No one wants to spend their 20s or 30s thinking about what could go wrong decades from now. But if there’s one thing we can learn from what boomers and Gen X are dealing with, it’s that retirement doesn’t always go as planned.
Some older Americans spent decades saving diligently, only to watch the market tank right as they were ready to retire. And others were even forced to delay retirement altogether due to a variety of factors, like inflation and medical costs.
Powered by Money.com – Yahoo may earn commission from the links above.
Read Next: 6 Cash-Flow Mistakes Boomers Are Making With Their Retirement Savings
Check Out: 5 Types of Cars Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying
But don’t worry. If you’re still young, you have plenty of time to do things differently. Here are a few smart (and not-so-obvious) retirement contingency plans Gen Z can start working on now.
Your investments could be on track for years, and then suddenly crash 30% because of one global crisis. And though the stock market has always recovered eventually after major crashes in the past, the recovery time can take months or years.
So if you don’t want to be so dependent on your portfolio, consider investing in a high-income skill that can help you make money regardless of how the economy is doing, like content creation, coding or freelance photography. That way, you won’t feel forced to pull money out of your retirement account at a loss if you know you can earn a few thousand a month on the side.
Learn More: What $1 Million in Retirement Savings Looks Like in Monthly Spending
Retiring in a high-cost U.S. city can be difficult if you don’t have much in your nest egg. If you’d rather have financial breathing room than stress about covering rent in a big city, consider moving abroad or downsizing.
Even though you might not be retiring soon, you can start researching alternative retirement destinations now.
That could mean scoping out low-cost cities in the U.S., learning about countries with digital nomad or retirement visas, joining Facebook groups or Reddit threads where expats share real numbers and experiences, learning about what it means to downsize, or calculating how much you’ll need to retire comfortably, depending on your desired living situation.
The idea of never working again sounds nice until you realize how long retirement can last, and how expensive healthcare, housing and just living can be.
If you don’t mind continuing to work after 65, semi-retirement can be a plan that works better for you than fully retiring. That can mean working seasonally or part-time doing something you enjoy, taking a few years off and returning to work later, or taking mini-retirements throughout your life instead of saving it all for the end.
Story Continues