CFI Blog Personal Finance FAQ Series: How Can I Save Retirement at Age 63?

If you’re close to your retirement age and discover that you don’t have enough saved up, is all lost? Unfortunately, planning to work until the day you die probably isn’t a viable plan. The answers aren’t easy; here are a few things you can do.

Take a look at the video below and find out what to do.

How Can I Save Retirement at Age 63?

The transcript follows.

If you’re reaching age 63 and don’t have nearly enough stored away in the nest egg to retire, it’s not time to panic, but, rather, to take action. Fortunately, with advances in medicine, you’re probably going to live a lot longer now than you would have a few decades ago. According to the Social Security Administration’s life expectancy tables, on average, you will live another 19 years if you’re a male and another 21 and a half years if you’re a female.

Here are some things that I recommend you do to improve your situation.

Adjust your expectations. You’re most likely not going to retire at age 65 or 66, so set your expectations appropriately so that you are not disappointed.
Get on a budget and pare down living expenses. Look to see if there are bills you can remove such as cable TV or a gym membership that you don’t use. The lower your monthly requirement is in retirement, the less you have to save.
Save as much as you can. It’s not too late, so don’t give up. Just because you can’t retire today doesn’t mean that you’re never going to be able to retire, but if you don’t start saving, then you’re going to have to work a lot longer than you expect.

Whatever you do, don’t panic. If you act prudently and quickly, you should still have plenty of time to kick back and enjoy retirement, even if it comes later than you expected it to.

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John Davis

John Davis is a nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, and identity theft. He has written four books about his expertise in the field and has been featured extensively in numerous media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, CBS News, CNBC, Fox Business, and many more. With over 20 years of experience helping consumers understand their credit and identity protection rights, John is passionate about empowering people to take control of their finances. He works with financial institutions to develop consumer-friendly policies that promote financial literacy and responsible borrowing habits.