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 found that 64% of respondents are more worried about running out of money during retirement than dying.
This may be due to many retirees trying to survive on too little, with the Federal Reserve saying that Americans ages 55 to 64 have a median retirement savings of $185,000. And a recent AARP survey found that 20% of Americans ages 50 and over have no retirement savings.
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.
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.
An advisor can test different scenarios and show you how long your money is likely to last.
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 balances so frequently, she won’t have to worry about every little bump in the road.
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.