When people worry about retirement, they do not search for "independent RIA in Michigan." They search for the things that actually keep them up at night.
Will I run out of money in retirement? How much will healthcare cost? When should I take Social Security? How much can I withdraw from my accounts?
These are real, specific questions — and they deserve real, specific answers. At Wealth Ease Wealth Management, our CFP®, AIF®, and CPA team works through these questions every day with people who are either approaching retirement or already in it. Along the way, we see the same patterns come up again and again.
Here are the seven retirement planning mistakes we see most often in 2026, and what you can do differently.
1. Thinking a 401(k) Balance Equals a Retirement Plan
A large 401(k) or IRA balance is a meaningful achievement. But a balance is not the same thing as a plan.
A retirement income plan addresses how your savings will work together: which accounts you draw from first, how Social Security fits in, what taxes you will owe on distributions, how inflation will affect your purchasing power over time, how healthcare costs will be covered, and what happens to your estate when you are gone. Each of those pieces interacts with the others. A change in one area — say, a large Roth conversion — can affect your Medicare premiums, your tax bracket, and what you leave behind.
Many people arrive at retirement with a sizable balance and a vague sense of the monthly income they need. That is a starting point, not a plan. Without the connecting work, decisions that seem reasonable in isolation can create problems down the road.
If you don't have a written retirement income plan, you're guessing.
A written retirement income plan puts all of these pieces on the same page so you can see how they work together — and make better decisions as a result.
2. Claiming Social Security at the Wrong Time
Social Security is one of the most important financial decisions you will make in retirement, and one of the hardest to undo. The age at which you claim locks in a permanently higher or lower monthly benefit for the rest of your life, with the difference potentially amounting to tens of thousands of dollars over a long retirement.
Common mistakes include claiming as early as possible simply because the money is available, or assuming that later is always better without considering the full picture. For married couples, the coordination between spouses adds another layer of complexity — decisions about when each person claims can significantly affect lifetime household income and survivor benefits.
The right age to claim depends on your health, your other income sources, your spouse's situation, your tax picture, and how your overall income is structured. There is no universal rule that fits everyone.
The most reliable approach is a coordinated analysis that treats Social Security as one piece of your broader retirement income plan, not a standalone decision. Claiming at the right time for your specific circumstances could be one of the highest-value moves in your entire retirement.
3. Ignoring Healthcare Costs
Healthcare is one of the largest expenses in retirement, and one of the most underestimated. Many people assume Medicare will cover most of what they need. In practice, Medicare has meaningful gaps.
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) does not cover dental, vision, or hearing. It also does not cover long-term care — which, depending on your health history and family situation, may be a significant risk to plan around. Premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance add up, and a serious health event can create costs that a basic Medicare plan was not designed to absorb.
Supplemental coverage — through a Medigap policy or a Medicare Advantage plan — can fill some of those gaps, but the right choice depends on your health needs, where you live, and how much flexibility you want in choosing providers. Long-term care coverage, whether through a traditional policy, a life insurance rider, or a hybrid product, is a separate conversation entirely.
The point is not to be alarmed. It is to plan. Our financial planning process incorporates healthcare costs as a core part of the retirement income conversation, not an afterthought.
4. Paying Too Much in Taxes After Retirement
Many people do careful tax planning during their working years and then largely stop thinking about it once they retire. That is a significant missed opportunity.
Retirement can actually offer some of the best tax-planning conditions of your financial life — if you take advantage of them. A few years between retirement and when required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin, or between retirement and age 65 when Medicare starts, may offer a window of lower taxable income. That window can be a valuable time for Roth conversions or strategic asset sales at favorable rates.
Taxes in retirement are also interconnected in ways that can catch people off guard. Larger distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s can push income over thresholds that trigger Medicare IRMAA surcharges — additional premiums added to your Medicare costs based on income from two years prior. Social Security benefits may become partially taxable depending on how other income is structured. Capital gains in taxable accounts layer on top of ordinary income.
Treating taxes as a one-line item in a retirement budget misses the bigger picture. When investment decisions and tax decisions are made together — which is central to how our team works, given that we have a CPA on staff — there are often meaningful opportunities to reduce the overall tax burden across a long retirement.
5. Having Investments That Don't Match Retirement Income Needs
The investment strategy that helped you build wealth over a 30-year career is not necessarily the right strategy for drawing income over a 30-year retirement.
During your accumulation years, the goal is growth. Short-term volatility is largely an annoyance — you can wait it out and keep contributing. In retirement, the math changes. You are now converting a portfolio into a paycheck. If the market drops in year two of retirement and you need income, you may have to sell investments at a loss to fund your spending. That loss is permanent; those shares are gone.
This is why retirement income planning calls for a different lens. The questions shift from "how do I maximize growth?" to "how do I generate reliable income without exposing myself to the risk that a bad year permanently damages my plan?"
A sound retirement investment approach considers how different parts of a portfolio serve different time horizons, how much volatility is appropriate given your income needs, and how cash flow will be managed year to year. Our investment planning work is built around these questions — matching your portfolio structure to how and when you will actually use the money.
6. Not Having a Plan for Market Corrections
Market corrections are not unusual events. They are a normal part of long-term investing. But without a plan for how to handle them, even experienced investors can make decisions in the moment that do lasting harm.
The most common version of this mistake is selling after a significant decline — locking in losses and missing a recovery that would have repaired the damage. A close second is having no written plan at all, so that every market event feels like a new emergency requiring a new decision.
A well-designed retirement plan addresses market corrections in advance. It defines how the portfolio is allocated, what rebalancing looks like when certain thresholds are crossed, and how near-term income needs will be met without forcing the sale of growth assets at a low point. When markets move, the plan provides a process to follow rather than a moment to react to.
Diversification and periodic rebalancing are not just investment concepts. They are the infrastructure that keeps a retirement plan functional when conditions are difficult. Our investment planning process is built around this discipline — not predictions, but a structured approach that holds up across different market environments.
7. Underestimating How Long Retirement Will Actually Last
This is perhaps the quietest mistake on the list — and one of the most consequential.
Most people plan for retirement as if it will last 15 or 20 years. For a healthy couple retiring in their early to mid-60s, there is a meaningful probability that at least one person lives into their late 80s or beyond. A retirement that lasts 30 years is not unusual. A retirement that lasts 35 years is not impossible.
The length of retirement changes the math on almost every other decision. A withdrawal rate that looks sustainable over 20 years may not hold up over 30. An investment allocation appropriate for a shorter horizon may not provide enough growth to outpace inflation over a longer one. Healthcare and long-term care risks grow with age. Estate planning considerations become more pressing.
Planning for a longer-than-expected retirement is not pessimistic. It is practical. It means keeping enough growth in the portfolio to preserve purchasing power over decades, building in flexibility for spending adjustments, and coordinating all of the pieces — income, taxes, investments, healthcare, and estate — into a plan that can sustain you for as long as you need it.
The people we work with include pre-retirees and retirees navigating exactly these questions. Longevity is not a problem to be solved. It is a reality to be planned for.
Putting It Together
None of these mistakes is unusual. Most of the people we meet have made at least one of them, often without realizing it. The goal of this post is not to create anxiety — it is to create awareness.
The common thread across all seven is this: retirement is a complex, interconnected system. Social Security timing affects taxes. Taxes affect Medicare premiums. Healthcare costs affect how much income you need. How long you live affects everything. A plan that treats these as separate line items is likely to leave money on the table, or worse, create surprises when they are hardest to absorb.
A written, coordinated retirement income plan — one that brings your CFP®, AIF®, and CPA perspective together — is the most reliable way to move from uncertainty to clarity.
If you are within five to ten years of retirement, or already retired and wondering whether your plan is built for the long haul, schedule a conversation with our team. We will walk through your specific situation and help you understand where your plan is solid and where there may be gaps worth addressing.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I have a real retirement plan or just a savings balance?
A savings balance tells you what you have. A retirement plan tells you how you will turn that balance into reliable income, how taxes will affect each withdrawal, when to claim Social Security, how to cover healthcare costs, and how to handle a down market without selling at the wrong time. If those questions are not answered in writing, you are working from a savings balance, not a plan.
When is the right time to claim Social Security?
There is no single right age. The decision depends on your health, other income sources, whether you are married, your tax situation, and how long you expect to need the income. Claiming early locks in a permanently lower monthly benefit; delaying increases it. A coordinated analysis of your full financial picture is the most reliable way to find the answer that fits your situation.
How much should I plan to spend on healthcare in retirement?
Healthcare is one of the largest and least predictable expenses in retirement. Medicare covers a meaningful portion of costs but not everything — premiums, deductibles, dental, vision, hearing, and long-term care are common gaps. Planning for a significant healthcare budget, including a review of supplemental coverage options, is an important part of any retirement income plan.
What is the Medicare IRMAA surcharge?
IRMAA stands for Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It is an additional premium added to Medicare Part B and Part D costs for people whose income exceeds certain thresholds. Because it is based on income from two years prior, large Roth conversions, asset sales, or required minimum distributions can trigger surcharges you did not expect. Proactive tax planning can help manage this exposure.
How is investing in retirement different from investing while I am still working?
During your working years, the goal is accumulation — growing assets over time. In retirement, the goal shifts to generating sustainable income while managing the risk that a market decline forces you to sell at a low point. That shift requires a different approach to how your portfolio is structured, how much risk you carry, and how cash flow is managed from year to year.
What should I do if the market drops early in retirement?
Having a written plan that addresses this in advance is the most important step. A plan with a cash reserve for near-term spending, a thoughtful asset allocation, and a rebalancing process gives you a framework to follow when markets move. Acting from a written process tends to produce better outcomes than reacting to headlines in the moment.
How long should I plan for retirement to last?
Longer than most people expect. Average life expectancies have increased, and for a healthy couple in their early 60s, there is a meaningful probability that at least one person lives into their late 80s or beyond. Planning for a 25- to 30-year retirement is a more cautious and often more appropriate starting point than assuming a shorter horizon.