The average retirement age can range from around 63 to 65, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
In fact, your 60s is a critical chapter in your retirement story. Unfortunately, many people who have spent decades working hard and saving make critical mistakes when they reach this stage.
So let’s take a look at some moves you may want to avoid.
Taking Social Security Too Early
You’ve been working hard and paying Social Security taxes your entire life, and beginning at age 62, you can start collecting Social Security benefits.
You may think it’s a milestone year when you can finally take your piece of the pie. But that piece may be dissatisfyingly small.
Why?
Your Social Security benefits are based primarily on your lifetime earnings from work for which you paid Social Security taxes. If you claim before your full retirement age (FRA), you’d only get a portion of the benefit amount calculated from your lifetime earnings.
FRA varies depending on your birth date, but it’s age 67 for most people working today. Claiming at your FRA will get you your full benefit.
However, waiting longer can actually boost your savings. You get an 8 percent boost for each year you delay past your FRA until age 70, but that’s it. Delaying any longer won’t make your Social Security checks any larger.
Of course, delaying Social Security checks isn’t feasible for everyone.
But if you have income from other sources, it may be best to resort to that and let your future Social Security checks grow.
Overlooking Roth Conversions
If you’re retiring in your 60s and not yet collecting Social Security checks, you may find yourself in what financial experts call an income valley.
Also called the gap years, this is the time between retiring and before required minimum distributions (RMD) kick in. That’s age 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, and it’s 75 if you were born in 1960 or later.
Regardless, this time gap can open the door to many tax-savvy moves that can help you make the most out of your retirement savings.
Among them is a Roth conversion. This is the process of converting funds from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. You’d pay income taxes on the amount converted in the year the conversion took place, but during these low-tax years, the impact could be little to none. Since you can convert as much or as little as you want, you can use that conversion to strategically fill up lower tax brackets.
It’s a tax-savvy move, but it can get complicated and backfire if not done correctly, so it’s best to engage in a Roth conversion with the guidance of a qualified financial adviser and tax professional.
Tapping Tax-Deferred Accounts
You may have spent decades diligently saving in a tax-deferred account like a traditional 401(k) or a traditional IRA.
Every dollar you take out of such accounts is taxed at ordinary income tax rates, which can be as high as 37 percent.
As such, you may want to consider tapping other sources of income to meet your early retirement needs and give your pre-tax IRA or 401(k) more time to potentially grow.
For instance, you may have a taxable brokerage account. Selling appreciated assets from a brokerage account would trigger capital gain taxes, but if you’ve held these assets for more than a year, you can take advantage of the more favorable long-term capital gain taxes of zero percent, 15 percent, and 20 percent.
This can be easier to do in a low-income year. In fact, you can pay zero percent federal tax on capital gains up to $49,450 after the amount of your deductions if you’re a single filer.
But don’t totally ignore your pre-tax IRA or 401(k). At age 73 or 75, you’d need to start taking RMDs. These are calculated based on your account balance and an IRS life expectancy factor. If it’s large enough, it can push you into a higher tax bracket and put you in tax torpedo territory.
Remember, you must take your RMD even if you don’t need the money. Failing to do so can trigger tax penalties.
Failing to Adjust Your Portfolio
In your 60s, you may benefit by transitioning from aggressively building wealth to preserving it, so it’s important to check your portfolio to make sure you’re not over-contracted in stocks and stock funds.
It doesn’t mean completely moving away from equities, but this is an important time to rebalance your portfolio and make sure you’re not too far from your intended asset allocation, which is unique to your goals and financial situation.
Overlooking the Enhanced Senior Tax Deduction
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced the enhanced senior tax deduction, effective through tax year 2028.
The enhanced senior tax deduction allows eligible seniors age 65 and over to claim a deduction of up to $6,000 or $12,000 if married filing jointly.
You can stack this deduction on top of the original standard deduction and the existing additional standard deduction for seniors 65 and over.
To claim the full enhanced senior tax deduction, however, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) must be less than or equal to $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
But breaching those parameters would reduce the deduction until it can’t be claimed at all.
The new deduction can’t be claimed once MAGI reaches $175,000 for single filers or $250,000 for joint filers.
The Bottom Line
The average American crosses into retirement in their 60s, but this is also a time when retirement planning mistakes can cost you. So make sure you consider delaying Social Security, evaluating a Roth conversion, coming up with a withdrawal strategy, and make sure you don’t overlook the enhanced senior tax deduction.
The Epoch Times copyright © 2026. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.
