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At 64, Robin is retired with a healthy $700,000 nest egg. On paper, she should feel secure. Yet instead of enjoying her days, she finds herself opening her retirement account app five times a day, watching the balance tick up and down with the market. Each dip sparks anxiety: What if I run out? What if this isn’t enough?
She isn’t the only one worrying. A recent Allianz survey(1) found that 64% of respondents are more worried about running out of money during retirement than dying.
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This may be due to many retirees trying to survive on too little, with a recent AARP survey finding that 20% of Americans ages 50 and over have no retirement savings (2).
Even with a robust $700,000 nest egg, you may still find yourself with money worries in retirement. But there are ways to stop worrying and enjoy retirement. Here’s how to get to a healthier place and avoid the constant stress.
Work with a financial advisor to establish a safe withdrawal plan
One of the most effective ways to quiet the worry is to work with a professional to oversee those accounts. A financial advisor can help calculate a sustainable withdrawal rate based on your savings, investment mix and lifestyle needs.
Robin’s retirement accounts are invested, which means that the value can change from one day to the next. Watching those shifts in real time can make even the most diligent saver feel like they’re gambling with their future.
Working with a financial advisor can also help you to understand the best paths to diversification, given your age and lifestyle plans. An advisor can test different scenarios and show you how long your money is likely to last.
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For Robin, seeing those numbers on paper and knowing a professional is guiding her decisions could alleviate her anxieties that lead her to check her balances five times a day. Once she’s able to stop fixating on her balance so frequently, she won’t have to worry about every little bump in the road.
Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 simple money rules to turn $9,800 into a stunning $150B — start using them today to get rich (and then stay rich)
Hedge against inflation
Robin could also consider diversifying her investments outside of the stock market. Many financial experts recommend some amount of hedging against dips in the stock market (3). For Robin, it may just help her to stop checking her investment app five times each day.
Investing in real estate may seem like a bold move at Robin’s age, as it usually requires a huge upfront capital expenditure.
However, investing in real estate doesn’t always require you to purchase a property outright. With crowdfunding investing platforms like Arrived, you can own a percentage of physical real estate — such as vacation and rental properties — without the responsibilities that come along with being a landlord.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of rental homes without having to deal with the risks. To get started, simply browse through Arrived’s curated selection of homes, vetted for their appreciation and income potential.
Once you find a property you like, choose the number of shares you want to buy and get started with as little as $100.
Another option for investment outside of the stock market you can consider is gold.
Gold is currently on a record-breaking run, precisely because the shaky stock market made so many professional investors run to the safe-haven asset as the markets became unpredictable over the last few years.
Priority Gold is an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of gold and silver. Plus, they have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a 5-star rating from Trust Link.
If you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping, and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases will also receive up to $10,000 in free silver.
To learn more about how Priority Gold can help you reduce inflation’s impact on your nest egg, download their free 2025 gold investor bundle.
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Invest in a way that matches your comfort level
Working with an advisor also helps ensure that your money is allocated in a way that doesn’t keep you up at night.
When you’re younger, growth is the goal — a heavy stock allocation makes sense. But once you’re in retirement, the stakes are different. A market downturn can be harder to recover from when you’re drawing down your accounts.
For someone like Robin, peace of mind may come from dialing back risk. That might mean holding fewer stocks, focusing on dividend-paying companies, or adding more bonds, Certificates of Deposit, or Treasury securities for stability.
Certificates of deposit (CDs) lock your money in for a fixed term in exchange for a guaranteed return. Rates vary by term but can exceed 4% for longer durations. This can make them a low-risk savings option that yields higher interest than some top savings accounts.
The key to investing in retirement isn’t following a one-size-fits-all rule. It’s creating a mix that feels secure. If Robin knows her money is being invested in a way that won’t lead to big swings — and that those allocations align with her comfort level — she’ll be less tempted to log in each day for reassurance.
One way Robin can feel more secure and shift her focus away from checking and double-checking her investments is to focus on things she can control: Reviewing her daily spending and budgeting.
If managing a budget feels overwhelming to you, apps like Rocket Money can simplify the process.
Rocket Money tracks and categorizes your expenses, providing a clear view of your cash, credit, and investments in one place. It can even uncover forgotten subscriptions, helping you cut unnecessary costs and save potentially hundreds annually.
For a small fee, the app can also negotiate lower rates on your monthly bills, making it a valuable tool for keeping your finances on track.
Rely on guaranteed income to ease the pressure
The less reliant you are on your nest egg, the less worried you might be about running out of money. Relying more on guaranteed income streams, like Social Security, is key here.
Robin can choose to claim benefits as early as 62, but doing so locks her into permanently reduced checks. Waiting until her full retirement age of 67 means a higher benefit, while delaying until 70 boosts her monthly income even further. Understanding these trade-offs — and choosing the right age to claim — can make a big difference in how secure she feels.
Some retirees also consider annuities or other products that provide a steady lifetime income. The point is to build a foundation of predictable money each month, so the entire burden doesn’t rest on the investment accounts. For Robin, knowing her essential bills will always be covered by Social Security and perhaps other guaranteed sources can make the ups and downs of her portfolio less frightening.
Robin’s story is a reminder that worry in retirement isn’t always about the numbers. Even with $700,000 in savings, the lack of a paycheck can create an uneasy feeling of vulnerability.
The path forward isn’t to watch account balances obsessively, but to create a system that replaces that daily reassurance: a withdrawal plan guided by an advisor, an investment strategy that aligns with her comfort level and guaranteed income streams that cover her needs.
With those safeguards in place, Robin and retirees like her can stop treating retirement like a gamble and start enjoying the years they’ve worked so hard for.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Allianz (1); AARP (2); Investopedia(3)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.