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Ellis, 61, is all set to retire.
She was approved for Social Security, and then, before she could give her notice, it stopped. Her severance package covered her until her Social Security benefits began.
After four years until the age of 65, he has to cover the cost of health insurance himself.
But a new opportunity arose, prompting her to reconsider her plans. Alice’s old employer offered her a team-leading, customer-facing role in a department she had always wanted to join, with solid pay and benefits.
She is interested, but she can’t bring herself to work until the end of the year. He also wonders if it is appropriate to take on a leadership role he intends to leave soon. Besides, going back to an employer who had already dumped her once seemed like too big a risk.
This is the basis of her confusion. There is more at stake here.
Let’s say Alice is married and that her hypothetical 63-year-old husband is also on her employer’s plan. Her partner is two years away from being able to heal.
The couple has nearly $980,000 saved up — about $900,000 in 401(k)s and IRAs and $80,000 in cash — with the mortgage almost paid off.
Americans believe they need about $1.26 million to retire comfortably, according to a 2025 study from Northwest Mutual (1). So Alice and her spouse are within striking distance of that “magic number” even without maxing out Social Security, but not yet.
Working longer would obviously boost their retirement savings, allowing her to offset the $280,000 shortfall. However, for Ellis, the new job may just be about the money.
Many older Americans say that work also offers critical access to health insurance and Social Security benefits. Respondents to the University of Michigan National Survey on Healthy Aging (2) claimed that other important factors included having a sense of purpose, contributing to the community, keeping the brain sharp and maintaining social connections.
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Taking a job can help Alice in four ways:
1. Social Security
If Alice starts drawing Social Security at age 62, she will receive about 30% less in monthly benefits than if she waits until age 67, which is full retirement age (FRA). If he hangs around until age 70, he’ll get a deferred retirement credit of about 8% per year.
2. Health insurance
Staying on the job until age 65 can help Alice avoid costly medical care premiums.
3. Health and happiness
There is also a non-financial aspect: older adults who continue to work often report stronger psychological and general well-being (2). If the new role is really exciting, Ellis might enjoy staying in the workforce a little longer.
4. Increase savings
Working for even 12-24 months could allow her to top up her accounts and possibly use age-based “super catch-up” provisions (3) up to $35,750 in 2026 for individuals aged 60-63.
From there, she might store that extra money in a high-yield account to make sure her money keeps up with inflation.
Something like the Wealthfront Cash Account can be a good option, as it allows users to earn up to 4.05% APY — a 3.30% base rate and a 0.75% APY growth for the first three months — on their savings. That’s more than ten times the national savings rate, according to the FDIC’s February report.
With no minimum balance or account fees, 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, Alice can ensure her funds are always accessible.
Additionally, Wealthfront cash account balances up to $8 million are FDIC-insured through program banks.
Ellis is in the fortunate position of having a choice.
Faced with a new client, Tim’s leading job leaves him financially better off—perhaps physically and mentally, too. If he loves the job, values the benefits, can avoid claiming his Social Security and is willing to give the role a good two years, then he should take the job.
A simple way to square ethics with opportunity is to acknowledge that he can commit for 18-24 months and be transparent about the limited horizon.
Conversely, if Alice is determined to continue with her retirement plan within a year and is happy with the money she has already saved, she may be better off rejecting the offer. Leaving in less than a year could create a painful transition — and possibly strain her relationship with her employer and colleagues.
But anyway, Ellis is in a good position.
If the job is truly her dream, benefits suggest she should do one last lap for two years. Until then, he can retire on his own terms. But she’s also in a better position to retire now and have pre-medicare insurance coverage without straining the plan.
Whatever he chooses, it is important that he stays on top of his net worth so that he is well prepared with an income forecast and any necessary budget.
It may make sense for Alice to consult with a qualified financial advisor to determine the best course of action.
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While it’s always nice to have more, Alice and her husband are already ahead of most Americans when it comes to retirement savings. Households between 55 and 64 have an average balance of about $537,560, and Ellis’ nest egg is much larger than that (4).
Still, early retirement can create new financial stress. If she quits work at age 61, Alice will need her savings for a long time — and claiming Social Security early would mean her monthly checks could drop to about 70% of their full value.
To make sure he has enough to last through those extra years, it’s important to create and follow a budget. This will allow her to see exactly how much she spends in a month and a year, and plan accordingly.
But budgeting doesn’t come naturally to everyone. It can feel boring even for those who love numbers.
A platform like Monarch Money can help simplify the process. Monarch Money puts all your finances under one roof, making it easy to see how much you have, how much you’re spending and how you’re spending it.
Once you connect your accounts—including investment and real estate accounts—you can view every transaction through a clean, searchable list, allowing you to quickly find unexpected expenses like unwanted subscriptions and cancel them. You can even get custom alerts about upcoming bills, reducing your chances of missing a payment and incurring late fees.
Monarch Money helps you predict your expenses beyond just one month, so you can plan for the retirement of your dreams.
Even in retirement, Alice can still find ways to invest, but without a steady paycheck, big investments aren’t possible. At this stage of life, small investments are the most realistic way to maintain growth over time.
This is where tools like Acorns can help. The platform allows users to automatically invest spare change.
Signing up for Acorns takes minutes: just link your card, and Acorns will match each purchase to the nearest dollar and invest the difference in a diversified portfolio of ETFs.
Just $30 a week can grow to nearly $90,000 over 20 years if it’s compounded at an average annual return of 10% — meaning that when Alice reaches 81, she could have an extra $90,000 to spend on health care and other needs.
With Acorns, you can invest in an index ETF with as little as $5 – and if you sign up today and make a recurring investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you start your investment journey.
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Northwest Mutual (1); University of Michigan (2); Loyalty (3); Kiplinger (4)
This article provides information only and should not be used as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
