Three costly retirement regrets in your 70s and 80s – and how to avoid them

For all the planning that comes with retirement, certain decisions can fall through the proverbial cracks.

When those cracks widen to a financial gap in retirement for those in their 70s and 80s, regret over missed opportunities can emerge. Instead of enjoying time with grandkids or pursuing travel dreams, retirees may have to work through a maze of tax regulations and income possibilities, for example, to bridge the gap created by choices made (or not made) decades ago.

“Having a comprehensive plan is rarely something anyone regrets,” Virginia-based financial adviser Jeffrey B. Smith, owner of retirement planning firm The Retirement Smith, said in an email to The Independent. “Not having one almost always is.”

The Independent spoke with several financial experts to learn which regrets are common among retirees in their 70s and 80s and how to avoid them.

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Not planning for incapacitation

The financial and personal implications of death tend to be front-of-mind for retirees but not what might happen if they become so ill they can no longer make decisions. And when they lose agency to an illness or accident, regret surges, said attorney Lisa McCurdy, CEO of estate and asset protection law firm The Wealth Counselor.

“When no one has been legally appointed to make financial or health care decisions on your behalf, and you lose cognitive ability or become incapacitated, your family is left scrambling,” McCurdy told The Independent by email. “That regret is profound, and it’s entirely preventable.”

To prevent this, those looking toward retirement or who are already retired and healthy should assign two legal documents: a durable power of attorney for finances and a healthcare power of attorney or advance medical directive.

The former lets you choose a trusted person to manage your finances if you’re incapacitated, and the latter lets you choose someone to make decisions about things such as medical procedures, medications, authorize medical procedures, approve medications and direct how funds are spent for long-term care, McCurdy said.

“Doing this while you have full capacity means you choose the decision-makers, not a courtroom during a crisis,” she said.

Not saving enough

While the average retiree believes they need more than $800,000 to retire comfortably, they typically only have around $290,000 set aside for their golden years, according to a survey from Clever Real Estate. That disparity is indicative of one of the biggest regrets that certified financial planner Shelby Rothman, owner of wealth management firm EnJoy Financial, sees frequently among her clients.

“Clients often regret not saving enough money for retirement and focusing on short-term goals, like buying a house or starting a family, early in their lives,” she told The Independent by email. “Retirement sneaks up on them and they don’t have enough income for retirement.”

What makes the savings situation even more difficult is that those who realize the shortfall in their 70s and 80s can’t really make up for the lost savings. There just isn’t enough time for compound interest to build in any new savings contributions, Rothman said.

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“It’s not just missing out on the dollars they should have saved, but on the money that money should have made over time, like a negative snowball effect,” she said.

To avoid this regret, people should remember that their Social Security should supplement their retirement funds, not be the only source of income, Rothman said. Second, save as much as you can when you’re young.

“If your employer offers a match on a company 401(k), make sure to contribute enough to receive that match – it’s free money,” she said. “In addition, be consistent with your savings. The longer money is invested, the more opportunity there is for it to grow.”

Not hiring a financial professional

Many retirees don’t hire a financial planner or adviser until years after they should, leaving them with regrets during retirement, Smith said.

“After going through a thorough planning process, I frequently hear, ‘I wish I had done this years ago,’” Smith said. “The clarity, structure and long-term strategy provide confidence that many retirees realize they lacked for decades.”

Avoiding this regret requires dispelling a myth commonly held among future or soon-to-be retirees: that financial planning is something that only rich people do because it’s expensive.

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If individuals can overcome that mental hurdle, the decision to pay for a financial planner is well worth the investment. Many times, people hire a planner when something goes wrong, and that’s not always the best timing, Smith said.

“Much like hiring a personal trainer, people often don’t realize the value until there’s a specific trigger – retirement approaching, a market downturn or a major life event,” he said. “Most individuals spend decades working without truly knowing whether they are on track or if the decisions they’ve made will sustain them once the paycheck stops.”