Budget shortfalls of this size often mean struggling to afford essential living costs like housing, healthcare, utilities and food. Reverse mortgages, primarily Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), have long been used as a retirement income tool for homeowners 62 and older.
The harder mistakes to catch are the ones that look fine on paper but fall apart the moment you stop working. These are unquestionably the planning failures that will only reveal themselves after the paycheck ends and you're living off the portfolio. Recent data from Nationwide's Retirement Institute shows that 55% of people who retired in the last five years regret how they saved, and only 40% said they were on track with their original budget.
The 4% rule and most retirement calculators often just assume you are going to spend the same inflation-adjusted amount of money for the next 30 years. On the one hand, this is a simple and clean idea for managing finances, but it's also completely wrong. Real retirement spending rarely works like it's supposed to, and if you are planning on it being static, you're likely setting yourself up for a big surprise.
A 65-year-old man today can expect to live to 84 years old, while a 65-year-old woman can expect to live until 86. For plan sponsors and advisers, that translates into a potential distribution horizon of at least 20 to 30 years. Without incorporating realistic longevity assumptions into glide path design, withdrawal strategies and income solutions, participants face a heightened risk of outliving their savings.
Social Security benefits rose by 2.8% in January 2026, adding roughly $56 per month to the average retiree's check. Year-over-year inflation is running at 2.2%, which means the COLA is actually outpacing current price increases by a small margin. The catch is Medicare. Medicare Part B premiums increased in 2026, and since those premiums are deducted directly from your Social Security payment, some of that $56 gain disappears before it reaches your bank account.