How to Retire With No Regrets

LIVING IN RETIREMENT

- Janet Bodnar

In my last column (see “Living in Retirement,” Oct.), I noted that many retirees wish they had saved more money or started earlier. That was one of the findings in the Retiree Reflections Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute with the support of Edelman Financial Engines. But not everyone surveyed would have changed their financial habits. In fact, about one-third of the respondents had no major financial regrets.

Retirees in the survey were between the ages of 55 and 80 and had between $50,000 and $5 million in financial assets, defined as the sum of liquid assets including stocks and funds, checking and savings accounts, government and corporate bonds, and other savings. Not surprisingly, retirees who don’t have major regrets reported substantially higher financial assets—an average of $711,000, compared with $434,000 for those who do have regrets.