Jul 26, 2026
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Add us on GoogleRunning out of money in retirement is a serious fear for many seniors. In fact, one study found that 67% of Americans worried more about running out of money than about dying.
In some cases, these fears are founded. If you have too little saved, giving up a paycheck is scary because you could end up broke. But what if you have plenty of money but are still scared to pull the trigger?
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Let’s pretend, for example, that Matteo’s mother, Dolores, has $2 million saved, a home that’s almost paid off, and a paid-off car. She’s frugal, so she spends just $50,000 per year, and she’s 68 years old. Matteo wants her to retire, but Dolores is convinced she can’t afford it.
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Matteo has run the numbers, so what should he do next to inspire his mom to stop working for good?
Understand where mom is coming from
The first thing Matteo needs to do is to pause to understand his mom’s true fears.
“If she can already retire, the issue isn’t with the spreadsheet. It’s with the sense of identity, purpose, and the thought of seeing these accounts decline instead of increase,” Evan Mills, an associate financial advisor at Scholar Advising, told Moneywise.
Mills explained that since Dolores is a saver, she’s likely used to watching her account values increase over time, and she has been rewarded over her lifetime for being responsible and spending within her means.
“To tell someone overnight that the accounts they’ve watched grow are now going to start declining, and that’s okay, that’s a really hard thing,” he said.
If Matteo takes the time to listen, he may discover his mom has specific fears, like running out of money due to a health emergency or not being able to afford to keep her house if there’s a maintenance issue.
If she discusses these worries with Matteo, he may be able to overcome her reluctance by showing her that she’ll still be OK financially — even with some unpleasant surprises.
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Show mom the truth about her numbers
Once Matteo understands where Mom is coming from, the next big step is to show Dolores the math that really proves she’s ready to retire.
“I’d build a roadmap for where the retirement funding is going to come from,” Mills suggested. “Show her how much cash she has to withdraw, and what it looks like if there’s a market downturn.”
Mills explained that if Dolores has an emergency fund and a well-diversified portfolio, Matteo should easily be able to demonstrate that her plan is “still robust against any volatility she might face in retirement.”
The reality is, a $2 million nest egg produces around $80,000 per year at a safe withdrawal rate, and that’s not including Social Security benefits. That’s $30,000 more than Dolores is spending now.
Matteo can show her exactly where this money will come from to pay her bills, and end up with extra. This should put her mind at ease.
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“A lot of the time the fear is more about not knowing where the money is coming from, rather than actually lacking the funding,” Mills said.
Make a plan for after retirement
Once Matteo shows his mom that the math works, the final step is to make retirement seem enticing enough to take the leap.
“Showing her she could spend more time with her kids or grandkids, and that she still has a sense of purpose and agency in her life, that’s really important when someone stops working full time,” Mills advised. “Keeping that sense of purpose in retirement is just as important as the money.”
And if Mom still isn’t ready after these talks, Mills has another solution as well. He advises that she make retirement “less of a cliff and more of a bridge” by perhaps transitioning first into part-time work or consulting, or finding an activity to volunteer for that she likes that she might get a small amount of compensation for.
“If someone’s having difficulty retiring, it should be a more drawn-out scenario, because they’re used to having that fixed income come in for years, a check that shows up every week or two and makes them feel secure.”
If Matteo gets his mom to cut back on work, that could be an important first step toward easing her out of the working world entirely. He just has to convince his mom that she can still have that security as a retiree. Once he does, hopefully Dolores will act.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
