Retirement spending deserves a plan, too

For most of your working life, the goal was simple: save more, spend less, and let time do the rest. That habit is probably a big reason retirement looks the way it does today. But once the paychecks stop, priorities often shift, and some retirees continue approaching money the same way they did while working.

Here's the surprising part: research shows a large share of retirees still hold onto nearly all of their original nest egg well into their 80s, even though that money was meant to eventually be used. Other findings point to the same pattern — retirees leaning almost entirely on Social Security and steady income while barely touching their actual savings, often withdrawing far less per year than their plan was built to support.

If your financial plan accounted for this type of spending, using those savings may be part of the strategy you worked hard to build. Knowing which expenses are covered by guaranteed income versus portfolio withdrawals, building room for discretionary spending (not just the essentials), and revisiting those assumptions periodically instead of setting them once and forgetting them can all help build a structure to allow you to use what you’ve saved.

Preserving your assets is an important consideration. It’s equally important for you to feel comfortable spending your savings to support the life you’ve worked hard to build.

If you've been more cautious with your retirement spending, it may be worth a conversation to see how much room you really have.