How to Retire With No MoneyEmail FacebookTwitterMenu burgerClose thinHow to Retire With No MoneyWritten by Ashley Kilroy | Edited by Jeff White, CEPF®Updated on January 24, 2025, 4:32pm ETSmartAsset maintains strict . It doesn’t provide legal, tax, accounting or financial advice and isn’t a financial planner, broker, lawyer or tax adviser. Consult with your own advisers for guidance. Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this post are only the author’s and for informational purposes. This post may contain links from advertisers, and we may receive compensation for marketing their products or services or if users purchase products or services. | Marketing DisclosureShareMany Americans are retiring with little to no savings due to a combination of economic, social and policy-driven factors. A study by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) found that nearly 40% of Americans have no retirement savings at all, and among those who do, the median savings is only around $35,000—far from sufficient to support even a modest retirement. Additionally, The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has reported that more than half of retirees rely primarily on Social Security, which replaces only about 40% of pre-retirement income for the average worker. Consider as you plan for retirement.The first thing to do is to get the clearest possible . This will give you a good sense of your financial condition. When you know that then you’ll be able to make good decisions about how many of the following strategies to employ.1. Review Social Security Benefits 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 , 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, your earnings during your career and the age you apply for benefits. Essentially, the more you earn throughout your career and the longer you wait to take your benefits, the higher your benefit amount will be.However, if you didn’t work 35 years or more, the will add zeros to those years, which could drastically lessen your benefit amount. Therefore, if you want to maximize your benefits you should wait to 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.It’s important to note that Social Security may only cover a portion of your expenses in retirement. In January 2022, the average monthly benefit payment was $1,657, according to (SSA) data. If this doesn’t seem like it will cover your retirement expenses, you either need to reduce your living costs or find other sources of income.2. Reduce Your Living ExpensesReduce your living costs. By downsizing your lifestyle, you can help ease the financial burden of retirement. For starters, evaluate your largest living costs such as your mortgage, senior care or vehicle expenses. Once you identify your largest expenses, 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, 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, your cost of living will decline about 20%.If you want to compare the cost of living where you are with the in other states, can provide much of the information you’ll need.3. Pay Off Outstanding DebtAnother way to reduce your living expenses in retirement is to pay off your outstanding debt. Your outstanding debt could be preventing you from saving and living a full life in . You should pay off your debt with the highest interest rates first. This might be your revolving credit card debt. You can start by putting any extra cash towards your outstanding balances and do not take on any additional .Other common debts in retirement are mortgages, car payments and parent loans for children’s education. You can start overpaying on your mortgage to eliminate it more quickly or sell your car and drive something smaller to save money. 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 PensionA 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 could 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. 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 fulfill a comfortable lifestyle in your golden years.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 the largest benefits depending on the employee’s tenure and compensation. If you job hop, your pension may not be large enough to cover your retirement costs.5. Working in RetirementAccording to a report from , 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 that can help you afford certain living expenses. Working part-time also allows you to reap some of the benefits of retirement without being fully retired. For example, you may still be able to volunteer or play tennis with your friends. If you can, you should look for a job that offers benefits like paid vacation time.While you may not make as much money as you did before you retired, working can help you supplement your income.Bottom LineFacing a retirement with no savings can be frightening. But the good news is you have a number of strategies you can use to put yourself in the best possible position. First, get as precise a picture as possible of where you stand financially. Then see what Social Security will get you. If you’ve got a pension coming, determine what your monthly income from that will be. Also, cut your expenses, pay off debt and consider working. Finally, if you haven’t yet retired, think about .Retirement Planning Tips, Wondering how to retire with no money? If you're ready to retire and have nothing in savings, here are a few options to help you pay for your expenses., One of the most common bits of advice from financial professionals is to start saving as early as you can. That’s absolutely true. But what if you didn’t and are now approaching retirement .