Americans who saved for retirement told BI they wished they had spent more time and money on experiences with loved ones.Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
Some Americans “over-save” for retirement and end up sacrificing during their working years.
Financial planners advised that savings should be balanced with enjoying life to avoid regrets after retirement.
This is part of an ongoing series on the regrets of older Americans.
But a week after he retired in May, he was diagnosed with cancer. Now, says Winston, he regrets it working such long hours during his career, often missed out on trips and date nights.
Winston is one of a few dozen respondents to an informal Business Insider survey who said they were work too hard during their careers or focus too much on saving for retirement, sacrifice family timetravel, or other leisure activities when they were younger. They are among the more than 3,600 older Americans who shared their life regrets through surveys or direct emails to reporters. This story is part of an ongoing series.
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Some survey respondents thought they were behind retirement goals and chose to avoid larger purchases, only to realize that they were well prepared and too careful to get there. He said a few traumatic experiences, such as the the death of a loved one or disastrous medical diagnosismaking them anxious about saving money in case of another emergency. Interviews with five Americans who thought they were too subtle refer to the difficulties of knowing how best to prepare for retirement.
Dylan Tyson, president of retirement strategies at Prudential Financial, described the mindset of an overspender: “You cut back on living – not taking that extra trip or going to that concert or ball game with family and friends – because you're worried you don't have enough saved up.”
Winston, who lives in Arizona, spent much of his career in veterinary work. All his life, he drove modest vehicleslives in an upper middle class house, and is cautious about buying more.
He retired with about $3 million but wished he had spent some of that money on an assistant for his practice so he wouldn't need to work nights running a veterinary emergency hotline.
Joshua Winston said he missed some recreational opportunities because of his work schedule.Joshua Winston
“That sucked a lot of oxygen out of my life. I could never watch a movie when I went out with my wife because I'd get a dozen phone calls,” Winston said, although he acknowledged the helpline helped to make his practice successful.
He planned to spend some of his savings in retirementbut he was diagnosed with lung cancer in May and said life “has been hell” since then.
“I have enough money to live to 95 and go on vacation. I have a whole life ahead of me, and this is what's happening,” said Winston. “I have cancer, and I may not even enjoy the money I worked so hard to save.”
Tyson said that although many of retirement is “guesswork,” people should try to determine how much lifetime income they will need to achieve their retirement goals while balancing their spending needs, wants and desires.
“With millions of Americans facing uncertainty, we're seeing the smartest of them act to create financial plans that are completely focused on the things that matter most,” Tyson said. “They then protect those goals by ensuring they have secure, predictable income to fund their retirement needs and wants—freeing them to worry less and pursue their best wishes.”
Ruth Mills, aged 63, said he started saving later in life but amassed seven figures through frugal living and careful investing. The Minnesota resident had children in her early 20s and finances were tight. As a single mothershe had several jobs, working a few jobs as a part-time personal care assistant in the home as well as full-time work. He worked his way up to senior accounting officer for the state.
She said that because she works so much and takes care of her children alone, she misses opportunities to go out with her friends or travel more with the family. She said part of her wish was to forgo some savings so she could have worked one less job or had hobbies.
Ruth Mills said she often missed dinners with friends while raising her children.Ruth Mills
“I saved well for retirement, but so much so I was too frugal along the way and didn't enjoy it as much when I was younger because I worked too much,” says Mills.
Mills said she pushed back a trip to Ireland that she is no longer physically equipped to take. She recently smaller in size her house and hopes to retire soon and use her retirement years to spoil her grandchildren and have a fit lifestyle.
“Having all the money in the world is great, and I don't have that, but if you don't have the friends and people to spend it with at the end, it's a trade-off,” Mills said. . He added, “Having made the necessary sacrifice to save and invest earlier, I am looking forward to having the financial security to be able to afford the basic necessities and share adventures and experiences with the grandchildren.”
Ryan Viktorin, a financial advisor and CFP at Fidelity, said she sees three categories of “over-savers”: people who experience an unfortunate event that keeps them from spending the money they've saved, people who worried that they will never have enough because health care costs or market volatility, and people who continue to work because they are not mentally prepared for retirement, fearing that it will be monotonous or isolating.
He also said that now baby boomers have grown up hearing stories about their parents or grandparents going through the Great Depression.
“Sometimes I hear from my clients who have saved very well who say it's in their bones to continue to be frugal, and they feel they can't really enjoy themselves or live their lives because that they have to keep saving,” he said.
Kirk, 75, said he didn't realize he was doing such a good job of preparing for retirement. The retired California attorney, who asked that only his first name be used for privacy concerns, worked for various financial institutions and maxed out his 401(k). He accumulated over $1.1 million in tax-deferred retirement savings. However, he feared that a crisis or market crash would derail his plans for a a comfortable retirement.
After retiring from his full-time job at 67, he realized there were opportunities he had missed because he held back on spending. He regrets not going on a week's trip to France with his brother in his 60s; now, his brother has cognitive challenges that make it difficult to travel. On a trip to Hawaii, he signed his two children up for a helicopter ride but didn't go himself to save money.
“It would have been a great experience to have shared with them and talked about for years to come,” Kirk said. “I could now pay for a dozen helicopter rides and not lose the money.”
Viktorin said it's important to look at the gap between expenses and income and figure out where there's some wiggle room in your budget beyond saving for retirement, which could help alleviate some of these concerns that older Americans have .
“When you build a financial plan, you can build the 'what if' and see what it looks like,” says Viktorin. “What if we went on an extra trip and spent more money? What if we flew business class instead of coach or economy? What if we started helping our children more?”
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