Most people spend their working years focused on accumulation, building the number. Far fewer spend the same energy planning for what happens to that number once paychecks stop. A retirement can run 20 to 30 years, and a handful of risks tend to surface again and again, regardless of how much someone has saved.
WILL THE MONEY LAST
The first and most basic question is also the hardest to answer with certainty. According to Social Security Administration data, a 65-year-old man can expect to live to roughly age 84 on average, and a 65-year-old woman to roughly age 87, with about a 1-in-10 chance of reaching 95.[1] Plan around the average and you may be planning for too short a retirement. Plan around the outlier and you give the plan room to actually hold up.
INFLATION RISK AND TAX RISK, WORKING TOGETHER
Inflation does not need to spike to do real damage. Even at a historically ordinary rate near 3% a year, prices roughly double every 24 years, which means a dollar at the start of a 25-year retirement may buy only about half as much by the end.[2] Layer in required minimum distributions, the taxation of Social Security benefits, and the long-running uncertainty over future program adjustments, what we categorize separately as entitlement risk, and purchasing power can erode from several directions at once, not just one.
MEDICAL EXPENSE RISK: THE COSTS NO SPREADSHEET PLANS FOR
Healthcare is the line item most retirement plans underestimate. Fidelity’s most recent retiree health care cost estimate puts lifetime costs for an average 65-year-old individual at $172,500, and roughly $345,000 for a couple, after Medicare and not including long-term care.[3] That figure does not include the unplanned ER visit, the cracked tooth, or the roof repair after a storm, the costs that show up outside any spreadsheet.
THIS IS PART OF A LARGER FRAMEWORK
Longevity, inflation, tax, and medical expense risk are four of the twelve risk categories we walk every client through as part of a Fiduciary Retirement Blueprint review, the same framework covered in our retirement seminars. Want to see where your own plan stands against all twelve? Call 239-777-4247 or visit blueprintfg.com to request a complimentary review.
PERSONAL AND EVENT RISK: HELPING FAMILY WITHOUT DERAILING YOUR OWN PLAN
Then there is a role many retirees never expected to play. Recent AARP research found that three out of four parents with adult children are providing some form of financial support to them, a share that has been climbing for years.[4] We classify this under personal and event risk, the risk that an unexpected family need pulls hard on an account that was not built to absorb it. Helping family is not the problem. Doing it without first knowing what it costs your own plan is.
OUR ROLE IN ALL OF THIS
None of these risks are reasons to be anxious; they are reasons to plan. As a fiduciary, our role is to look at your specific income sources, time horizon, and family situation, and stress-test the plan against all five of these before they become urgent rather than after.
If you have not run your retirement income plan through that lens, we would welcome the conversation. We are here when you are ready.
SOURCES
[1] Social Security Administration. “Period Life Table, 2022.” ssa.gov. Accessed July 9, 2026.
[2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Consumer Price Index (CPI) Historical Data.” bls.gov. Accessed July 9, 2026.
[3] Fidelity Investments. “Fidelity Investments® Releases 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate.” newsroom.fidelity.com. Accessed July 9, 2026.
[4] AARP. “Parents Are Extending Support to Their Adult Children for Longer.” aarp.org. Accessed July 9, 2026
This content is for informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed here are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spire Wealth Management, LLC, and its affiliates. There can be no assurance that any investment products or strategy will achieve its investment objective. There are risks associated with investing, including the entire loss of principal invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment Advisory Services offered through Spire Wealth Management, LLC. Richard Eller is an Investment Advisor Representative of Spire Wealth Management, LLC. operating under Blueprint Financial Group, an independent firm.