Look beyond a single age
You know when retirement may begin, but not exactly how long it will last. Instead of building around one date, ask how your plan might behave across a range of time horizons. For a couple, the household plan should also consider the possibility that one partner lives substantially longer than the other.
Separate the jobs your money must do
Money needed for next year’s spending has a different job from money intended for later life or family. Write down your essential spending, flexible spending, accessible reserves, and longer-term goals. This does not dictate an allocation; it helps make the competing demands visible before you compare approaches.
Ask what changes over time
Identify which income streams continue for life, which can end, and which depend on an account balance. Social Security offers tools to review benefit estimates and claiming choices. Review your own pension or insurance contract for its payment and survivor terms; similarly named options can have different effects on a household.
A question to take with you
Ask: “What would we change if retirement lasted longer than we originally planned?”
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Educational information only; not a personalized recommendation or an offer of insurance. Guarantees depend on the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability. Annuities are not bank deposits or FDIC insured. Contract terms, costs, surrender charges, and availability vary. Read the disclosures.
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