Two decades of advising families has taught me a hard truth: people rarely wreck their retirement because of an exotic market crash or a once-in-a-century tax law. More often, they derail themselves through perfectly ordinary decisions driven by fear, headlines, or bad timing. Below are the five traps I see most—and the practical habits that steer you clear of each.

1. Working Longer Than You Need To

The trap

Your financial plan says you’re fully funded, yet you keep clocking in because the “What if I run out?” voice won’t shut up.

Why it happens

Confidence lags behind spreadsheets. Without regular check-ins you can’t see how different market cycles, spending bumps, or inflation spikes actually affect your runway.

How to avoid it

• Update your plan at least annually—quarterly if markets are choppy.

• Stress-test for ugliness: bear markets, higher inflation, unexpected healthcare expenses.

• Identify the fail-point (the exact scenario that would force you back to work). If it’s remote, give yourself permission to walk away on your timeline, not an arbitrary age.

2. Claiming Social Security Too Early

The trap

You grab benefits at 62 because headlines scream “program going broke,” even though delaying would add thousands in lifetime income and enhance survivor benefits.

Why it happens

“Bankrupt” makes better click-bait than “23 % haircut by 2035 if Congress does nothing.” The threat feels immediate; the math is abstract.

How to avoid it

• Model three scenarios: claim early, claim at full retirement age, claim at 70.

• Overlay the worst-case trust-fund cut (about 23 %) on each.

• Choose based on your break-even age, health outlook, and spouse’s benefit—not on Twitter-doom.

3. Investing According to Politics

The trap

You shift portfolios—or worse, go to cash—because “my candidate will tank the market.”

Why it happens

Election coverage equates policy talk with portfolio doom. Yet every president since Nixon has presided over new stock-market highs.

How to avoid it

• Maintain a long-term asset mix anchored to your required rate of return, not party control.

• Rebalance on schedule, not on election night.

• Remind yourself that capitalism, not the Oval Office, drives corporate profits over decades.

4. Locking Every Dollar into an Annuity

The trap

Fear of outliving savings pushes you into a high-commission, illiquid contract that siphons flexibility when big expenses hit.

Why it happens

Lifetime-income sales pitches promise “no downside” and “sleep-well” approval—but rarely spotlight fees, surrender schedules, or lost liquidity.

How to avoid it

• Treat annuities like tanks—great for specific defensive jobs, awful as a daily driver.

• If an annuity does add value (inflation-adjusted income you can’t outlive), cap funding at a slice of essential expenses, not your entire nest egg.

• Compare a with-annuity and without-annuity projection before signing.

5. Under-Spending Out of Fear

The trap

You pinch pennies in your healthiest years, skipping trips or generosity, only to realize too late that mobility or loved ones are gone.

Why it happens

Retirees often treat their initial withdrawal rate as carved in stone, forgetting spending naturally rises and falls with life stages.

How to avoid it

• Build a dynamic budget: higher “go-go” spending early, lower “slow-go” spending later, then a healthcare bump in the “no-go” phase.

• Re-price the plan yearly—if markets outperform, give yourself permission to splurge. If they lag, dial back until conditions normalize.

• Track real spending monthly so surprises surface early, not at your annual tax appointment.

The Common Thread: Confidence Comes From Continuous Planning

Every trap above shares one root cause: decisions made in the absence of fresh, personalized data. The antidote isn’t a magic product or perfect prediction—it’s a living planning routine that shows, in real time, whether you’re still on course.

1. Update projections yearly (at minimum).

2. Stress-test ugly scenarios.

3. Translate results into clear guardrails: how much you can withdraw, when you can quit, how big a purchase you can afford.

Do that, and fear turns into informed choice—exactly what a great retirement was meant to feel like.