Retirement can be a high-stakes prospect for your finances, as you’re often left with a limited amount of money left to live on and you can’t easily make more. It’s more important than ever to avoid mistakes at this stage of your life, but unfortunately, some retirees end up making costly errors.
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If you don’t want to damage your finances, here are four money mistakes that end up hurting many older Americans.
1. Maintaining risky asset allocation
Where you put your money during your golden years can have a big impact on your financial health.
Close to half of all Vanguard 401(k) investors aged 55 and up actively managing their money had more than 70% of their portfolio in stocks, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023. For those aged 85 and up, one-fifth with taxable Vanguard brokerage accounts had almost all their money in the market, as did nearly a quarter of investors between ages 75 and 84.
The Journal also cited similarly troubling Fidelity data, which showed close to 40% of investors between the ages of 65 and 69 holding at least two-thirds of their portfolio in stocks.
While it’s good to have some money in the market, having too much can be asking for trouble. If you’re heavily invested in stocks and find yourself in need of cash or are taking regular withdrawals to comply with [required minimum distribution rules]( you may find yourself forced to take money out at a bad time.
This could lead to big losses on your investments when you’re unable to wait for a market recovery after a crash. Being forced to sell low could deplete your savings quickly.
To avoid this issue, make sure your money is allocated appropriately. A common formula is to subtract your age from 110 to calculate the percentage of assets that belong in equities. You can also talk with a financial adviser about the asset allocation that works best for you given your account balance, age and future goals.
The important thing is to avoid just sticking with the status quo and to ensure you aren’t taking on too much risk out of habit or lack of knowledge about where your funds belong.
2. Forgetting about emergency savings
Many folks assume they don’t have to save anymore once they’re retired. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
An estimated 13% of households aged 55 and up wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense, according to research conducted by the JP Morgan Chase Institute, and that figure jumps to 37% for a $1,600 expense. Both figures are higher than those for young (18-34) and middle-age (35-54) households.
Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead
Some older Americans assume that since they no longer need to worry about a job loss, they don’t need emergency savings. On the contrary, surprise expenses can happen to anyone at any time, and without money to pay for them, retirees could be forced to withdraw too much from investment accounts or rely on debt.
It’s important to maintain an emergency fund for these situations. If you sock away a few months’ worth of expenses in a high-yield savings account, you can earn a little bit of money while it sits there.
3. Claiming Social Security at the wrong time
Social Security mistakes are another costly fumble retirees can make — and this error is a big one. According to Forbes, citing research published by United Income in 2019, households missed out on $111,000 in potential Social Security retirement income on average because they claimed benefits at the wrong time. In addition, only 4% of retirees claimed benefits at the most financially opportune time.
Everybody’s situation is unique, and your optimal claiming strategy might be different from others — even your spouse. One of the problems is that many older Americans get benefits too early. Checks become available as young as age 62, but continue to grow if you delay claiming up until age 70.
A retiree who starts receiving checks at 62 will see their benefit shrink by as much as 30% from the amount they would get at full retirement age — 66 or 67 depending on when you were born. Meanwhile, retirees who wait to claim until after full retirement age can increase their benefit by 8% a year until age 70.
But, again, everybody’s financial needs are different. United Income’s study found 57% of retirees at the time would build more wealth if they waited until age 70 to claim retirement benefits, per Forbes, while only 4% had actually done so. Only 6.5% of retirees would have gained more wealth if they received Social Security before age 64, which is when 70% had claimed. The firm did acknowledge, however, that in some cases it’s financially necessary for people to claim benefits early. Speaking with a financial adviser about the best claiming strategy may be wise.
If you haven’t claimed Social Security yet, it’s worth looking into whether you can put it off. However, if you’ve already started receiving retirement benefits and it’s been less than 12 months, you can withdraw your claim but you will have to pay the money back. If you’re getting checks, once you reach full retirement age you can suspend payments up until age 70 to receive delayed retirement credits. Finally, if you decide to work while receiving Social Security, while the checks you get before full retirement age may be reduced or wiped out depending on your earnings, it’s possible to wind up with a higher adjusted benefit in the end.
4. Not planning for health-care costs
Failing to plan appropriately for health-care costs can be a huge bungle.
Fidelity estimates a 65-year-old retiring in 2024 will spend an average of $165,000 on health care and medical expenses in retirement.
Planning for these costs can include having dedicated savings (health savings account and shopping carefully for Medigap or Medicare Advantage Plans for comprehensive coverage. It may also be prudent to look into long-term care insurance.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Source Agencies
