Many soon-to-be retirees find that their excitement grows as the number of days until retirement shrinks. But it’s not true for everyone—while some people get jazzed about leaving the workforce for good, others are increasingly weighed down by retirement anxiety.
If that sounds like you, understand that it’s perfectly normal—and there is something you can do about it.
Retirement can be a thrilling phase of your life, but it can also be stressful for any number of reasons. After all, by the time you retire, your working years almost certainly will have taken up the majority of your life. And after that much time, it can be difficult to simply flip a switch into a new way of life, even if that new way of life should in theory be much less demanding.
If you’re feeling nervous as you prepare for your post-career years, let us help you take a few emotional bricks off your shoulders. Read on as we outline several steps you can take to ensure a smoother transition, turning that retirement anxiety into retirement excitement.
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Table of Contents
Goodbye, Anxiety … And Hello, Assurance
Retirement fears come in a range of financial, physical, mental, and emotional concerns. Thankfully, no matter which categories your worries fall into, there are ways to alleviate them.
Here are a number of tips you can follow to anxiety-proof your looming retirement.
1. Discover a Sense of Purpose
Think about any time you’ve met someone new. We’re guessing one of the most common questions that came up was “What do you do for work?”
No judgment here. Considering how much of our time our careers take up, our identities often become intertwined with our professions. But as a result, some retirees find they lose their sense of purpose once they put their job in the rear-view mirror. And it’s true for virtually all vocations—some associate this feeling with doctors and teachers, but it can be just as true for office workers and mechanics.
There’s no quick antidote for this feeling, but you need to realize that who you are as a person is more than what you do for work.
In retirement, you’ll want to prioritize detangling your sense of self from your career and focus on other aspects of your identity. If you’re a grandparent, babysit your grandchildren more; it can make you feel connected and useful. The same goes if you volunteer for a charity you care about and find purpose by committing yourself to a cause.
But perhaps more importantly, consider the idea that you don’t need to have a purpose. You’re allowed to simply just “be” in retirement, too. Retirement is a time in which you can lose yourself in the things you might have enjoyed more fully had you not been working five days a week.
2. Consider Easing Into Retirement
Everyone—ourselves included—gets caught in the trap of treating retirement like an on/off switch. But it’s not. You don’t have to dive headfirst into retirement; you can dip your toes in little by little if you prefer. This can be as easy as reducing your number of hours worked in a week, or as adventurous as switching to a less stressful job.
Easing into retirement has its pros and cons. Doing so might delay plans you have to move. It’s possible your current employer won’t be open to the idea of taking you from full-time to part-time. But many people find that the advantages of phasing into retirement—including maintaining relationships, providing some free time, and the additional financial flexibility—outweigh the drawbacks.
It’s not the right path for everyone, but it’s absolutely worth considering if you’re feeling retirement anxiety.
Related: Retired But Too Young for Medicare? Health Insurance for Early Retirees
3. Carefully Choose Where to Live
Some people decide to stay put during retirement, while others view it as an opportunity to switch locations. There are numerous factors to consider when determining whether you should move during retirement, and fully considering all those factors before making your decision can help reduce retirement anxiety.
One of the greatest considerations is your finances. If you live in a high-cost-of-living area, downsizing your home can make your retirement more affordable. That can also be a helpful decision if you think you have way more space than you need; those who frequently travel in retirement may find they don’t need much to come home to in between excursions. Also, moving can help you lower your tax burden; some states don’t tax retirement income at all.
This is a social decision, too. You might want to relocate closer to your family, or move into an age-qualified community where you can socialize with other active, older adults.
Even the weather matters. Do you love the peace a snowfall brings? You’ll probably be a lot more anxious about retiring to Texas than you would be settling down in Minnesota. Want to sip sangria in the sunshine all year long? You’re probably better off in Palm Beach than (either) Portland.
No matter where you decide to live as a retiree, make sure to carefully weigh all of your options.
Related: Downsizing in Retirement? 10 Tips to Follow
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4. Decide When to Collect Social Security
This is another checklist item that goes a long way in reducing retirement anxiety.
Rather than just holding off until you financially need your Social Security benefits, you can build a clearer retirement picture by deciding ahead of time when you want to start collecting your checks.
When should you take Social Security? As our guide explains, the decision depends on multiple factors, including your current finances, other retirement income sources, expected longevity, and whether you plan to collect spousal benefits.
This isn’t a guessing game. Social Security’s website, SSA.gov, can show you approximately how much Social Security you’ll receive at different retirement ages.
Importantly, whatever you plan now isn’t concrete until you start collecting—if you decide you want to push back your Social Security start date, you can. (And there are even methods for voluntarily suspending benefits once you’ve already started collecting.) So a rough plan can give you peace of mind without locking you into a decision.
Related: Social Security Timing: 7 Questions to Pinpoint Your Perfect Starting Age
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5. Have a Withdrawal Strategy
Do you worry that your retirement savings won’t last long enough? You aren’t alone. In the 2025 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress study, 51% of respondents said they think it’s somewhat likely or very likely that they’ll outlive their savings.
Few thoughts can make a person more anxious than the idea of being elderly and penniless. Fortunately, having a retirement withdrawal strategy in place can ensure you withdraw enough to get by without crippling your future ability to finance your post-career years.
One of the most well-known strategies is the 4% rule, which has you withdraw up to 4% of your savings during your first year as a retiree and then take the dollar amount, adjusted by inflation, in subsequent years. However, you shouldn’t assume that strategy will work for you (indeed, some say the 4% rule is outdated), so look at a variety of strategies first (or better still, talk to a financial advisor, who can really help you flesh out your options).
Once you have a carefully chosen plan in place, you can retire with more confidence that your money will last.
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6. Maintain + Create Social Connections
Social interactions are vital, even for the most introverted of people. Socialization is pleasant, sure, but it has health benefits as well. For instance, it staves off loneliness, which is associated with health risks such as depression, dementia, heart disease, and—yes, you guessed it—anxiety.
Work on ensuring your relationships with coworkers will continue even after you’ve left the workplace. Build new bonds through clubs or senior centers. See your family more often.
Even interactions with animals can combat loneliness. Consider having a pet during retirement to feel less isolated, which, in addition to keeping you social can keep you physically active.
Related: Financial Caregiving: How to Manage a Loved One’s Finances
7. Become a Medicare Expert
The American health care system can be costly and confusing, and that doesn’t end once you reach retirement. You’ll likely just be trading in employer-sponsored health insurance for Medicare.
Uncertainty breeds anxiety, so it’s vital that you begin learning how Medicare works. The more you know, the better you can prepare. Among the things we recommend brushing up on are:
— The different types of Medicare coverage
— Whether you also qualify for Medicaid
— Medicare’s enrollment periods
— What “Original Medicare” does and doesn’t cover (Original Medicare is Parts A and B)
Once you know the ins and outs of Medicare, you’ll have more insight into how much you should set aside for health care costs in retirement. You’ll also be better prepared to understand whether you should pursue long-term care (LTC) insurance and/or other supplemental insurance.
Related: Medicare FAQs: Your Questions Answered
8. Plan to Travel
Most workers spend 40 or more hours per week at the workplace. That’s a lot of extra free time to fill once you retire … so you’ll be unsurprised to find that many people worry about boredom once they’ve called it a career.
When pre-retirees were asked what they were looking forward to the most in retirement, the top answer among those polled for the 2024 MassMutual Retirement Happiness Study was travel.
So, do yourself a favor and start thinking about (and even planning out) where you might go once you retire.
In addition to keeping life interesting, a recent study published in the Journal of Travel Research states that travel can slow down the signs of aging. Even the idea of aging is stressful, so if travel really can slow it, the additional comfort is yet one more reason to book a flight.
By the way: Don’t assume every trip needs to be a month-long journey abroad. Domestic travel, or even travel within your state, can be fun too.
And keep in mind that, no matter where you go, travel can be more expensive for seniors in certain ways. So budget with a close eye on your evolving preferences as a traveler.
Related: How to Invest for (And in) Retirement: Strategies + Investment Options
9. Keep Learning
Some retirement anxiety revolves around the potential for cognitive decline or developing dementia. However, being a lifelong learner can stave off both and keep you confident in your mental abilities.
This doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. Nearly every state has at least one tuition-free state university program for seniors, and the few that don’t have deep senior discounts and tuition programs for older adults. The minimum age for free tuition is state dependent, but they all land within the range of 55 to 65.
If formal education isn’t a good fit for you, learning on your own is a perfectly acceptable option. Per a recent AARP survey, 75% of respondents said they learn best by reading on their own. Consider taking advantage of your local library and borrowing books that interest you; they often have large-print copies available for those who struggle with tiny print. You can also learn through podcasts, language-learning apps, even educational YouTube videos.
The more you stretch your brain, the less anxious you’ll likely be.
Related: You May Want to Skip These Popular Retirement Rules
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10. Talk to a Financial Advisor
Several entries on this list ultimately boil down to finances—among the top sources of retirement anxiety.
Fortunately, working with a financial advisor is a simple way to alleviate these fears. Per the aforementioned 2025 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress study, 75% of respondents with a financial advisor described their finances as “strong,” while only 44% of respondents without an advisor said the same.
Don’t worry about whether you’re making the wrong financial choices—offload those choices (and the associated stress) to a professional instead. This should generally help reduce the guesswork in your retirement planning and replace it with careful, customized calculations.
Talking to an advisor can increase the chances you’ll check off everything on your retirement planning to-do list. And that can be an enormous emotional and psychological weight off your shoulders.
Related: How to Choose a Financial Advisor
Want to talk more about your financial goals or concerns? Our services include comprehensive financial planning, investment management, estate planning, taxes, and more! Schedule a call with Riley to discuss what you need, and what we can do for you.
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