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.
For someone like Robin, peace of mind may come from dialing back risk. That might mean holding fewer stocks, focusing on dividend-paying companies, or adding more bonds, CDs, or Treasury securities for stability.
The key isn’t following a one-size-fits-all rule. It’s creating a mix that feels secure. If Robin knows her money is being invested in a way that won’t lead to big swings — and that those allocations align with her comfort level — she’ll be less tempted to log in each day for reassurance.
Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching stocks — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead
The less reliant you are on your nest egg, the less worried about running out of money you might be. Relying more on guaranteed income streams, like Social Security, is key here.
Robin can choose to claim benefits as early as 62, but doing so locks her into permanently reduced checks. Waiting until her full retirement age of 67 means a higher benefit, while delaying until 70 boosts her monthly income even further. Understanding these trade-offs — and choosing the right age to claim — can make a big difference in how secure she feels.
Some retirees also consider annuities or other products that provide steady lifetime income. The point is to build a foundation of predictable money each month, so the entire burden doesn’t rest on the investment accounts. For Robin, knowing her essential bills will always be covered by Social Security and perhaps other guaranteed sources can make the ups and downs of her portfolio less frightening.
Robin’s story is a reminder that worry in retirement isn’t always about the numbers. Even with $700,000 in savings, the lack of a paycheck can create an uneasy feeling of vulnerability.
The path forward isn’t to watch account balances obsessively, but to create a system that replaces that daily reassurance: a withdrawal plan guided by an advisor, an investment strategy that aligns with her comfort level and guaranteed income streams that cover her needs.
With those safeguards in place, Robin, and retirees like her, can stop treating retirement like a gamble and start enjoying the years they’ve worked so hard for.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
