Edward Jones Financial Advisor Natali Sanchez says retirement planning should start well before the finish line. Her retirement planning advice is aimed at people within five to 10 years of their target retirement date, when decisions about timing, income, housing, and purpose start to carry more weight.
Natali Sanchez and Retirement Planning
Sanchez wrote that saving for retirement is important, but it’s only part of the picture. She says people close to retirement should ask when they want to retire, how they will spend their time, where they will live, what retirement will cost, and whether retirement will include giving back.
She also says the age at which someone retires matters more than many people realize. That is where the math gets tighter: retiring early means more years to fund and fewer years to build the nest egg, which can force bigger savings targets before the last day of work arrives.
Social Security and Medicare
The timing issue becomes sharper once benefit rules enter the picture. Social Security can begin at age 62 at a reduced amount, full Social Security benefits are available between ages 66 and 67 depending on birth year, and waiting until age 70 means the maximum Social Security benefit.
Medicare does not start until age 65, while penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts generally are not allowed until age 59½. Put together, those ages create a gap for some early retirees: income may be limited before benefits fully begin, and health coverage may need to be handled separately until Medicare starts.
Where Edward Jones Says to Look
Sanchez says location deserves the same attention as savings. She says retirees should think about whether a chosen place will still work as they get older, including proximity to family, access to health care, cost of living, and climate.
She also warns that free time can be harder to manage than people expect. Many new retirees find that unlimited free time feels disorienting rather than freeing, so the plan should include what fills the day, not just what funds it.
That is why her checklist goes beyond spending. She says retirees may use the time for travel, volunteering, hobbies, or more family time, and she adds that the more active and involved they plan to be, the more they will likely need to budget.
Family, Charity, and the Next Step
Retirement can also change how people think about giving. Sanchez says it can bring time and motivation to be more generous, whether that means helping family members, donating to charity, or volunteering in the community.
Her bottom line is straightforward: work with a financial advisor to align savings with the life you want. For people within five to 10 years of retirement, the job is no longer only to accumulate money; it is to decide how the money, the timing, and the lifestyle fit together.
