Retiring With Less Than $1 Million? Here Are 10 Ways to Make Your Savings Last

You’ve seen all the headlines about “401(k) millionaires.” You’re nearing retirement. For one reason or another, you haven’t saved $1 million. Does that mean you can never retire?

Of course not. But to ensure your savings will last your lifetime, you might need to make some adjustments, such as delaying your retirement date if you are able, decreasing your expenses, and finding ways to earn some income.

Here are 10 financial do’s and don’ts for savers who have a six-figure nest egg. They will help your savings last a lifetime.

1. Do: Know Your Number

It’s more important to focus on the amount of income you’ll need in retirement, rather than how much you’ve accumulated. Consider your needs and wants; realize that the wants may decline as you age. Consider Social Security income as your inflation-protected lifetime income stream, as well as any other pension income. For example, if you need $6,000 a month to live on and your Social Security benefit is $4,000 a month, you need to draw $2,000 a month from your investments. At a 4% withdrawal rate, a common withdrawal strategy, your investment balance would need to be $600,000.

Assuming that works for you, you should not try to use interest and dividends for your cash flow needs. That would limit your return and eliminate inflation protection. Rather, invest in a diversified mix of stocks and bonds, which has historically earned more than 4% per year, and take some of your distributions out of capital gains and leave a little extra for inflation.

What if you haven’t saved enough to make up the difference between Social Security and your income needs?

Consider downsizing your home, taking out a reverse mortgage, or doing some part-time work.

If you’re still working full time, make those final working years count by boosting your retirement plan contributions. Note the limits for 2026:

• The 401(k)/403(b)/457 elective-deferral limit is $24,500.
• The standard age 50+ catchup is $8,000.
• People ages 60 to 63 have a higher catchup limit of $11,250.
• As of this year, certain higher-paid employees must make catchup contributions on a Roth basis if their prior-year wages exceeded $150,000.

2. Don’t: Retire Without a Plan

Retiring from your full-time job is not a move you should make lightly. Be sure to consult with a qualified financial advisor who can calculate the numbers and give you an estimate of your probability of success.

I remember when my father wanted to retire. I volunteered to run the numbers. I figured out he needed to work two more years. He didn’t like that answer because his friends were retiring. I told him, “You can continue to work at your nice job, with six weeks of paid vacation, generous holidays, and many benefits for two years and retire comfortably, or retire now and end up working part time at a hamburger joint.” He listened to me. Some of his friends ended up working part time at a hamburger joint.

3. Do: Build a Safety Net

You need to make sure you’re protected from catastrophic events. That means paying for health insurance (if you don’t qualify for Medicare yet) as well as long-term-care insurance and umbrella insurance. Nobody likes paying for insurance, but unless you are very wealthy and a risk-taker, you need to bite the bullet. If you haven’t already done so, sit down with your attorney to draft or update your estate documents. Also, don’t retire without an emergency fund of at least three to six months of living expenses.

4. Don’t: Claim Social Security Without a Strategy

For some, it’s tempting to claim Social Security right away; for others, their goal is to wait until age 70 to maximize benefits. In reality, there is no “one-size-fits-all” strategy. If you take your benefits and plan to continue working part or full time, your benefits could be reduced. If you are younger than full retirement age, your Social Security benefits will be reduced by $1 for every $2 earned over $24,480 (for 2026).

It’s best not to claim benefits until you know you won’t be dinged. If you wait to claim benefits past age 67, your benefits will grow by 8% a year to 124% of your standard monthly benefit. Although this is great, it’s not what everyone should do. Questions to consider include:

• What is your life expectancy? If you wait, the higher benefits take many years to make up for the years you could have collected Social Security earlier.
• How badly do you need the money now? Do you have other money to use in the meantime?
• Will claiming Social Security negatively affect your ability to do Roth conversions?

5. Do: Manage Taxes Before and During Retirement

Roth conversions are an important tool during the years between retirement and required minimum distributions. But it’s not as simple as converting as much as possible or converting an entire IRA balance ratably over those low-income years. You might want to consult with your certified public accountant or financial advisor. They can help figure out how much to convert year by year to:

• Not jump up in tax brackets
• Not convert more than you need to equalize pre- and post-RMD tax brackets
• Not create an issue with Medicare premiums by passing income limits (These are known as income-related monthly adjustment amounts.)

Here are two examples of why you don’t want to overconvert an IRA:

First, if you convert too much, you might pay too much tax at high brackets during your pre-RMD years. This could result in paying very little or no taxes later on when RMDs are minimized. The result is you’ve not only cost yourself more in total taxes, but you’ve also accelerated the payments.

Second, the goal should not be to zero out your IRA balances, especially if you make charitable donations. When you give from your IRA to a charity, it reduces your RMD and is not taxable. If you converted everything, you paid tax on what would have been nontaxable anyway (the amounts given to charity).

6. Don’t: Ignore RMDs and Medicare

As your taxable income rises, so do your Medicare premiums. Your premiums will automatically increase if your income from two years ago exceeds certain thresholds.

What if your income from two years ago was unusually high? You can appeal the surcharge if a life-changing event, such as retirement or divorce, significantly reduces your income.

It’s important to watch your income because one dollar extra can make a difference. For example, a single filer in 2026 with modified adjusted gross income of $109,000 pays the standard Part B premium of $202.90 per month. If their income increases by just one extra dollar to $109,001, their premium jumps to $284.10 per month—an extra $974.40 per year! And don’t count on an appeal to get you out of it; those are granted for very limited circumstances.

7. Do: Eliminate High-Cost Debt

We all know that credit card debt is the worst because of its high nondeductible interest rates. The best thing you can do for your financial security is to avoid credit card debt. If you use credit cards to get airline miles, go for it, as long as you pay the balance in full each month.

There’s other debt to consider: car loans or leases, mortgage debt, and equity loans. How much debt and how it’s structured can have a huge impact on your retirement years. Debt needs to be analyzed not just on interest rates but also on the opportunity cost of paying it down. For example, using retirement account money to pay down debt is expensive: You have to pay tax on the money before you make the loan payment. If your mortgage rate is 2.5% and your investments are earning 7.0%, you don’t want to rush to pay it off.

If you’re getting a new car, consider whether you really need a new car or if repairing your current car might make more sense. If you still want the new car, consider a certified used car to avoid paying for the high-depreciation years. As for whether to pay cash, finance, or lease, it all depends on what the dealer is offering. If the offer is 0% interest, you get to make money on your investments while you pay down the loan. If the rates are high, you might be better off paying cash.

Finally, your home equity can be a resource when you are retired. Just don’t tap into it by refinancing into a higher-rate mortgage.

A financial advisor can help you with these decisions.

8. Don’t: Let Family Derail Your Retirement

You’ve worked hard to get where you are. You’ve accumulated a nice nest egg, but it’s not so much that you can dole out money any time a family member asks. If you give away too much, who will take care of you? Let your children and other family members know from the beginning that you cannot afford to drain your savings when you are no longer working. Being proactive might avoid issues down the road. If they still ask, consider these strategies:

• Set a budget for emergency help.
• A one-time gift is generally more affordable than ongoing support.
• Structure the “gift” as a loan, with definite repayment terms.
• Learn to say no!

9. Do: Stress-Test and Update Your Retirement Plan

It’s important to stress-test your plan against bad scenarios and revisit it after major life events or market downturns. A static plan that doesn’t consider “what ifs” and is not updated when life changes isn’t worth much.

Stress-testing means having a plan if:

• Stocks fall 30%
• Inflation remains elevated
• One spouse dies prematurely
• Long-term care is needed
• Social Security is delayed
• A major home repair is needed
• Retirement lasts into the 90s

By running the plan under different assumptions, you can make better decisions not only about normal budgeted spending but also about adjustments required should different scenarios occur.

No matter what, your plan should be revisited after major life events, such as the death of a spouse, changing residences, tax law changes, or receiving an inheritance.

10. Don’t: Assume Six Figures Is Enough—or Not Enough

Six figures might seem like a lot or too little to you. As I said in the first point, your portfolio balance doesn’t tell the whole story. Your financial security depends more on your purchasing power. Consider that certain costs will naturally increase due to inflation, like healthcare, groceries, entertainment, and rent. Fixed mortgage payments typically represent a large chunk of monthly spending but are one of the few expenses that are not affected by inflation.

Thus, your required portfolio draws will increase annually due to inflation even if you don’t change your lifestyle. How can you deal with this? First, structure your investments and withdrawal strategy to be tax-efficient. Second, differentiate between essential and discretionary expenses. Implement a flexible spending strategy that reduces discretionary spending during periods of high inflation or poor market returns.

A successful retirement isn’t defined by a particular account balance. It’s about creating a plan that will support your lifestyle and adapt as your situation and the market environment change. The goal isn’t to predict the future; it’s to build enough flexibility and resilience that you can enjoy retirement with greater confidence, whatever the future brings.