By Siri · March 2026 · 8 min read
Most women 50+ have a vague sense of whether they are on track for retirement. They are not sure. Neither are their financial advisors, if they have one. Here is the honest framework to get clear — and what to do about the gaps.
Retirement planning tools are designed to give you a score or a percentage. "You are 74% on track." That number means almost nothing without context. On track for what lifestyle? At what withdrawal rate? With what healthcare assumption?
Real readiness is not a score. It is the intersection of five things: knowing your number, knowing what you have, understanding the gap, protecting against the risks, and having a tax and withdrawal strategy. Most people have done none of these five things seriously.
Go through each category honestly. Do not check boxes you cannot defend. The goal is an accurate picture, not a passing grade.
I know my monthly expenses in retirement (not a guess — actual line items)
I have calculated my annual retirement income need (expenses × 12)
I know my target portfolio size using the 4% rule (annual need ÷ 0.04)
I have accounted for inflation — expenses in today's dollars are not the same in 10 years
I have a separate healthcare cost estimate before Medicare at 65
I have a complete picture of all accounts: 401k, IRA, Roth, brokerage, savings
I know my current total investable assets (not including home equity)
I know how much I am contributing annually and what my projected balance will be at retirement
I know my Social Security estimated benefit at 62, 67, and 70
I know if I have any pension income and what conditions apply
I have calculated the gap between what I need and what I will have
I know how many more years I need to work to close that gap
I have explored whether part-time or consulting income could bridge the gap earlier
I have modeled what happens if I retire 2 years earlier or later
I have a plan for a 30% market correction in the 3 years before retirement
I have at least 1-2 years of living expenses in cash or equivalents
I have researched long-term care insurance or have a self-insurance plan
I have a will, healthcare proxy, and beneficiaries updated in the last 3 years
My Social Security strategy accounts for longevity — a 65-year-old woman today lives to 86 on average, and 1 in 3 live past 90
I know the tax treatment of each of my accounts (pre-tax vs. Roth vs. taxable)
I have a plan for which accounts to draw from first in retirement
I have considered Roth conversions before RMDs kick in — at 73 for most, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later (SECURE 2.0)
I understand how Social Security benefits are taxed based on income level
If any of these apply to you, address them before anything else. These are not minor gaps — they are structural problems that compound over time.
You have not opened your 401k statement in over 6 months
You have no idea what your Social Security benefit will be
Your only retirement plan is 'work until 65 and figure it out'
You have significant credit card debt with no paydown plan
You have never stress-tested your plan against a bad market year
Your asset allocation has not changed since your 30s
If you checked 80% or more of the boxes, you have done serious work. Now the job is stress-testing — running the scenarios that could break your plan.
If you checked 50-80%, you have the foundation but gaps that need attention. Prioritize the ones in categories 1 and 2 — knowing your number and knowing what you have. Without those two things, everything else is speculation.
If you checked less than 50%, do not panic. But do not ignore it either. You have time to change the outcome — but that window narrows every year you wait. Pick the single most important gap and spend one hour on it this week.
Most people delay this assessment because they are afraid of what they will find. That fear is understandable. It is also exactly backwards.
Finding a gap at 52 gives you 8-13 years to close it. Finding the same gap at 63 gives you a crisis. The assessment is not the bad news — the delay is.
Log in to SSA.gov and look up your Social Security benefit estimate at 62, 67, and 70. Write the three numbers down. This single piece of information changes how you model everything else.
Disclaimer: This is educational content, not financial advice. Work with a fee-only fiduciary advisor for decisions specific to your situation.