Thinking you’re invincible

3. Thinking you’re invincible. The solution seems simple for many who haven’t saved enough for retirement: just work longer. But that assumes any number of things can’t and won’t go wrong, including a pink slip, illness, or injury. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the world is unpredictable. Who would’ve thought that so many governments around the world would actually force businesses to shut down?

My friend owns a couple of bars and made a small fortune catering to tourists in a city nearby before the pandemic hit. Money problems were far from his mind just a couple of years ago. But he told me he lost over $400,000 last year because bars are deemed high risk and were forced to close for much of the year. And even when they were allowed to open, they were not allowed to have more than a handful of customers at a time. On top of that, they had to pay a boatload on cleaning supplies and masks for all their workers.

He’s been fighting for his survival for months, but it could be worst. He can’t even imagine how tough it has been for his employees who he’s had to let go, re-hire, just to let go again. Life is unpredictable. Hope for the best but plan for the worst—so make sure you can retire even if the date of your retirement is not entirely under your control.

4. Tapping your retirement for emergencies. Sometimes crises arise and your emergency fund isn’t enough to cover the expenses. It can be tempting to look at all the lovely cash sitting in your retirement accounts and think about how it could solve your crisis. But not only is thi...