15 Costliest Money Mistakes That Haunt People in Their 70s (Financial Planners’ Top Regrets)

Retirement is supposed to be your “golden years,” but for many, it’s a time of deep financial stress. Why?

The problem isn’t one bad decision. It’s a series of small, avoidable errors made 10-20 years prior. We see people in their 70s who should be comfortable. But they are now house-poor, battling healthcare costs, or unable to enjoy the life they planned.

We asked financial planners for their “top regrets” the costly retirement money mistakes they see clients make time and again. This isn’t just a list.

This is your 2025 action plan for avoiding retirement regrets and ensuring your financial planning for 70s is solid. It will help you secure your future.

1. Retiring Too Early (Without a Real Plan)

Retiring on an arbitrary date, like your 65th birthday, just because it “feels right” is a huge gamble. Many people do this without a real cash-flow plan. The problem is that in your 70s, you might realize you have a 10-year savings gap.

This is a terrible time to discover you’re forced to find a low-wage “bridge job” just to cover basic bills, long after your high-earning years are over.

• Run the numbers: Can your savings really support a 30-year retirement?
• Working just 2-3 more years can dramatically increase your final savings amount.
• Don’t just guess; use a retirement calculator or meet with a fee-only planner.
• Create a “cash flow plan” that shows what you will spend and where it will come from, year by year.

2. Claiming Social Security at 62 (The Biggest Regret)

It is the mistake financial planners hear about most. You take benefits right at 62, maybe because you’re worried the fund will “run out.” But this decision is permanent. Your benefit is reduced by about 30% for life.

When you’re in your 70s and inflation is high, that 30% gap is a massive source of stress. Worse, it locks your surviving spouse into that same smaller benefit for the rest of their life.

• Delaying until age 70 is the only government-guaranteed, 8%-per-year, inflation-adjusted return you can get.
• Use a Social Security break-even calculator (AARP has a good one).
• Your decision will determine your spouse’s income if you pass away first.
• This is not a “get it while you can” decision; it’s a permanent financial one.

3. Mismanaging Pension Payouts (The “Single-Life” Trap)

When you retire, your pension plan will offer you payout options. Many people choose the “Single-Life” option because the monthly check is bigger. But this choice leaves no survivor benefit.

The “haunt” is what happens when the pensioner dies: the pension disappears. This leaves the surviving spouse in their 70s with a sudden, catastrophic loss of income they may have depended on.

• Review your pension options with your spouse.
• The “Joint-Life” (or survivor) option is almost always the right choice for a couple.
• The slightly smaller check is a small price to pay for your partner’s lifelong security.
• You cannot change this decision after you’ve made it.

4. Ignoring Your “Golden Window” Before RMDs

Many people retire at 65 and do nothing with their 401(k) or IRA. They just let it sit until RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) start at age 73. This is a huge mistake. At 73, you are forced to withdraw large amounts, even if you don’t need the money.

This new “income” pushes you into a higher tax bracket. It can also trigger massive Medicare (IRMAA) surcharges, meaning you pay more for healthcare.

• Use the “golden window” (the years between retirement and age 73) when your income is lower.
• Perform strategic Roth Conversions during these years.
• This lets you pay taxes on that money at a lower rate now.
• It creates a bucket of 100% tax-free income for you to use later.

5. Carrying a Mortgage into Your 70s

It’s common to treat your mortgage just like any other bill. But you should not. It’s a huge mistake to not prioritize paying it off before you retire. If you’re still paying a mortgage in your 70s, it’s your largest fixed cost.

It will eat up a huge percentage of your fixed income (like Social Security). This is what financial planners call being “house-poor,” where all your wealth is tied up in your home and you have no cash.

• In your 50s and 60s, make a “mortgage freedom” plan.
• Adding even one extra $200 payment per month can shave years off the loan.
• Aim to have your home paid off by the day you stop working.
• This frees up hundreds or thousands of dollars in your monthly retirement budget.

6. Underestimating Your “Go-Go” Years Budget

Most people assume they’ll spend less in retirement. This is often wrong. Planners find that new retirees spend more in their “go-go” years (ages 65-75). You’re finally free, so you travel, take up hobbies, and spoil your grandkids.

The danger is that you burn through your savings way too quickly in this first decade. This leaves nothing for your “slow-go” years (75+) when healthcare costs start to rise.

• Create a 3-phase budget: “Go-Go,” “Slow-Go,” and “No-Go” (healthcare-focused).
• Be realistic about your travel and hobby spending.
• Remember that inflation (especially for healthcare) will make everything more expensive.
• Don’t spend all your money in the first 10 years.

7. Being the “Family Bank” for Adult Kids

It feels good to help your family. But co-signing for a grandchild’s $40,000 student loan or giving your adult children large “gifts” you can’t afford is a costly mistake. In your 70s, you might become legally responsible for those loans if they miss a payment.

Or, you may have simply drained the nest egg that you desperately need for your own care. You cannot get a loan for retirement.

• You must put on your own oxygen mask first. This is not selfish.
• Your retirement savings are not a renewable resource.
• Never co-sign a loan that you are not 100% prepared to pay off in full.
• It is okay to say “no” to protect your own future.

8. Making a Large, Emotional Purchase (Like an RV)

The day you retire, it’s tempting to buy that $100,000 RV or vacation home “because you deserve it.” This is an emotional decision, not a financial one. The “haunt” comes a few years later. You’re stuck with a rapidly depreciating asset.

It costs a fortune in insurance, storage, and gas. All this happens while your portfolio shrinks, and you realize you can’t afford to use it as much as you thought.

• Implement a “one-year rule” for all large retirement purchases.
• Rent the RV for a few months. Rent the beach house for a summer.
• See if you actually like the lifestyle.
• This test helps you see if it’s worth sinking your irreplaceable capital into it.

9. Ignoring Long-Term Care (“It Won’t Happen to Me”)

It is the mistake that leads to the most bankruptcies. Many people believe Medicare will cover a nursing home or at-home-care. It does not. Medicare only covers 100 days of skilled nursing after a hospital stay.

According to Genworth, a 2025 nursing home stay can cost $100,000-$150,000 per year. This cost will wipe out a lifetime of savings in 1-2 years, often bankrupting the healthy spouse.

• Get Long-Term Care (LTC) insurance quotes while you are in your 50s.
• If it’s too expensive, create a “self-funded” plan.
• This means earmarking a specific brokerage account for only this purpose.
• Have a legal and family strategy in place before you need it.

10. Missing the Medicare Enrollment Window

It is a simple paperwork mistake with devastating costs. You must sign up for Medicare Part B and D during your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period (around your 65th birthday). Many people miss this.

They “feel healthy” or are “confused by the paperwork.” The “haunt” is that you are hit with a permanent, lifelong penalty added to your monthly premium for as long as you have Medicare.

• Mark your 65th birthday on your calendar now.
• Set a reminder to visit Medicare.gov 6 months before you turn 65.
• Enrollment is not automatic for most people.
• Do not miss this deadline. The penalty is for life.

11. Not Understanding IRMAA (The Medicare “Surtax”)

This mistake often results from mistake #4. Let’s say you take a large, one-time IRA withdrawal to buy a car or fix a roof. You pay the taxes and move on. Then, two years later, you get a letter. It says your Medicare premiums are skyrocketing.

It is IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). It’s a “surtax” on your premiums based on your income from two years prior.

• Know the 2025 IRMAA income brackets.
• Plan large withdrawals strategically.
• Try to spread a large withdrawal across two tax years (e.g., December and January).
• Use tax-free Roth money for large purchases to keep your “income” low.

12. Getting “Too Safe” with Investments Too Early

You spent 40 years saving. Now you’re scared to lose it. So at age 65, you pull all your money out of stocks and put it into “safe” CDs or fixed annuities. But by your 70s, you realize you’ve been “safely” made poor by inflation.

Your money has no growth engine. It is losing 3-4% in purchasing power every single year.

• Remember: You still have a 20-30 year time horizon in retirement.
• Top financial planner advice is to keep a balanced portfolio (like 50/50 stocks/bonds).
• This provides both stability and the growth you need to beat inflation.
• Don’t let fear destroy your purchasing power.

13. Not Having a Tax-Diversified “Bucket” Strategy

Most people save 100% of their money in pre-tax accounts (like a 401(k) or Traditional IRA). This feels great while you’re working. But in your 70s, it’s a tax nightmare. Every single dollar you withdraw is taxed as ordinary income.

It includes your RMDs. This inflates your tax bill and can trigger the IRMAA surtax.

• Your goal is to have three “buckets” of money in retirement.
• Bucket 1 (Taxable): A standard brokerage account.
• Bucket 2 (Tax-Deferred): Your 401(k) or Traditional IRA.
• Bucket 3 (Tax-Free): A Roth IRA or Roth 401(k).
• Use your 50s, 60s, and the “golden window” (Mistake #4) to build that Roth bucket.

14. Forgetting About Your Spouse (The “Survivor” Plan)

In many households, one spouse handles 100% of the finances. This is a recipe for disaster. When that financial spouse passes away, the surviving partner is left in their 70s, grieving, and totally lost.

They are left with 12 different accounts, no passwords, and no idea how the plan worked. This is a final, terrible gift to leave your partner.

• Hold a “money meeting” this month.
• Both spouses must know what all the accounts are and where they are.
• Use a shared password manager (like 1Password or Bitwarden).
• Both spouses must know the name and number of the financial advisor, CPA, and lawyer.

15. Having No Decumulation Strategy (Just “Winging It”)

It is the final, most common mistake. You have no real plan for how to spend your money. You just pull it from whatever account “looks high” that month. This means you might sell your stocks in a down market, locking in your losses.

Or you pull from your IRA, triggering a huge tax bill. You pay way more in taxes than needed and risk running out of money 10 years too early.

• You must have a “withdrawal plan” or “decumulation strategy.”
• This is what a real financial planner does.
• An example plan: “I will use the 4% rule. I will take 60% of my withdrawal from my IRA and 40% from my brokerage account. I will rebalance once a year.”
• A plan stops you from making emotional decisions in a bad market.