As you may know, I retired a few years ago, and I’ve had time to reflect on the experience. While I’ve enjoyed retirement so far, there are a few things I wish I could do over. Like many things in life, however, there are no pre-retirement do-overs—no way to go back and redo the preparation.
Don’t get me wrong – retirement has been good. I’ve taken multiple trips to Hawaii, an Alaska cruise, cruises through the eastern Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera, and even a transatlantic cruise that included time in Rome and London. It’s been a busy travel schedule, with more trips planned later this year and the next.
I have no regrets about the travel. But I do have a few reflections that might be helpful for those preparing for retirement. Here are some things I wish I had done differently:
I Didn’t Begin Planning Early Enough
Like many Americans, I had a myopic view of life in my early years. While “myopic” technically refers to nearsighted vision, it also applies to a lack of foresight. I lived day to day, focused mostly on the weekend—not on life 30 or 40 years down the road. Retirement at age 65 felt impossibly far away.
My parents never discussed retirement, and it wasn’t mentioned in school. So, when my employers introduced 401(k) plans in the early ’80s, I had little interest. Only when older coworkers began talking about their retirement plans did I start to pay attention—and even then, I didn’t take action right away.
Looking back, I wish someone had guided me in my twenties. Time and compound interest are your greatest assets when saving for retirement. Even small contributions made decades ago would have grown significantly. Of course, it’s easy to say that now. Back in the early ’70s, I was earning $3.50 an hour, supporting a young family, and paying a $150 monthly mortgage.
Still, I wish I had started planning earlier.
I Could Have Saved More
I didn’t get serious about saving for retirement until my mid-forties, after we built our home. We moved to five acres in the woods and built the house from scratch—a process that lasted nearly fifteen years and seemed to consume every dollar we had. There was always another project, and never enough money to do everything.
I opened my first 401(k) in the early ’90s and initially contributed only the minimum, ignoring the full employer match. It was difficult—we needed every penny for the house and for our children’s activities: gymnastics, horseback riding, piano lessons, and travel for elite soccer competitions.
Over time, I began allocating half of each annual raise to my retirement plan. Eventually, I contributed more than 18% of my income, not including the employer match. While that was a significant amount, it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of saving in my earlier years.
I wish I had saved more—and started sooner.
I Went Over Budget When Downsizing
As retirement approached, we knew we didn’t want a mortgage. We had built substantial equity in our home and hoped to use it to purchase our next home outright. We sold the house and began searching for a new one near our daughter and grandchildren.
Unfortunately, most available homes were either in dense neighborhoods and needed major updates or were more expensive than the house we had just sold.
After a long search, we increased our budget and chose a home on an acre in a nice neighborhood. While it met our goals, we had to take out a small loan to complete the purchase. We would have paid taxes and insurance regardless, but now we also had a principal and interest payment. We paid it off a few years later and we are now mortgage and debt free.
We made conscious choices to be near family and in a place we enjoy—but I still wish we had stayed within our original budget.
Regrets and Do-Overs
Overall, I truly enjoyed my career—even through the challenging periods—and I would choose it again. That said, there are a few things I would do differently when it comes to retirement planning. Perhaps you can learn from my experience:
- Start saving as early as possible
- Take full advantage of employer retirement plans and matching contributions
- Consider Roth accounts instead of traditional 401(k)s
- Allocate a portion of every raise—at least half—toward retirement savings
- Delay taking Social Security as long as feasible
- Plan your retirement housing early and downsize while still working if possible