Many retirement plans are built on a quiet assumption: that spending stays roughly the same from year one to year thirty.
It sounds reasonable. But research suggests it’s not how retirement actually works — and planning around that assumption can create more anxiety than it prevents.

The Retirement Fear That Can Hold People Back

Running out of money consistently ranks as one of the top retirement fears in national surveys.¹ That concern is understandable. But it often leads to a subtler pattern: retirees (or those approaching retirement) holding back on spending even when their plan may support it.

Not because the math doesn’t work — but because the what‑ifs feel heavy.

“What if I spend too much now and regret it at 80?”
“What if I’m not being conservative enough?”

The result is often a retirement that feels more cautious than necessary, especially in the early years when health and energy are more abundant.

What the Data on Retirement Spending Shows

When researchers look at how retirees actually spend, they don’t see a flat line. They see a curve.²

Spending tends to be highest in the early years of retirement. Households in their 60s spend an average of roughly $72,300 per year — about $12,000 more than those in their late 70s.³ That increase isn’t recklessness. It reflects travel, home projects, hobbies, and experiences people finally have time to enjoy.

By the late 60s and into the 70s, spending typically eases by around 10%, driven mostly by reduced discretionary costs rather than essentials.⁴ Routines simplify. Priorities shift. Life settles into a different rhythm.

In the 80s and beyond, overall spending often declines further, even as healthcare takes a larger share of the budget. When advanced care enters the picture, expenses can concentrate quickly: the median cost of a private nursing home room runs roughly $10,646 per month.⁵

The point isn’t that later years are inexpensive. It’s that retirement spending naturally evolves. The early years tend to be the most active — and most expensive — by choice, not by accident.

Why a Flat Retirement Plan Can Create False Pressure

If you assume every year of retirement costs the same, the math can feel punishing. Thirty years of identical withdrawals is a large number, and it can make early spending feel irresponsible.

But when spending is modeled more realistically — higher early, lower in the middle, then increasingly focused on care later — the picture changes. Not dramatically. But meaningfully.

For example, dollars spent on travel and experiences in your 60s often replace, rather than add to, spending that naturally declines in later decades. Thoughtful early spending doesn’t automatically mean shortchanging your 80s; the two phases tend to have different cost profiles and priorities.

That’s not permission to ignore planning. It’s an invitation to plan with more nuance.

A More Thoughtful Retirement Question

Instead of asking, “Am I spending too much?” it may be worth asking something different:

“Does my plan account for how retirement actually changes over time?”

If it doesn’t, you might be solving for a version of retirement that doesn’t match reality. These are the kinds of questions we help clients explore at Veridian Capital Partners—not to chase perfect answers, but to build financial and retirement plans that reflect how life and spending often evolve over time.

Sources:

1. AARP, 2024 [URL: https://www.aarp.org/press/releases/2024-4-24-new-aarp-survey-1-in-5-americans-ages-50-have-no-retirement-savings/]
2. Morningstar, 2025 [URL: https://www.morningstar.com/content/cs-assets/v3/assets/blt9415ea4cc4157833/bltb73b87c5d0c70ead/692f43f57737a31596684522/working_file_11.19_FINAL_REVISE.pdf#page=11]
3. J.P. Morgan, 2025 [URL: https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/americas/us/en/insights/retirement-insights/retirement-by-the-numbers.pdf]
4. Bank of America, 2025 [URL: https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/evolution-of-retiree-spending.pdf]
5. Genworth, 2025 [URL: https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/genworth-and-carescout-release-cost-care-survey-results-2024-2025-03-04]
    

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