When you think about retirement, what worries you more?

Spending too much too soon? Or holding back so much that you miss out on the years when you feel your best?

Many people feel that tension. Not because they haven’t planned carefully.

But because retirement can feel like a high stakes balancing act.

When researchers study how spending may change across retirement, they see patterns people may not expect.

Fast forward ten years… What decision would you look back on and wish you had made today? More often than not, regret in retirement isn’t about a single mistake. It’s about missed chances to plan ahead while you still had options.

What if you’re unhappy when you retire? That’s a sad reality for more than 1 in 3 retirees. And almost half of them have one thing in common—they’re lonely. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Research shows that people generally aren't prioritizing social connections before retirement, and the trend toward maintaining existing friendships or cultivating new ones is even weaker. That can end up backfiring in a big way when we retire, even if we have massive nest eggs and solid financial plans.