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Tony Robbins, the well-known motivational speaker, warns that the most popular approach to Social Security is also the most dangerous.
On his blog, he says relying on the program as the foundation of your retirement plan is a “recipe for disaster."
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Here’s why Robbins encourages people to look beyond this safety net and why a growing number of working-age Americans are already leaning towards alternative strategies.
Social Security isn’t nearly enough
For most Americans over the age of 65, an average monthly Social Security benefit of $2,000 isn’t enough. Data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) program shows that retired households spend over double that every month.
The program’s sustainability is also in doubt, meaning future retirees could potentially see even lower benefits. Trust fund assets are expected to be depleted by 2033, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), while the Trump administration’s proposed tax cuts could deplete the funds in as little as six years, according to Marc Goldwein of The Committee for a Responsible Budget.
In other words, Social Security might not be a solid foundation for your retirement plan.
“Time to get your head out of the sand and do some easy number crunching to find out where you are and where you need to be,” Robbins wrote in a blog post.
A better plan for your future
Robbins goes on to encourage working-age Americans to create their own nest egg. Instead of relying on Social Security, it could be a good idea to start building out an independent retirement fund as soon as you can.
Robbins recommends targeting savings of roughly 20 times your annual expenses. This can be coupled with the 4% withdrawal rule, which means you can safely use 4% of these assets after adjusting for inflation to meet your living expenses without depleting your funds over the long term.
Read more: You don’t have to be a millionaire to gain access to this $1B private real estate fund. In fact, you can get started with as little as $10 — here’s how
To reach that level of savings, it’s important to start investing early and often.
With Acorns, you can start automatically investing your spare change to begin working on a nest egg in less than 3 minutes.
How it works is simple. Acorns rounds your purchase up to the nearest dollar and invests the rest in a smart portfolio of ETFs on your behalf. That $4.25 morning coffee? It’s now a 75-cent investment in your future.
Even better, when you set up a recurring investment with a minimum of $5, you’ll get an extra $20 within 10 days of the following month to help kickstart your investing journey.
Diversify your portfolio
The key to building a robust portfolio for the long run is spreading your wealth across different asset types. As you approach retirement, you’ll often need to sell off assets to maintain your lifestyle.
But if all of your investments are in a single stock, and that stock is down when you want to retire, what will you do? That’s why diversification is key.
Gold
The stock market has see-sawed during 2025 due to a combination of geopolitical uncertainty and shifting economic priorities, driven in part by U.S. tariff negotiations.
This is one reason why considering inflation-resistant investments for your retirement, such as gold, may be worthwhile. This precious metal is typically more stable than stocks during economic downturns and recessions. In April 2025, gold breached the $3,000 per ounce benchmark. What’s more, JP Morgan Chase predicts that gold could soar to $4,000 per ounce in 2026.
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.
Fine Art
According to a Deloitte survey, 89% of wealth managers believe art and collectibles should be a part of a wealth management offering. That could be a sign it’s worth considering this physical asset as a part of your retirement strategy.
This market has traditionally been the domain of the ultra-rich, but now you don’t need to be an expert in art to take advantage of this asset class.
Platforms like Masterworks simplify the process of art investing, allowing everyday investors to buy fractional shares of blue-chip artwork from iconic artists like Picasso, Basquiat and Banksy. Like blue-chip stocks, these are pieces of art that tend to only increase in value over time. This can make it easier to diversify your portfolio without the complexity and cost of managing art investments on your own.
Through 23 exits so far, investors have realized representative annualized net returns like 17.6%, 17.8% and 21.5% among assets held for longer than one year. You can get VIP access and skip the waitlist here.
See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd.
Real estate
Then there’s real estate. For most people, this means purchasing a home, but there are now ways to invest without amassing a sizable down payment and taking on a mortgage.
For accredited investors, Homeshares gives access to the $34.9 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors.
With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.
Another way to tap into this market is by investing in shares of vacation homes or rental properties through Arrived.
Backed by world-class investors including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.
To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100, potentially earning quarterly dividends.
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- How much cash do you plan to keep on hand after you retire? Here are 3 of the biggest reasons you’ll need a substantial stash of savings in retirement
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
