How to Plan for a Wealthy Retirement: Strategies in Your 60s and Beyond

By Gina Coletti and Mark Hannon

Many people reach their 60s focused on a single number: the balance in their retirement accounts. That number matters, but it isn’t a plan. What matters more is whether those assets can be translated into a sustainable, flexible stream of income that supports the life you actually want to live, for as long as you live it.

This decade brings a new set of financial challenges. Lifespans are longer than they were a generation ago, healthcare costs continue to outpace general inflation, and the lifestyle expectations of today’s retirees are higher and more varied than ever. The 60s are the decade when these realities meet your savings, and the choices you make now will shape your financial security for the next 25 to 30 years.

Rethinking retirement in your 60s

It helps to reframe retirement as a financial stage rather than an endpoint. You are no longer accumulating in the way you were at 45, but you are also not done growing. The 60s are a pivotal decade for locking in stability while still allowing your portfolio room to compound. Before leaving full-time work, take a clear-eyed look at four things: what you’ve saved, what reliable income sources you can count on, what you actually expect to spend, and how much investment risk still makes sense for you. That review is the foundation everything else rests on.

How much money you need to retire at 65

There’s no universal answer, and any headline figure deserves skepticism. The number for you depends far more on your spending than on any rule of thumb. What matters is aligning lifestyle expectations with reliable income and getting the right professional advice to ensure your needs are met.

Setting a realistic target

Start with expenses, not assets. Build a realistic estimate of what your life will cost in retirement, including housing, travel, family support, insurance, and healthcare. A common benchmark suggests replacing 70 to 80% of pre-retirement income, but high earners often need less because they were saving aggressively, while retirees with active travel or second-home plans frequently need more. Build the number from your actual life, then test it against your assets.

Balancing assets and longevity

Plan for a 25-to-30-year retirement, even if your family history suggests otherwise. Longevity risk, the risk of outliving your money, is the single biggest threat to a comfortable retirement. Use conservative return assumptions, build a cash reserve for down markets, and leave room in your plan for unexpected costs. Flexibility is a feature, not a flaw.

How to build and maintain a reliable retirement income

Once you stop earning a paycheck, income diversity becomes your best protection against market volatility, inflation, and sequence-of-returns risk. The strongest retirement income plans don’t rely on a single source.

1. Coordinate multiple income streams

Social Security, pensions, annuities, personal savings, and taxable investments can each play a different role. Guaranteed sources like Social Security and pensions cover essential expenses, while portfolio withdrawals fund discretionary spending and provide flexibility. Sequencing matters: which accounts you draw from, in which order, and at what rate determines how long your money lasts. Our perspective on aligning investments with long-term goals explores how to structure a portfolio that supports income for decades.

2. Protect income from inflation

Over a 30-year retirement, even modest inflation can cut your purchasing power in half. Building inflation protection into the portfolio, through dividend-paying equities, short-duration bonds, and inflation-linked securities such as TIPS, helps preserve real spending power as costs rise. Holding too much cash, while it feels safe, is one of the quieter ways retirees lose ground over time.

3. Create a spending strategy

A sustainable withdrawal plan is as important as the portfolio behind it. The traditional 4% rule is a useful starting point, but most retirees do better with a dynamic approach that adjusts each year based on portfolio performance and actual spending.

Pay close attention to the first few years of retirement, when spending habits get established, and revisit discretionary categories such as travel honestly (our guide to smart vacation budgeting offers a useful framework). It’s also worth pairing your spending plan with a portfolio review after 60, rebalancing toward stability while keeping enough growth exposure to offset inflation and consolidating scattered accounts for simplicity. Our perspective on reassessing retirement savings strategies explores this in more depth.

Additional factors to consider in retirement finances

Healthcare and long-term care costs are the most consistently underestimated line items in retirement budgets. Building them into your plan early is one of the most effective ways to protect both your assets and your family.

Medicare and supplemental coverage

Medicare covers a meaningful share of healthcare costs starting at 65, but it doesn’t cover everything. Most retirees pair Medicare with a Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan and a separate Part D prescription plan to fill the gaps. Enrollment windows matter: missing your initial enrollment period can result in lifetime premium penalties, so calendar these dates well in advance.

Planning for long-term care

Roughly 70% of people over 65 will need some form of long-term care, and the costs, whether for in-home support, assisted living, or skilled nursing, can be substantial. Options include traditional long-term care insurance, hybrid life-insurance policies with long-term care riders, and setting aside dedicated assets to self-insure. Each has trade-offs, but proactive planning is what keeps a long-term care event from becoming a financial crisis for you or your family.

Lifestyle and purpose in later retirement

A “wealthy” retirement isn’t only a financial outcome. The retirees who report the highest life satisfaction tend to be the ones who plan as carefully for how they’ll spend their time as for how they’ll spend their money. Budgeting for travel, hobbies, mentoring, or volunteer work doesn’t jeopardize financial security when it’s built into the plan from the start, and there is strong evidence that purpose and engagement support both health and longevity. Plan for both sides of the equation.

Final thoughts

A wealthy retirement is ultimately about security and choice, not just net worth. The plan you build in your 60s should be reviewed regularly as markets shift, tax laws change, and your goals evolve. The best plans are living documents, revisited every year or two with the help of advisors who understand the full picture.

Contact Nixon Peabody Trust Company for tailored guidance on wealth preservation, income planning, and family legacy strategies, and learn more about our approach to holistic financial planning.

FAQs about retirement planning in your 60s

Is it too late to improve my retirement plan at 60?

No. Delaying Social Security to increase your benefit, rightsizing your housing, executing Roth conversions, and refining your spending plan can all meaningfully improve outcomes even in the final years before retirement. The decisions you make at 60 still have decades to compound.

Is there a minimum amount of money I should retire with?

There’s no fixed minimum. What you need depends on your lifestyle, expected expenses, location, guaranteed income from Social Security or pensions, and how much flexibility you want. A retiree with a paid-off home and modest spending needs may live comfortably on far less than one supporting an active travel schedule or family obligations.

What expenses are most often underestimated in retirement?

Healthcare, home maintenance, and travel are the three most consistent blind spots. Insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical costs, and major home repairs add up quickly, and travel spending often runs higher than expected in the first decade of retirement, when energy and health are at their peak.

How can I plan for my spouse or partner’s financial security?

Coordinate Social Security claiming strategies to maximize survivor benefits, review beneficiary designations on every account, and update your estate plan to reflect current wishes. Joint income strategies and pension survivor elections deserve careful attention well before either spouse retires.

What are the first steps to take if I plan to retire in the next five years?

Consolidate scattered accounts to simplify management, review all insurance coverage including health, life, and long-term care, stress-test your spending projections against conservative return assumptions, and build a one-page retirement income plan that shows where each dollar of income will come from. Those four steps will tell you quickly whether you’re on track or need to adjust.

Gina Coletti
Chief Fiduciary Officer
Office: +1 617.345.1110
gcoletti@nixonpeabody.com

Mark Hannon
Director of Tax Services
+1 617.345.1064
mhannon@nixonpeabody.com