The first step in reassessing your retirement plan is to understand where you stand today. Start by reviewing your income, expenses and savings. Are you still contributing to your retirement accounts, or have you slowed down your contributions as retirement nears? What’s the current value of your retirement portfolio, and how much are you projecting to need in the coming years?

Tip: Take time to round up all your financial documents, including your retirement account statements, tax returns and other investment statements. This provides an accurate snapshot of where you are financially and makes the process of adjusting your strategy much easier.

Step 2: Reassess your retirement goals

Retirement goals may change over time, as your needs and desires change. Perhaps you had planned to spend your retirement traveling the world, but now you’re more interested in staying closer to home and spending more time with family. Or maybe you’ve discovered a new hobby or interest that you’d like to pursue more seriously.

Whatever your goals were for 2025 and beyond, it’s time to make sure they reflect what’s most important to you today. Revisit your retirement dreams: where you want to live, what you want to do and any legacy you want to leave. This can help guide your financial decisions moving forward.

Tip: Write down your updated goals and consider discussing them with a financial advisor. Knowing precisely what you want can help you make smarter, more targeted decisions with your money.

Step 3: Assess your retirement income needs

How much income will you need in retirement? It’s time to revisit your monthly and yearly expenses to make sure you’ve accounted for any lifestyle changes. In 2025, your expenses may be different depending on your health and your housing situation, as well as your plans for leisure or travel. It’s important to know whether your current retirement savings can produce the income you will need.

One rule of thumb is that you’ll need about 70%-80% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyle, but that can vary widely depending on your situation. If you’re debt free and live a modest lifestyle, you may need less. If you have high medical costs or want to spend more on travel, your needs may be higher.

Tip: Develop a detailed retirement budget based on the estimates for both essential expenses — housing, health care, utilities — and discretionary expenses — travel and entertainment. This will help you build a rough estimate of how much you will need each month.

Step 4: Consider your current retirement savings

Now that you have an idea about your income needs, the next step involves analyzing whether your current savings level is sufficient. Consider your retirement accounts’ performance for the last year, especially if markets have been volatile. Are you on track to meet your income goals? If not, are there ways to increase savings or adjust spending to ensure money will be available in the future?

Tip: If you’re behind on your retirement savings, consider contributing more in 2025, or look into ways to reduce your expenses in the short term to boost your savings rate. Take advantage of catch-up contributions if you’re 50 or older, which let you contribute more than others to retirement accounts.

Step 5: Assess your investment strategy

As you approach retirement or enter into your retirement years, your investment strategy may need to shift. While you may have been more aggressive earlier in your career, now may be a time in which the priority is on preserving wealth. In any case, this does not imply reaping all your money out of the market; what it really means is a balance of risk and stability in your portfolio.

Take a look at your portfolio’s asset allocation: how much is in stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets. Maybe it’s time to make your allocation more conservative if stability is what you are after. Still, a part of your money will probably have to be invested for growth, especially if over the next couple of decades you want to outrun inflation.

Tip: Consider sitting down with a financial advisor to help reevaluate your portfolio for 2025. They can help make sure your investments are in line with your updated retirement goals and risk tolerance.

Step 6: Plan for health care costs

Health care is often one of the biggest-and most underestimated-expenses in retirement. Take a hard look at your health needs as you approach 2025. Do you have the right coverage? Are you planning for long-term care if you or a loved one one day needs assistance?

Medicare will cover part of your health care expenses starting at age 65, but it does not cover everything, including vision, dental or long-term care. Thus, you should include additional health costs in your retirement planning for 2025.

Tip: Supplement your retirement with a long-term care insurance policy or other options that can help cover possible medical expenses. The health care plan will prevent the financial burden later on.

Step 7: Assess your withdrawal strategy

One of the most important parts of your retirement plan is how you will take the money out of your accounts. A good withdrawal strategy will ensure that you do not outlive your savings and that your investments will last throughout your retirement years.

If you haven’t already, consider a bucket strategy whereby you divide your savings into different “buckets” based on when you’ll need the funds. For example, short-term expenses can be covered by low-risk, liquid investments, while longer-term goals are covered by more growth-oriented investments.

Tip: Review and revise your withdrawal strategy with a focus on 2025. If using tax-deferred accounts, review your required minimum distributions and make sure your plan is optimized to minimize taxes and provide a steady income.

Step 8: Protect your legacy

Lastly, it’s a good idea to revisit your estate plan as part of your year-end review. If you’ve had any changes in your family situation, such as births, deaths or divorces, make sure your beneficiary designations are up to date. Having a solid estate plan in place will help ensure that your assets go to the right people and avoid unnecessary taxes or legal battles.

Tip: Meet with an estate planning attorney to review your wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. Make sure your wishes are clear, and make sure your loved ones know what to expect.

Conclusion

It’s time to reassess your retirement plan and set new goals for this stage of your life as you prepare for 2025. Whether you’re five years away from retirement or already living the dream, understanding your goals, adjusting your savings and making sure your investments match your needs are all integral parts of a successful retirement. With a clear plan in place, you can step into 2025 with confidence and enjoy the years ahead, knowing you’ve got a solid foundation to rely on.

Lyle Boss, The REAL BOSS Financial, endorsed by Glenn Beck as the premier retirement advisor for Utah and the Mountain West states. Boss Financial, 955 Chambers St., Suite 250, Ogden, UT 84403. Telephone: 801-475-9400.