--- title: 'Retirement Do-Over: Here''s One of the Most Common Regrets for Today''s Retirees' description: Many older Americans share the same regret, new research shows. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ fact_checkers: - name: Rachel Murphy url: https://money.com/author/rachel-murphy/ at_money_since: 2022 articles: 6 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Economy and Politics - Housing - Investing - Personal Finance former_staff: true published: '2023-05-26T16:17:58.000Z' modified: '2025-08-28T15:19:37.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News - Retirement word_count: 452 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of a couple walking on a beach holding hands with a sunset in the background with a dollar bill](https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Retirees-Saving-Wishes.png) Life doesn’t come with a reset button, much to the chagrin of U.S. [retirees](https://money.com/some-adults-have-to-pay-parents-retirement-costs/), the majority of whom say they would go back and change their retirement planning if they had the opportunity. The insurance company Lincoln Financial Group [recently surveyed](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230525005148/en/Should%E2%80%99ve-could%E2%80%99ve-would%E2%80%99ve-Over-60-of-retirees-wish-they-could-get-a-%E2%80%9Cdo-over%E2%80%9D-in-retirement-planning-according-to-a-recent-study-from-Lincoln-Financial-Group1) about 1,400 adults, including 261 retirees. The results show that many retirees wish they would have started saving sooner—and a larger amount—than they actually did. In fact, many don't think they'll have enough money to finance their full retirement. ## Longbridge can help you protect your retirement with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you are over 62, work with a licensed LFinance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative in your state today. [SEE RATES](https://money.com/pr/x95a97c320f2?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-do-over-common-regrets%2F) ## What the data says - Sixty-two percent of retirees surveyed said they would like to go back and plan differently for their retirement. - Among those retirees, nearly 75% said they would start saving earlier, while 63% said they would save more. A little over a third said they would choose investments that supply a steady income stream (36%) and pay off debts sooner (34%). A quarter said they would have planned better for increased costs due to [inflation](https://money.com/inflation-financial-hardship-gallup-poll/). - Instead of withdrawing money from retirement assets as needed, 63% said they’d prefer an automatic paycheck in addition to Social Security (i.e., an [annuity](https://money.com/how-to-calculate-annuities-value/)). - Retirees aren’t feeling very secure — just 27% said they were “very confident” about having enough money to last them through retirement. ## The takeaway The looming retirement savings crisis has a lot of people rethinking the durability of their retirement plans. [Social Security benefits](https://money.com/social-security-2023-not-enough/) aren’t keeping up with the rising cost of living — and with some reports predicting the program will [run out](https://money.com/social-security-run-dry-report/?ref=/americans-believe-social-security-going-away/) of money, many Americans [are worried](https://money.com/americans-believe-social-security-going-away/) those benefits won’t be around when they retire. To top it all off, [new research](https://money.com/retirement-savings-shortfall-state-automated-ira/) shows that millions of Americans’ retirement savings are insufficient, which could cause a major burden for taxpayers in the future. Given all the uncertainty surrounding retirement, more Americans — especially those between 55 and 70 — are turning to annuities, a type of insurance that helps build retirement savings, according to the research trade association LIMRA. Annuities offer a steady lifetime income stream, and there are no taxes on the growth they accumulate until the account holder starts withdrawing funds. A [recent report](http://www.limra.com/en/newsroom/industry-trends/2023/limra-annuities-forecast-to-hover-in-record-range-of-$300-billion-for-next-several-years) found that individual annuity sales were at the highest levels ever recorded in the first quarter of 2023, and LIMRA expects the trend to continue. This is likely driven not only by inadequate retirement funds, but also an expected 8.3% surge in the population over the age of 65 in the next four years, according to Oxford Economics. ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39553/medium_d01d803f-1110-4310-8997-bada342c27e4.webp) Get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/ed1a928f8683?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-do-over-common-regrets%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Retirement Do-Over: Here's One of the Most Common Regrets for Today's Retirees" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/", "name": "Retirement Do-Over: Here's One of the Most Common Regrets for Today's Retirees", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-05-26T16:17:58.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-do-over-common-regrets/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-08-28T15:19:37.000Z", "reviewedBy": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Murphy", "url": "https://money.com/author/rachel-murphy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/rachel-murphy/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2022/11/Rachel-0043-Edit.jpg?quality=85&w=640&h=640&crop=1" } ] }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Retirement Do-Over: Here's One of the Most Common Regrets for Today's Retirees", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/05/News-Retirees-Saving-Wishes.png", "width": 1019, "height": 678, "caption": "News-Retirees-Saving-Wishes" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) 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