4 Best Tips Retirees Have for Younger Generations

Learning from the experiences of those before you—mistakes as well as what worked—is a good way to help aspiring retirees on track to a happy and secure retirement while minimizing regrets and bad decisions.

In a new study by MedicareFAQ, a Medicare learning resource center, more than 560 self-reporting retired Americans were surveyed to understand their regrets better and to see what advice they can offer to younger generations. Respondents were 65% female and 35% male, with an age range of 27 to 90 and an average age of 65 years old. The average age of retirement amongst respondents was 58, with the majority having been retired for 5 or more years.

Here are the top four pieces of advice gleaned from the study:

1. Prioritize financial planning and savings

 The vast majority of retirees in the study (86%) said wish they would have saved more before retiring, and 60% say they did not start investing in their retirement funds early enough. The survey found 67% of retirees say start saving earlier is their biggest piece of advice.

The study found 59% of retirees have financial concerns about their retirement, and less than half (46%) have saved enough money for a comfortable retirement.

Next page: Take your health seriously

2. Take your health seriously

 When it comes to biggest regrets, only “didn’t save enough money” (78%) topped “didn’t prioritize my health” (52%) among those surveyed. That was well above the third-biggest regret in the survey, which was “didn’t have a good work/life balance,” cited by 28%. The fourth and fifth biggest regrets were “didn’t travel enough” (21%) and “didn’t spend enough time with family” (18%).

But in retirement, many respondents said taking better care of themselves has become a higher priority. The study found retired Americans are cooking healthier meals, going to the doctor when they think they need to, reviewing their health coverage during the appropriate enrollment periods, dedicating time to exercise and are just more active in general.

Next page: Travel more

3. Travel more

 The third most common piece of advice retirees surveyed expressed was not traveling more. According to the majority of retirees (89%), traveling is an important part of life to experience. More than half (58%) wish they would have traveled more when they were younger.

Those who plan on traveling in retirement have prioritized their financial wellbeing and healthcare to allow them the freedom to explore new areas of the world. But traveling can of course be costly, making it important to be financially stable in retirement to be able to enjoy this luxury.

Beyond bucket list travel, perhaps exploring new cities, states or even countries where your retirement dollars go much further is in order, as a move in retirement might be a realistic way to make up for insufficient retirement savings in a retiree’s current location.

• 2024’s 10 Best Places in the World to Retire

• Retiring on the Cheap: 5 Countries, 7 U.S. Cities Where You Can Retire on $2,000 a Month

Next page: Focus on personal growth and happiness

4. Focus more on personal growth and happiness

While traveling more could certainly be seen as expanding personal growth and happiness, the study found retirement has opened up the door for many Americans to find a new hobby or passion. Almost half (47%) said they have picked up a new hobby during retirement. One passion might be pursuing bucket list items, and 30% of retirees say they have a bucket list with many (44%) only starting to cross things off once retired.

While the survey found 9 in 10 retirees enjoy being retired, almost 1 in 4 (23%) said they struggle to find purpose and fulfillment in retirement.

One thing that may help retirees with the transition to retirement, and also help those struggling to find a purpose, may be volunteering or working a part-time job. Currently, 18% of retirees volunteer, and 1 in 4 plan to continue working in some regard. The vast majority (93%) of retirees say retirement has given them the ability to enjoy things they didn’t have time for while working full-time.

When it comes to family, more than half of retirees (56%) say they’re able to spend more quality time with their loved ones now that they’ve retired. More than 2 in 5 say that thanks to retirement, they’re able to spend more quality time with their partner.

Next page: More key findings

More key findings from the study

• Surprisingly, only 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they delayed retirement, with the most common reason for doing so being “I enjoyed working” (49%). Other top reasons were “didn’t have enough money saved” (38%), “delaying Social Security payout” (33%), and “health insurance coverage (31%).

• The average age at which those surveyed retired was 64. Nearly 3 in 4 (74%) say they retired early, and of those who did, 20% regret it.

• On average, retirees said the age at which they were happiest was 41. But 72% of retirees say they feel younger than their current age, and 62% say age does not limit their ability to try new life experiences.

• One in 10 respondents say they’ve had a “second-act” career, which is a major career change that occurs after retirement, also known as an encore career.

Read the complete MedicareFAQ “Retirement Regrets” study here.

SEE ALSO:

• Participants are Failing at Retirement Literacy

• Most Americans Saving for Retirement, But Many Don’t Know How Much They’ve Saved