Retirement Checklist: 10 Things To Do Now in Your 50s, According To Fidelity

If you are successful your 50s, status whitethorn look a agelong mode off. You’re unafraid successful your career, you whitethorn beryllium successful oregon approaching the empty-nest phase, and you’ve astir apt made important advancement toward paying disconnected large indebtedness similar a mortgage. It mightiness consciousness similar you tin yet respire a small bit.

But status is coming faster than you think, and your 50s are the champion clip to prepare. According to Fidelity, determination are 10 things you tin bash successful your 50s to marque definite you’re acceptable erstwhile the clip comes to permission the moving satellite behind.

Take a bully look astatine your fund to spot wherever you tin marque changes. Look for expenses that you whitethorn beryllium paying retired of wont alternatively than necessity — similar streaming services you don’t use, oregon your big children’s compartment telephone bills. Earmark those items that you won’t person successful your status budget, similar commuting expenses and workday lunches.

If you don’t person a budget, this is the clip to marque one.

Find Out: This ‘Boring’ Investment Could Be the Secret To Never Running Out of Retirement Income

Read Next: 5 Clever Ways Retirees Are Earning Up To $1K per Month From Home

The outgo of healthcare comes arsenic a daze to galore retirees. Fidelity estimates that a 65-year-old retiring successful 2025 volition walk astir $172,500 for aesculapian expenses successful retirement, supra and beyond what Medicare covers.

One bully mode to prevention for these costs successful with a wellness savings account, oregon HSA. If you person a high-deductible wellness program (HDHP), you tin lend to an HSA with pre-tax dollars. You tin put your contributions, and withdrawals are not taxed if they’re utilized for qualified aesculapian expenses.

The maximum you tin lend to an HAS for 2026 is $4,400 if lone you are covered by the HDHP, oregon $8,750 if you person household coverage. If you’re implicit 55, you tin adhd a catch-up publication of $1,000.

An exigency that requires you to dip into your status savings is ever serious, but erstwhile you’re successful your 50s, you person little clip to marque up for an unplanned withdrawal. So, marque definite you person astatine slightest 3 to six months of indispensable expenses successful a liquid exigency fund, similar a high-yield savings account.  That way, if thing unexpected happens, you’ll beryllium much apt to person the funds to screen it.

There are 2 parts to a unafraid retirement: redeeming up the wealth you’ll need, and past spending it connected the close things. There volition ever beryllium expenses you don’t expect, but for immoderate of them, you tin support against them with insurance. In your 50s, instrumentality a look astatine your security sum to marque definite it is inactive what you need.