, pay outstanding debts, cover unexpected expenses and pay for funeral costs.
With Ethos, you can get term life insurance in just five minutes — no medical exams or blood tests required.
And, you can get up to $2 million in coverage, starting at just $2/day.
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
3. Have a Social Security strategy
If you take your Social Security starting at age 62, you’ll miss out on additional funds you’d reap at a later retirement age, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
If you wait until you hit 66, the SSA calculates that you’d receive $1,000 instead of $750. Further, you could receive delayed retirement credits should you wait until full retirement age, which stops when you reach 70.
To be sure, managing your bills might not make deferment possible, but you may be able to strengthen your savings by regularly contributing to a retirement account.
You know that an IRA is one of the best savings vehicles for retirement and can help you to be less reliant on Social Security benefits when the time for retirement comes. However, you may not know there are different types of IRAs.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
2. Prioritize your expenses
Want to travel? It’s a delicious luxury but it’s incredibly expensive when you factor in food, lodging, flights and frequency of trips. Want to renovate your home or buy a seaside getaway? Interest rates on first and second mortgages these days are through the roof.
Before you break open the coffers and live it up, get a sense of your “nice to haves” versus your “need to haves.” You can also take steps to lower the cost of those “need to haves” so that you’ve got more money leftover for the fun stuff.
One beneficial way to lower those costs is to shop around for a better deal on your home insurance. OfficialHomeInsurance, an easy-to-use platform, helps you compare home insurance rates in your area.
Shopping for a better policy fast and easy: all you have to do is answer a few quick questions about yourself and your home, and you’ll see get a list of quotes tailored for your needs.
A report by MarketWatch found that 82% of Americans struggle to keep the monthly cost of car ownership below the recommended threshold of 10% of their monthly income.
When you use OfficialCarInsurance, you can ensure that you’re cutting your insurance costs down to size, and keeping them within the scope of your fixed income by comparing available policies and prices.
Getting started with a quote is easy: When you enter your age, your home state, the type of vehicle you drive and your driving record, OfficialCarInsurance will sort through the leading insurance companies in your area, including top providers like Progressive, Allstate and GEICO. You can then easily compare rates and choose the policy that best suits your needs and budget.
The platform is 100% free to use and it can help you ensure you aren’t overpaying for insurance every month.
1. Keep adding to your savings
Once it’s time to retire, many folks throw their savings plan out the window of the cruise ship or dream home. That’s the wrong way to go. Saving not only offers a buffer but also a means to make even more aspirations possible.
If you once put 10% of each paycheck aside, you could now aim for 10% of each Social Security check. Even just 5% is better than nothing, especially if you invest it wisely.
Yes, the stock market may be rocky these days, but there are other ways to invest for your future than just dumping your savings into stocks.
You can also shop around to find the best savings options with the Moneywise list of Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2025 to compare your options and start building your retirement or emergency fund more efficiently.
What to read next
- Don’t have the cash to pay Uncle Sam in 2025? You may already be eligible for a ‘streamlined’ handshake with the IRS — here’s how it works and how it can potentially save you thousands
- Here are 5 ‘must have’ items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you?
- Robert Kiyosaki warns of a ‘Greater Depression’ coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 ‘easy-money’ assets will bring in great wealth. How to get in now
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
