One of the most important jobs we have as financial planners and wealth managers is guiding our clients to financial well-being, and therefore their confidence about the future. If you aren’t sure how to use your hard-earned wealth in retirement, and if you worry about running out of money in those years, that worry can erode your quality of life.
According to a 2025 retirement study from Allianz, nearly two in three Americans (64 percent) worry more about running out of money than they do about death. This news is of great concern to me. After a lifetime of working hard, people deserve to enjoy their retirement years without worrying about money.
Other surveys paint a more optimistic picture of retirees’ confidence.
For example, the Annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) revealed that 67 percent of workers and 78 percent of retirees were confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. In fact, confidence among retirees has increased from 74 percent in 2024. The factors that lead to retirees’ confidence include savings, good money management and investments.
As with just about any aspect of life, people who are more confident about retirement tend to focus on possibilities instead of limitations. So, what does that look like?
Let’s explore four factors that characterize more optimistic retirees.
1. Confident retirees redefine retirement as reinvention
Instead of viewing retirement as the end to their careers, confident retirees celebrate their freedom from work commitments and their fresh start. They look forward to all the things they can do in retirement that they never had time to do while working.
Many people’s identities are wrapped up in their work. Their sense of worth, their accomplishments and even their work-related relationships take center stage in their lives. Once they stop working, many people struggle to discover who they are outside work.
For confident retirees, anticipation is a big part of their optimism; they plan what retirement will look like long before they actually stop working. They discover, or rediscover, what they enjoy doing outside work, and they cultivate friendships outside the office.
Confident retirees understand that retirement gives them a chance to reinvent themselves. They embrace lifelong learning, traveling, volunteering, spending time with grandchildren, enjoying hobbies and nurturing nonwork relationships. They realize that their lives can have profound dimension beyond their career-related identities. They embrace new roles of significance in their families, places of worship and communities.
2. They consider health to be their ultimate wealth
For much of modern history, “wealth” meant financial success. But today, more people are realizing that without good health, money loses much of its value.
People who retire confidently tend to prioritize preventive care. They get regular medical checkups and screenings instead of waiting until they are sick to see a doctor. They also view health insurance as an investment in their future, not as a expense they wish they didn’t have. They also focus on healthy food, regular exercise and rest and recreation.
Also, confident retirees make it a priority to minimize stress in their lives. This can mean setting boundaries on their time and money, saying no to volunteering when it feels like too much and spending time doing what they enjoy.
3. They make big decisions before they need to
One of the most rewarding aspects of our work is seeing the significant transformation of people who first come to us with little financial knowledge and confidence and then, over time, make great strides in both financial security and confidence.
Confident retirees appreciate the importance of looking ahead. They try to anticipate big changes and decisions. As a result, they have more time to explore options and prepare for life transitions. For example, some of our clients downsize from two- or three-story homes to single-story homes when they first become aware that they are having trouble navigating the stairs. They don’t wait until a medical diagnosis or injury forces them to move into a one-story home.
Planning ahead enables people to weather economic downturns and unexpected personal hardships much better than those who just react to what happens around them. Those who plan ahead are more likely to save for the future, live according to a budget and set boundaries when it comes to spending and lending money. They are also more likely to have sufficient insurance in place to protect what’s important to them and to have estate plans in place.
4. They work with financial advisors
Those first three characteristics of confident retirees are important, but, to me, this fourth one is the biggest difference between confident retirees and their less-confident counterparts: working with a financial advisor and having a personal financial plan.
The 2025 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) reveals that 83 percent of working respondents who have a financial advisor are somewhat or very confident about their retirement, compared with only 53 percent of those who do not.
And a 2025 Morgan Stanley survey revealed that investors who have a financial plan report greater confidence and satisfaction. They are also more likely to describe their financial outlook as “prepared” and “hopeful,” and they report better mental well-being and satisfaction in terms of both life direction and relationships.
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We are here to guide you into a confident retirement. Although we do the “heavy lifting” when it comes to customizing a financial plan that’s aligned with your long-term goals and managing your investments, we also believe it’s important to educate our clients about key aspects of financial planning. The best outcomes occur when we work together.
If we have not designed a personal financial plan for you, I hope you will contact us soon to start the process. Your personalized financial plan serves as your compass, your GPS, for every financial decision you make. Having a financial plan and our advisory team’s ongoing advice is the best strategy for retiring with confidence!
