How to Retire With No Money

Many Americans are retiring with little to no savings due to a combination of economic, social and policy-driven factors. The 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) ¹ found that nearly 40% of Americans have no retirement savings at all, and among those who do, the median savings is only $86,900—far from sufficient to support even a modest retirement.

Consider working with a financial advisor as you plan for retirement.

If you’re among those approaching retirement with little saved, the first thing to do is to get the clearest possible picture of where you stand financially. Once you know that, you’ll be able to better approach the challenge of how to retire with no money. Below, we outline some steps to take to make retiring with no money more feasible.

1. Review Social Security Benefits

Social Security is a program that you pay into during your working years and then receive a benefit from when you retire. Many retirees rely on support from their Social Security benefits to help cover their retirement expenses.

To qualify for Social Security benefits, you must have at least 40 credits or 10 years of work. Your benefit amount is based on your highest-earning 35 years of work and the age at which you apply for benefits. Essentially, the more you earn throughout your career and the longer you wait to take your benefits, up to age 70, the higher your benefit amount will be.

If you didn’t work for 35 years or more, the Social Security Administration will add zeros to those years, which could drastically lessen your benefit amount. Therefore, if you want to maximize your benefits, you should try to earn as much as possible during your working years and wait until age 67 (for those born after 1960), which is considered full retirement age, to claim your benefit.

If you are married, you may qualify for a spousal benefit worth up to half of your spouse’s benefit amount at their full retirement age, and claiming it does not reduce what your spouse receives. If you are divorced, you may still be eligible for a benefit based on your ex-spouse’s record as long as the marriage lasted at least 10 years and you have not remarried.

It’s important to note that Social Security may only cover a portion of your expenses in retirement. In January 2025, the average monthly benefit payment was $1,976, according to Social Security Administration (SSA) data.

2. Reduce Your Living Expenses

By downsizing your lifestyle, you can help ease the financial burden of retirement. For starters, evaluate your largest living costs, such as your housing, senior care or vehicle expenses. Once you identify your largest expenditures, you can begin looking for less expensive alternatives.

For example, if you’re living in a three-bedroom house in Seattle, you may want to consider moving to a two-bedroom condo in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Even if you don’t want to downsize in retirement, you can often achieve big savings by just moving to a less expensive area. If you live in Boston and move to the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale, for example, your cost of living will decline about 20%.

If you want to compare the cost of living where you are with other states, this cost of living calculator can provide much of the information you’ll need.

3. Pay Off Outstanding Debt

Another way to reduce your living expenses in retirement is to pay off any outstanding debt. This debt could be preventing you from saving effectively and, as a result, living as full a life as possible in retirement. 

Typically, the most efficient approach to paying off your debt is focusing on the debt with the highest interest rate first. Often, this is credit card debt. Other common debts in retirement are mortgages, auto loans and parent loans for children’s education. You can start to pay down your debt by putting any extra cash towards it while avoiding taking on any additional debt.

You may want to speak with a financial advisor to see which debts are most important to pay down first, and if you should allocate some of your savings to get rid of interest-accruing debt.

4. Secure a Pension

A pension is a retirement plan that provides retired employees with a guaranteed monthly income. While pensions are now few and far between, some organizations and corporations still offer them. If you don’t currently work for a company that has a pension plan, you may consider applying to work for one.

Pension plans often apply to teachers, police, fire workers, federal or state employees and military personnel. However, some big corporations like General Mills and Eli Lilly & Co. also offer pensions to their employees. If you’re able to pay off your outstanding debt, receive Social Security benefits and get a pension, you may be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle.

It’s important to note that the key to making a pension plan work is to stay at the same employer for a long time. Most pensions give benefits based on the employee’s tenure and compensation. If you job-hop, your pension may not be large enough to cover your retirement costs.

5. Consider Working in Retirement

According to a report from United Income, 20% of adults over the age of 65 are either working or looking for work. This is up from 10% in 1985. If you’re in good health, you may want to consider working in your retirement years or delay your retirement for a few years. If you’ve become accustomed to a certain way of life, you may not be willing to give that up when you leave the workforce.

To maintain your lifestyle once you retire, you could consider working a part-time job. This can help you afford certain living expenses. While you may not make as much money as you did before you retired, working can help you supplement your income. 

Working part-time also allows you to reap some of the benefits of retirement without being fully retired, such as clocking fewer hours working and having more time to spend on hobbies and with family and friends. You may even be able to find a job that offers benefits like paid vacation time, making it that much easier to take time off to travel in your golden years.

6. Aim to Boost Retirement Savings

If you’re approaching retirement with little saved, you can still make progress by using catch-up contributions. These allow people aged 50 and older to add more money to tax-advantaged accounts each year, giving you a chance to save more in less time.

Another option is to use a health savings account (HSA), if you qualify. HSAs let you save pre-tax money for healthcare expenses. It then grows tax-free, and you can take tax-free withdrawals for eligible medical costs. In retirement, you can also use HSA funds for non-medical purposes after age 65 if needed, though distributions will be taxed as regular income.

Adjusting your investment mix can also help to increase your retirement account balance. Adding more dividend-paying stocks, bonds or other income-producing assets can create a steady cash flow while keeping some growth potential. At this stage, keeping investment fees low is key because high costs reduce long-term returns.

How an Advisor Can Help Create a Retirement Plan With No Money

If you are nearing retirement with little or no savings, advice becomes relevant when basic income decisions determine whether retirement is even feasible. Rather than focusing on maximizing investment returns at this stage, you are likely trying to line up limited income sources with fixed expenses while operating under Social Security, Medicare and tax rules that allow little flexibility.

The decisions involved center on timing and trade-offs. You may need to choose when to claim Social Security and whether working longer meaningfully improves benefits, how long you must keep earning income and which expenses must be reduced to match guaranteed income. Each decision affects the others, and changing one input can shift the entire outcome.

An advisor helps you quantify what retirement actually looks like with no assets. That includes projecting Social Security at different claiming ages, identifying income gaps before Medicare eligibility, estimating healthcare costs and building a month-by-month cash-flow plan. The goal is not growth, but sustainability.

You can use this process to ask specific questions. For example: How many more working years will raise my Social Security benefit enough to matter? What happens if I claim at 62 versus 67? How much income do I need to cover health costs before Medicare starts? Which expenses must be covered by guaranteed income alone?

Advisor value comes from structure and timing. When savings are minimal, decisions around claiming Social Security or a pension, continuing to work and managing expenses are often permanent and hard to reverse. A misstep can reduce lifetime income, while a well-timed choice can improve stability for decades.

Bottom Line

Having no savings at retirement is not ideal, but it does not mean you are out of options. Start by getting a clear picture of where you stand financially. Find out what your Social Security benefit will be, check whether you have a pension and add up any other income sources. From there, focus on cutting expenses and paying off debt. If you have not retired yet, delaying even a few years can make a meaningful difference in your monthly income and long-term stability. The reality, though, is that living on government benefits alone is difficult for most people.

“Retiring with no savings means you’re likely going to be living on Social Security benefits alone. Unless you’re debt free, your housing is paid for, and you have very minimal food, leisure, and medical expenses, government benefits are unlikely to sustain you through a multi-decade retirement. In most cases, working longer and delaying retirement, or taking on a part-time job after you retire, are the obvious and immediate solutions,” said Tanza Loudenback, CFP®.

Tanza Loudenback, Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), provided the quote used in this article. Please note that Tanza is not a participant in SmartAsset AMP, is not an employee of SmartAsset and has been compensated. The opinion voiced in the quote is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations.

Retirement Planning Tips

• Consult with a professional to plan for your specific goals. A financial advisor can help you determine the best path toward your best retirement. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• Check on your Social Security payments. If Social Security figures to be a primary source of retirement income, you should figure out how much you’re in line to receive. Find out how much you’ll get from Uncle Sam with our free Social Security calculator.

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