The Regret Report: Learn from Retirees- 76% of Retirees Have This One Major Regret

Hey everybody, and welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I'm Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner and founder of One Oak Financial. And today is not a normal episode. Today is a special report because this week the TIAA Institute dropped a study that stopped me in my tracks. They surveyed almost 1,600 Americans ages 22 to 75, workers, pre-retirees, and retirees. And here's the headline. 76% of current retirees regret not starting to save earlier. 71% wish they had saved more. 3 out of 4. Let that sink in. These aren't people who failed at life. They are people who worked, raised families, paid mortgages, and got to retirement and looked back and said, I wish I'd started sooner. But here's the number nobody's talking about, and it's the one that changes everything. The average retiree in this study retired at the age of 57, and 52% retired earlier than they expected. Only 6% retired later. So today we're going deep. Why do retirees end up with regrets? What are young— younger workers getting wrong right now? And most importantly, What can you do about it today? Let's go.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope, so do I know. Turn it up.

Here's the biggest misconception I see after 2 decades of sitting across the table from real families. People believe retirement is a decision they get to make. We plan like it's a calendar appointment. I'll retire at 65, maybe 67. I'll work until the mortgage is gone. until the kids are through college, until the market recovers. We treat the retirement date like it's written in pen, but the data says the opposite. Half of retirees, more than half, get there earlier than they had planned, not because they won the lottery, because life made the decision for them. Think about that. You spend 30 years planning for a retirement at 65, and the actual average is 57. That's an 8-year gap. 8 fewer years of saving, 8 fewer years of compounding, 8 more years your money has to last. That's not a rounding error, folks. That's the whole ballgame. And here's the emotional part. Nobody believes it will be them. We all think we're the exception. My health is good. My company loves me. My industry is safe. The retirees in this study thought the exact same thing. So the first lesson of this special report: plan for the retirement that might find you, not just the one you picked.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope Soda. I know, turn it up.

So what actually forces people out of work early? This study points to health issues. Caregiving for a parent or a spouse, layoffs, career shifts, and now a new one on the list, AI reshaping entire job categories. Almost half of retirees, 49%, regret not planning for exactly these late-life curveballs. Another 49% regret underestimating healthcare and long-term care costs. I've watched AI change my own industry in real time. I talk about it every week. The question isn't whether your career gets disrupted, it's whether your plan can absorb it when it does. So how do you build a plan that can take a punch? There's 3 things. Number 1, stress test your date. At One Oak Financial, when we build a one-of-a-kind financial plan, we don't just run it. At age 65. We run it at 60. We run it at 57, the actual average. If your plan only works if everything goes perfectly, folks, that's not a plan. That's a hope. Number 2, build your calm line of cash. That's your right-size cushion, enough liquidity for your real life, your health, your family obligations, your job risk. Not cash sitting trapped in the bank doing nothing, and not zero cash so one layoff forces you to raid your 401 at the worst possible moment. Purposeful cash with a written job to do. And then number 3, protect the income floor. Know what income you can count on no matter what. Social Security, a pension if you're lucky enough to have one. And yes, For some families, guaranteed income from an annuity, almost like a personal pension. Complex tools? Absolutely. That's why they have to be taught, not sold. But when half of America is retiring earlier than planned, income you can't outlive isn't a product pitch. It's a math conversation.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope. So do I know. Turn it up.

Now here's where Here's where it gets interesting for the younger listeners. The study found younger Americans are shifting their expectations. Less reliance on Social Security, more reliance on personal savings and continued employment in retirement. Working longer as the backup plan. Is that realistic? Part of it, yes. Taking ownership of your own savings instead of waiting on Washington. I love that. That's exactly the right instinct. But I'll just work longer as your safety net. Folks, that is the one strategy the data says fails, says fails most often. You cannot make working until 70 your plan when the average person is out at the age of 57. That's like planning a road trip assuming you'll never hit traffic. Here's the honest truth. Working longer is a wish, not a strategy. Your health has a vote. Your employer has a vote. Your parents' health has a vote. The economy, it votes. AI is going to be a big voter in the future. You are one voter in a crowded election on when you actually will retire. Now, can you improve your odds? Sure. Stay healthy. Keep your skills current. Build income streams that don't depend on a W-2. This microphone, by the way, is one of mine. But the gold rule is this: let working longer be the bonus, not the foundation. Build a plan that works if you're done at 57, and if you get to work until 67 because you love it, every one of those years is gravy.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope. So do I know. Turn it up.

So Who comes out of this study feeling good? The TIAA data is crystal clear on this, and as a planner, this is my favorite part. People who work with a financial professional carry significantly fewer regrets in every single category. Just one example, only 26% of advised retirees regret underestimating life events versus 43% of those who went it alone. But let me tell you what's really behind that number, because it's not magic. It's not stock picking. It's not some secret product. The people who reach retirement confident instead of regretful do a few specific things. They write it down. I say it on this show constantly. Your financial plan is the most important document you'll ever have. Clear, concise, simple enough to explain to your kids. The study found 47% of retirees regret never having clear retirement goals. You can't hit a target you never wrote down. They also automate savings. They don't rely on willpower every paycheck. The money moves before they can touch it, and it escalates a little every year. They plan for the ugly stuff like healthcare calls, long-term care, The market dropping 30% the year they retire. The prepared crowd talked about those things 20 years earlier. The regret crowd found out in real time. And finally, they have somebody to call because the biggest value of an advisor isn't the spreadsheet, it's the behavior. It's the person who stops you from panicking in a downturn and from drifting in the good years.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope. So do I know. Turn it up.

All right, let's land this plane. If you're 40 years old or you love somebody who is and you do not want to be part of the next generation of the 76%, here are the 3 moves I'd tell you to make this week. Move 1, get your plan on paper. One page, where you are, where you're going, what income shows up when the paycheck stops, And what happens if that paycheck stops at 57 instead of 65? Written down this week. Move 2, raise your savings rate and automate the raise. If you're saving 5, go to 8, aim your way towards 15 and set it to auto-increase 1% every year as you get pay raises. At 40, you can't buy back your 20s, but you still have 17 years of compounding before age 57 and 25 years before age 65. That is real powerful time. And then move 3, build the shock absorbers, your calm line of cash for the near-term hits and a plan for guaranteed income for the long game. And here's the good news. The part I need you to hear at 40, almost every mistake is still reversible. Started late. Catch-up time is still on your side.

No plan.

Write one this month. Too much cash or none at all, fixable. The only mistake you can't reverse is the one the 76% told us about, waiting another year to start.

It's what we do every day, every plan. Mike Milligan in your corner from Hope Soda. I know, turn it up.

Here's how I'll leave you on the special report. Those retirees expressing regret, they're not asking for sympathy. They're leaving us a map. 76% of them are pointing at the same spot and saying, start sooner. You know what I always say, money is the tool, moments are the point, and a written plan is how you make sure an early retirement becomes a gift instead of a crisis. Educate, coach, plan. That's what we do. If you want this show Every day, not just on special reports. Text the word IDEAS, I-D-E-A-S, to the number 600-700. Subscribe on YouTube at 1.oakradio and send me your questions at www.1oakradio.com. I'm Mike Milligan. Never miss a moment and never miss a show. This episode is educational only and it's not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. No specific products or securities are recommended. Annuity references are framed as education and must be taught, not sold, consistent with prior daily episodes. Confirm the word TEXT IDEAS, I-D-E-A-S, to 600-700, the shortcode. It's cleared our marketing. And again, I am an investment advisor representative with Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial is an unaffiliated entity of Advisory Alpha LLC.

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