All most Americans generally want to do is work, save for their golden years, and enjoy a stress-free retirement.

In order to do that, an effective retirement planning strategy is necessary. Unfortunately, most older Americans could face any one or more of the following seven obstacles, which could hamper even the best plan.

Let’s cover each one of these potential retirement obstacles briefly, starting with an obstacle you might not have much control over…

#1 Outliving your retirement savings

Imagine that you have the best retirement plan you can implement. You’ve saved what you thought was enough to enjoy a pleasant and stress-free lifestyle in your golden years. But then the unthinkable happens…

You live an incredibly long time. Your savings only got you to age 94, but after that year passed, you feel like you could live to 100! (Which is increasingly possible.)

What would you do if you outlived your retirement savings? According to a recent article on the U.S. News website, there aren’t many good answers to this question:

Outliving one’s savings is one of the biggest retirement fears.

"With the price of everything from mortgages to groceries rising, it makes sense that folks nearing retirement are worried about not having enough to fund their desired lifestyle," said Carlos Rodriguez, a certified financial planner at Edelman Financial Engines in Boca Raton, Florida, in an email.

Rodriguez said he encourages clients to begin planning for retirement as early as possible, especially as life expectancy continues to increase in the U.S.

Obviously, if you start saving as early as you can, you’ll have more time to save. The problem is, you must also account for the second obstacle to a good plan.

#2 Inflation that robs you of your wealth

In an article published before the official rate of inflation eventually peaked at an incredible 9% in June 2022, investment advisor Ted Thatcher warned that you should always be aware of "the tax no one voted for":

If you’re wondering whether you should be concerned about rising inflation and what it could do to your purchasing power in retirement, the answer, of course, is yes.

And not just right now, but always.

Inflation has been a hot topic lately as the U.S. economy emerges from its pandemic coma. Economists aren’t expecting the double-digit inflation levels the country suffered in the 1970s. However, there are worries that inflation could continue to rise over the next few months or years if the economy overheats.

Since that article was published the real inflation rate actually accelerated to 17%, according to one study (much higher than the officially reported rate, which was bad enough at 9%).

Unfortunately, no matter which inflation report you believe, the wealth that inflation continues to rob from you is permanently lost.

It also has another direct impact on your retirement planning…

#3 Insane healthcare costs

An article published on Investors Business Daily in May shows why you can't predict your future healthcare costs based on your past doctor bills:

Blame sticker shock. A retiree who stopped working last year can expect to spend $157,500 in healthcare and medical expenses in retirement ($315,000 for a couple), according to Fidelity Investments.

Another retirement health care cost nightmare is dealing with a medical shock, like a major surgery or dementia diagnosis. Regularly laying out cash for prescriptions and doctor copays also causes headaches.

The cost of healthcare in retirement is a "point of terror" among most adults, according to a 2023 survey by insurer Nationwide.

Persistent price inflation is only making things worse for older Americans who are trying to prepare for the "healthcare cost shell shock" potentially coming their way in retirement.

But keep in mind, the quote above assumes that a retired couple would be living by themselves. It doesn’t account for the fourth obstacle to a successful retirement plan.

#4 Children unexpectedly moving back home

Saving for your retirement can be challenging enough. But making room for your adult son or daughter to move back home could turn into a major financial challenge.

Much like outliving your savings, there aren’t any “magic buttons” you can press to deal with the situation, should it arise. According to a Kiplinger article:

More than three-fourths of parents who support adult children financially say it affects their own finances, according to a survey by Intuit Credit Karma. Thirty percent say it has limited the amount they save for retirement…

To avoid the temptation to give money to your kids that you should be saving for retirement, have a set percentage of your salary invested in retirement accounts. Automate contributions to your 401(k) or IRA “so you can set it and forget it,” certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell said.

If nothing is done to resolve the Social Security dilemma, supporting children who move back home could get even more interesting over the next decade.

#5 Social Security insecurity

You’ve probably discovered that if you wait until 70 to retire, your monthly Social Security benefit would be maxed out. That’s good news, right?

It could be, until you discover that the Social Security trust is already on the path to insolvency, which means your monthly benefit could suffer a 20% to 25% reduction sometime after 2033.

So far, the solutions that have been presented make Social Security appear more like a ponzi scheme and less like a retirement entitlement.

Here’s how we summarized the situation in a recent rant about the program’s economic shortfalls:

Here’s their great idea – their amazing plan to solve the Social Security crisis boils down to convincing Americans to:

• Work longer
• Retire later
• Wait until you’re 70 to claim your Social Security benefits

Ultimately, this plan to save Social Security from insolvency is a marketing scheme based on simple math. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is currently 77. I used a Social Security benefits calculator to determine that a retiree who makes a typical wage and retires at age 62 costs the Social Security Administration 16% more than the same retiree who claims a higher benefit at age 70.

That’s it. That’s the whole plan! Convincing retirees to delay claiming their benefits means paying less benefits which means Social Security goes bankrupt more slowly.

In the end, to account for the Trust fund mess, it’s quite likely that Americans will have to pay higher payroll taxes to continue funding Social Security or work until they’re 70 (or both). That doesn’t sound much like a retirement “benefit” for most people.

On top of that, no matter when you’re planning to retire, your plans could be altered if an economic catastrophe strikes.

#6 Economic downturn

When the economy slows down, the potential consequences for most people increase dramatically. But economy-wide recessions aren’t the only type of financial disaster that can present an obstacle to your retirement.

An article published by Reuter’s in 2018 put a spotlight on a few other economic setbacks that anyone who is forming a retirement plan should consider:

Contrary to popular retirement saving strategies that are based on the assumption that procrastination is the root of the problem, the Rand researchers think there should be more focus on the probability of money disasters, which are much more common than most people assume. That scare would get people to focus on saving more during good times.

Just looking at the fragility of jobs can be eye-opening. In a single year, half of working adults encounter a 25% dip in their income that lasts at least a month, according to the Urban Institute…

Between 2008 and 2012, 47 percent of workers 50 to 61 who lost their jobs were out of work for at least 12 months, according to research by the Urban Institute. As they found new jobs, they took a 23% cut in pay on average – leaving them short of money to save.

To sum it all up: You could outlive your savings. Inflation can rob you of your retirement wealth. Healthcare costs could bankrupt you. You might have to consider helping your son or daughter financially. You shouldn’t rely solely on Social Security. Finally, you could suffer a major financial setback, potentially caused by an economic recession.

After reading over the six obstacles above, you might be left wondering:

Is planning for a comfortable retirement a fruitless endeavor?

The answer is a resounding NO. But you need to fully account for the seventh obstacle in order to put yourself in the best position for success.

#7 Insufficient diversification

Properly diversifying your savings is a criminally underrated strategy for retirement success.

No matter who’s in the White House.

No matter what the Federal Reserve does.

But it has to be done right.

In fact, diversifying across account types, asset types, and time periods is such an important strategy we’ve featured it here on our website.

Once you have diversification down pat, it’s also a great time to consider shifting some of your assets into inflation-resistant investments like physical precious metals.

That’s because investing in precious metals like gold and silver has been a stable store of wealth for thousands of years, and could also help you grow your savings.

You can learn more about the retirement planning benefits of precious metals in our free information kit (updated for this year).

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Phillip Patrick is Birch Gold Group’s primary spokesman and educator. He was born in London and earned a politics and international relations degree at the prestigious University of Redding in Berkshire, England. Growing up in London, he saw the risks of government overreach and socialist policies first-hand. He spent years as a private wealth manager at Citigroup on Lombard Street (the Wall Street of London). He joined Birch Gold Group as a Precious Metals Specialist in 2012.