8 Mistakes Retirees Make That Harm Their Retirement

(Related: 12 Best States for Retirement: 2019)

If there's one key takeaway from the latest JP Morgan Retirement Guide, it's that would-be retirees labor under some misconceptions that can threaten their retirement. Not only are they not saving aggressively enough, they might not be doing asset allocations right, either; although in the past retirement wasn't quite so much of a moving target, as projected retirement ages change, so do retirement planning and saving strategies. Many want to claim Social Security benefits as early as possible, while others want to hold off on making any withdrawals from existing retirement savings for as long as they can. Each might be appropriate, but would-be retirees can be sorely lacking in sufficient understanding of the nuances of each strategy—and the need to consider how costs might rise as they age. What the guide seems to highlight is the need for flexibility—so that retirees and preretirees can adapt to changing market and economic circumstances as they happen, or even before, rather than sticking to a plan that was cast in stone and is now weighing them down. The ability to adapt to changing economic needs could be even more important in retirement than it has been in the past. Check out the slideshow above to see eight ways the guide warns that workers and retirees could err that could sink their retirement—or make it much less pleasant than it could have been.