Help pre-retiree clients build confidence as they approach retirement

Key Takeaways:

• Pre-retirees (age 55-65) are feeling anxious about their impending retirements due to economic pressures from inflation and market volatility.
• Many pre-retirees are leaving familiar notions of retirement planning behind as they seek more flexible approaches to achieving long-term financial security.
• Financial professionals play critical roles in helping pre-retiree clients create holistic plans that can address the full range of retirement needs.

07/15/2025 – For clients between age 55-65, the years before retirement present a mix of anticipation and anxiety. They have saved and invested for most of their working lives with the goal of a secure financial future, making the most of their free time and feeling comfortable about their finances.

Today’s pre-retirees have plenty of reasons to feel anxious about their impending retirements, mostly due to present-day economic pressures such as inflation and market volatility. For example, 42% of pre-retirees say their dreams for retirement have been delayed, altered or cancelled as a result of economic conditions seen in the last five years.

In the latest installment of our Advisory Authority survey series, powered by the Nationwide Retirement Institute^®, we sought to learn more about pre-retirees—what they’re feeling and what changes they’re making to their financial plans—to help financial professionals like you focus on these factors as you work with your pre-retiree clients.

The idea of retirement has changed

For many Americans, retirement today looks much different than it did even one generation ago. Many workers who are preparing to retire in the next 5-10 years may have memories of their parents’ or grandparents’ later years. The wider availability of traditional pension benefits helped retirees in older generations retire with greater confidence. 

Those benefits are scarcer today. So is confidence among pre-retirees. With their own financial futures getting closer every day, many are questioning whether their dreams of retirement are possible. They’re facing the challenges of rising prices and market volatility, and growing concerned about living longer and running out of money later in life. 

Inflation is an ongoing worry. Among financial professionals we surveyed, nearly half (46%) said inflation has influenced their pre-retiree clients to rethink or redefine their retirement planning strategies. Over one-third (37%) cited fear of running out of money in retirement.

As a result, many pre-retirees are abandoning traditional views of retirement. For example, around two-thirds of pre-retirees (64%) said the norm of retiring at age 65 no longer applies to them. That’s up from 59% one year ago.

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The old rules no longer apply

They’re also leaving familiar notions of retirement planning behind as they seek more flexible approaches to achieving long-term financial security. Nearly 20 years ago, The Number became a best-selling book by focusing on specific financial targets that workers should hit to realize long-term financial security. 

That book may not sell so well in 2025. Today, over half of pre-retirees (52%) don’t believe in the concept of a “magic number” for retirement savings.

Our survey also found that many pre-retirees don’t see some of the more common “rules of thumb” of retirement as applicable to their financial plans. For instance, many of us are familiar with the “4% rule” for retirement savings withdrawals. Today, over one-third of pre-retirees (35%) think this rule is no longer relevant to them in today’s economic environment. 

The “4% rule” has become the default retirement income strategy for retirees to help ensure they can live comfortably and make their savings lasts as long as they need it. It’s certainly fine if pre-retiree clients want to look beyond these traditional approaches. One shortcoming of the “4% rule” is that it’s often too broad to apply to some retirees’ specific income and long-term planning needs.

But financial professionals should be prepared to discuss alternatives with clients, or explain why some of these rules merit re-examination. By and large, financial professionals still see the “4% rule” as valid; 84% of those we surveyed said it’s still relevant. 

You may still find these stand-by rules of financial planning useful when working with specific clients. A target number like 4% for account withdrawals can also serve as a good place to start fine-tuning a client’s retirement income plan for their specific needs. 

The emerging trend of phased retirement

One approach to these challenges, “phased retirement”, appears to be growing in popularity among Americans. In phased retirement, workers step away gradually from their careers—maybe by scaling back their time commitments, taking a part-time role, or embarking on one- or two-year sabbaticals from the workforce—while easing into their later years. 

Among the financial professionals we polled in our survey, 42% report they have pre-retiree clients who are using a phased approach to retirement, a radically different strategy from their parents or grandparents. 

For some, phased retirement may be a necessity for financial reasons; more than one-third of pre-retiree investors surveyed (35%) are planning to work in retirement. For others, phased retirement is a way to enjoy the freedom of retirement earlier in life, while still maintaining connections with the working world. 

As you can imagine, phased retirement comes with special planning considerations. Clients who want to step away from work, whether for a few hours or days per week or for an entire year, may need to tap investment and savings accounts for income. That decision may come with its own implications; choosing which accounts to draw from, understanding the tax implications, considering what early withdrawals could mean for longevity, and determining when to file for Social Security benefits. 

It can get complex quickly. For clients going the phased retirement route, flexibility in financial planning becomes essential. This is where you can demonstrate your value as a financial professional, to help clients assess their current financial picture and draft a personalized and holistic plan that can deliver lifetime income and long-term financial security.

Holistic retirement planning is key

Pre-retirees are at a stage in life where the financial decisions they make can carry massive implications for their future retirement security. Financial professionals play a critical role in helping their pre-retiree clients create a holistic plan for addressing the full range of financial needs, including important choices around Social Security, long-term care, taxes and securing lifetime income with solutions like annuities.

Nationwide can help support you with resources and tools as you work with your clients to identify gaps in their current plan and address them with solutions designed for greater financial security through retirement.