Posted in Triplett & Carothers on December 2, 2025

It’s never too soon to save for retirement is sound financial advice that not everyone follows.

The majority of Americans, about 67%, have assets that are specifically earmarked for generating retirement income. However, that leaves another 33% who are not well prepared.

Retirement is not inexpensive. Experts tell us that we will need between 70% and 90% of our preretirement income to maintain our current lifestyle when we stop working. For most retirees, Social Security will account for only about 40% of their income.

Planning for retirement begins years or decades before you walk out the door of your workplace for the last time. Where to start? Here are some financial strategy tips to help you plan for a nearly worry-free retirement:

• To start creating your budget, collect the last few months of your bank account and credit card statements. Categorize your expenses, such as food, clothing, housing, entertainment and transportation. Include other recurring expenses such as mortgage, insurance, school tuition, health care, utilities or car payments. Factor in other costs such as vacations, gift giving, gym memberships or memberships in religious organizations. Add another category to give yourself a safety net for unexpected expenses that may arise, such as putting in a new water heater or buying a new car. This should give you a pretty good snapshot of what your monthly expenses add up to.
• Pool together your income streams to see what you have to draw from in retirement. This includes Social Security, tax-advantaged retirement accounts (401(k)s or Roth IRAs), pensions, taxable investments, real estate or annuities. Sum up your projected income and divide it by 12 to see what your monthly income will be. If your income is higher than your expenses, then you can expect to live a comfortable retirement. If not, you will need to make some decisions about where you can cut back on your expenses. It is not uncommon for retirees to take on part-time work to help make ends meet. You may even decide to delay retirement for a few years to continue building your savings.
• Your tax-deferred retirement account will probably be your largest source of income. Keep in mind that you will need to start taking out distributions from these accounts. The IRS requires you to start withdrawals when you reach age 72 or 73, depending on the year you were born.
• One important financial strategy is to pay down all of your debt before you retire. This includes your mortgage, car payments, college tuition and any credit card balances. Being debt-free allows you to focus on spending your money on the things you enjoy doing. You will still need to pay taxes on your income, so make sure you have set aside enough to do so.

Free online retirement budgeting tools are available to help you with this planning process. Check out My Social Security Retirement Calculator or the Retirement Planning Tools at USA.gov.

You may also seek the advice of a financial planner before beginning this exciting stage of life.

Reach out to Roz Carothers and her team at Triplett & Carothers to learn more.

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