Retirement planning can be confusing at best and overwhelming at worst. When people try to plan for their golden years without professional advice, it’s easy to make mistakes that can cost you both time and money later on. Find Out: Retirees Share the One Thing They Regret Not Saving For Read Next: The New Retirement Problem Boomers Are Facing To get a sense of what some of the worst — in other words, most costly — mistakes people make in their retirement planning, I asked ChatGPT to help aggregate the in ...

By your 60s, most of your retirement foundation is already in place. While you may still have a few years to save, building significant new wealth is less likely unless you continue working during retirement. This stage typically shifts focus to taxes, withdrawals, Social Security and budgeting. To help you create a retirement budget, let’s walk through an example of a 63-year-old with $1.35 million in a traditional IRA and $2,200 in monthly Social Security benefits. If you prefer a hands-on approach to re ...

For an average single person planning to stop working at 64, a $1.2 million 401(k) account and $2,800 Social Security benefit could provide enough income to make ends meet during retirement. Widely used guidelines suggest your annual income may be around $81,600, which may or may not be more than your annual expenses. Much depends on individual circumstances, including the kind of retirement lifestyle you desire, your location and future trends of inflation, taxes and investment returns. To get a comprehen ...