My wife and I feel very fortunate to have been able to fully retire at age 63.
If it hadn’t been for my military pension, we’d still both be working.
Unfortunately, it’s clear that many boomers and upcoming Gen Xers will not be financially prepared for retirement.
What happens then?
The Thing Nobody Talks About
Here’s something nobody talks about: the shame.
When you realize you’re not going to be able to retire the way you imagined—the way your friends seem to be doing, the way the commercials promised—it doesn’t just feel like a financial problem. It feels like a personal failure.
I’ve talked to people who’ve been blindsided by this. They did everything they thought they were supposed to do. They worked hard, raised their kids, and paid their bills. And somewhere along the way, retirement snuck up on them before they were ready.
But here’s the truth: most of us weren’t taught how to save for retirement. Our parents didn’t have to—they had pensions. By the time we figured out the rules had changed, we were already behind.
If that’s you, you’re not alone, and you’re not a failure. You’re just facing a problem that millions of others are facing too, most of them in silence.
The question isn’t “how did I mess this up?” It’s “what do I do now?”
Working Longer Than You Planned
Many people will have to keep working past when they’d hoped to retire.
Social security is not enough to live on by itself, so you’ll need to work at least part-time to supplement your income during retirement.
Many retirees will be working into their 70s and beyond. My father-in-law worked well into his upper 80s.
Your Options
What are your options for work at retirement age?
Here’s what some people do:
• Part-time work. With Social Security as a base, most retirees will only have to work part-time. Employers value seniors for their maturity, strong work ethic, experience, and reliability.
Professionals can often transition from full-time to part-time work because their experience is valuable to the business.
• Reduce your cost of living. Even with part-time work, you may still need to reduce your cost of living.
To reduce the cost of living, you’ll need to make a budget and stick to it carefully. If you haven’t used a budget before, there are often free consumer education opportunities available through workshops at libraries, community centers, or adult education programs.
Some people may need to consider shared housing or, at a minimum, downsize their homes.
• Change in lifestyle. To make it work, you may need to change your lifestyle.
For example, if you’re used to eating out a lot, one way to save money would be to cook most of your meals at home. It’s significantly less expensive and better for your health than eating out all the time.
If You’re Not There Yet
What should you do if you’re pre-retirement and haven’t prepared?
Talk to a financial advisor and develop a retirement savings plan.
Since you’re getting a late start in saving, you’re likely going to have to begin a crash savings program. You’ll have to make some sacrifices now to have enough money to retire.
You may also need to develop alternative income streams.
It Can Still Be a Good Life
Maybe retirement doesn’t look like the commercials. Maybe it includes some part-time work you actually enjoy. Maybe it means downsizing into a life with less stuff but more freedom. It’s not the retirement you planned. But it can still be a good life.
And if you’re facing this reality, here’s my encouragement: start talking about it.
Talk to your spouse. Talk to a financial advisor. Talk to a friend who’s in the same boat—and I promise you, more of your friends are in this boat than you realize.
Shame grows in silence. But when you say it out loud—”I’m not sure we have enough”—you’ve already taken the first step toward figuring out what comes next.
What about you?
Are you worried about having enough for retirement?
What’s your plan?
AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words and thoughts for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, images, and text improvements.
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