Life events happen regardless of health habits or attitude.
Behavioral control helps manage reactions to life events.
Proactive steps can effectively prevent or prepare for life’s challenges.
General
What You Can (and Can't) Control in Retirement Planning
What You Can (and Can't) Control in Retirement Planning
What You Can (and Can't) Control in Retirement Planning
Zoe Team
11 min read
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can positive habits prevent all negative life events?
Good health habits and a positive attitude cannot stop every life event from occurring, as some events are simply beyond our control.
What aspect of life events can we actually influence?
We can influence our own behavior, how we react to both positive and negative situations, and the steps we take to prevent or prepare for them.
Why focus on behavioral reaction to life events?
Focusing on reaction and preparation allows for better management of life events, even when the events themselves are unpredictable.
In those cases, good health habits and an awesome attitude can’t necessarily stop these life events from happening. Sometimes, life just happens. But to the extent that we can control our behavior, how we react to the good and the bad, and what we do to prevent or prepare for certain life events, that can make all the difference in the world.
When it comes to planning for retirement, an important and lengthy-time in our lives, there are some factors over which we have absolutely no control, some factors we have limited control over, and some factors which we can control. It’s important to work with a financial advisor and to develop a workable plan that takes into consideration all of these factors and how to take action on each.
Things You Have No control
Social Security. One aspect of retirement planning that troubles most of us is whether Social Security will be around when we retire. The truth is that individuals have very little control over the future of Social Security; we can vote for the politicians and officials who we think may make the changes we hope for, but beyond the power of the vote, there is little we can do to influence or change policy. The best we can do is understand and anticipate changes and factor these changes into our financial plans.
Government policies. Similarly, we have no control over government policies such as future tax rates and inflation, both of which have a significant impact on retirees. Tax rates are important because many retirees derive a significant part of their retirement income from retirement accounts and distributions from these accounts are taxed at current income tax rates. When tax rates go up, this can affect the amount of after-tax income a retiree is left with. Inflation is important as well since it affects your purchasing power. A dollar twenty years ago could buy more than a dollar today and a dollar in twenty years can buy even less. How much less really depends on the rate of inflation. That is why it’s important to add diversification to a retirement portfolio in order to achieve the long-term returns needed to fund retirement.
Market returns. This is obvious and a fact of life for every investor. Investing in the market can be scary and definitely comes with risks; however, diversification and long-term investing can offer great rewards. Remember, we can’t control how the market will act on a day-to-day basis; but we can control how we react to these changes.
Things You Have Some control
You have some control over how long you live
How long we live. We know that life expectancy for people in their 50’s and 60’s has been increasing. The average couple at age 65 today has almost a 50% chance that one of them will love to at least age 90. While family health history—which we can’t control-- plays a big factor in life expectancy, it’s not everything.
Health habits including diet, activity level, smoking and mental health are also extremely important. In addition, studies show that the higher education level an individual achieves, the more likely she’ll be employed and the higher the income. Higher education/income correlates with longevity.
You have some control over when you retire
Retirement date. As much as people are always dreaming up ways to ‘retire early’ the truth is that more people are working later in life, and the main is reason is because they want to work. However, while we have been seeing an uptick in the number of people continuing to work into their ‘60’s, ‘70’s and beyond, the average age of retirement continues to be age 62 (EBRI). Many people plan to retire at age 65 or later, but are forced to retire earlier than planned, mainly due to health issues. So if you are planning to retire later, make that part of your retirement plan, but don’t count on the income to BE the plan.
There are a lot of life events you have control over
Life events. Sometimes bad things happen to good people (and sometimes good things happen to bad people). Regardless, it’s important to anticipate certain life events—like divorce, early death of spouse, the loss of a job, extended illness of yourself or a family member-- but not to allow them to derail retirement.
The Things You Have Total Control
When to start saving and saving rate. The biggest regrets that retirees report is that they wish they had started saving sooner and that they had saved more of their paycheck. One of the best ways to save for retirement is to save in a retirement account. If you have access to a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan, consider participating in the plan or increasing your savings rate if already contributing. The pre-tax contributions grow tax-deferred until you start retirement distributions, maximizing your savings.
Spending habits. During working years, we tend to establish spending habits based on our needs and lifestyle, current income and savings, and with the expectation that our income could grow as our career progresses. Once in retirement, however, we must adjust to a fixed income and finite savings. Our spending changes when we retire. Depending on your pre-retirement lifestyle, you could see a big drop in spending as work and family-related spending declines. In other cases, you may see little change in retirement spending and eventually need more income due to health care costs. Establishing disciplined spending habits and being aware of how spending will change in retirement is key to a solid plan.
Diversification and investing. Once in retirement, many retirees become very conservative, look for income-oriented opportunities and think twice before making changes or taking on more risk in their portfolios. Many people could spend 25, 30 or more years in retirement and with longer life expectancy comes the need to structure your portfolio accordingly.
Like death and taxes, there are certain things in retirement planning that are certain. Working with a financial advisor and establishing a plan can help you prepare for those events over which you have no control, anticipate the unexpected and make the best of what you can control.
Google “what can I control?” and you will be directed to a host of touchy-feely websites that list all the ways you can control your health, what you eat, your breath, how you treat people, something called “self-talk,” the books you read, the number of times a day that you smile, and the general direction of your life. It’s true that there are so many things about our daily life that we can control—on a personal level. But there’s not much we can do about outside forces. For example, you may wake up and practice yoga, then grab a healthy green juice and pay for the coffee of the guy behind you in line (pay it forward-good karma!), but there’s little you can do to prevent your car from getting side-swiped in the parking lot, the market losing 300 points and getting downsized from your job.
In those cases, good health habits and an awesome attitude can’t necessarily stop these life events from happening. Sometimes, life just happens. But to the extent that we can control our behavior, how we react to the good and the bad, and what we do to prevent or prepare for certain life events, that can make all the difference in the world.
When it comes to planning for retirement, an important and lengthy-time in our lives, there are some factors over which we have absolutely no control, some factors we have limited control over, and some factors which we can control. It’s important to work with a financial advisor and to develop a workable plan that takes into consideration all of these factors and how to take action on each.
Things You Have No control
Social Security. One aspect of retirement planning that troubles most of us is whether Social Security will be around when we retire. The truth is that individuals have very little control over the future of Social Security; we can vote for the politicians and officials who we think may make the changes we hope for, but beyond the power of the vote, there is little we can do to influence or change policy. The best we can do is understand and anticipate changes and factor these changes into our financial plans.
Government policies. Similarly, we have no control over government policies such as future tax rates and inflation, both of which have a significant impact on retirees. Tax rates are important because many retirees derive a significant part of their retirement income from retirement accounts and distributions from these accounts are taxed at current income tax rates. When tax rates go up, this can affect the amount of after-tax income a retiree is left with. Inflation is important as well since it affects your purchasing power. A dollar twenty years ago could buy more than a dollar today and a dollar in twenty years can buy even less. How much less really depends on the rate of inflation. That is why it’s important to add diversification to a retirement portfolio in order to achieve the long-term returns needed to fund retirement.
Market returns. This is obvious and a fact of life for every investor. Investing in the market can be scary and definitely comes with risks; however, diversification and long-term investing can offer great rewards. Remember, we can’t control how the market will act on a day-to-day basis; but we can control how we react to these changes.
Things You Have Some control
You have some control over how long you live
How long we live. We know that life expectancy for people in their 50’s and 60’s has been increasing. The average couple at age 65 today has almost a 50% chance that one of them will love to at least age 90. While family health history—which we can’t control-- plays a big factor in life expectancy, it’s not everything.
Health habits including diet, activity level, smoking and mental health are also extremely important. In addition, studies show that the higher education level an individual achieves, the more likely she’ll be employed and the higher the income. Higher education/income correlates with longevity.
You have some control over when you retire
Retirement date. As much as people are always dreaming up ways to ‘retire early’ the truth is that more people are working later in life, and the main is reason is because they want to work. However, while we have been seeing an uptick in the number of people continuing to work into their ‘60’s, ‘70’s and beyond, the average age of retirement continues to be age 62 (EBRI). Many people plan to retire at age 65 or later, but are forced to retire earlier than planned, mainly due to health issues. So if you are planning to retire later, make that part of your retirement plan, but don’t count on the income to BE the plan.
There are a lot of life events you have control over
Life events. Sometimes bad things happen to good people (and sometimes good things happen to bad people). Regardless, it’s important to anticipate certain life events—like divorce, early death of spouse, the loss of a job, extended illness of yourself or a family member-- but not to allow them to derail retirement.
The Things You Have Total Control
When to start saving and saving rate. The biggest regrets that retirees report is that they wish they had started saving sooner and that they had saved more of their paycheck. One of the best ways to save for retirement is to save in a retirement account. If you have access to a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan, consider participating in the plan or increasing your savings rate if already contributing. The pre-tax contributions grow tax-deferred until you start retirement distributions, maximizing your savings.
Spending habits. During working years, we tend to establish spending habits based on our needs and lifestyle, current income and savings, and with the expectation that our income could grow as our career progresses. Once in retirement, however, we must adjust to a fixed income and finite savings. Our spending changes when we retire. Depending on your pre-retirement lifestyle, you could see a big drop in spending as work and family-related spending declines. In other cases, you may see little change in retirement spending and eventually need more income due to health care costs. Establishing disciplined spending habits and being aware of how spending will change in retirement is key to a solid plan.
Diversification and investing. Once in retirement, many retirees become very conservative, look for income-oriented opportunities and think twice before making changes or taking on more risk in their portfolios. Many people could spend 25, 30 or more years in retirement and with longer life expectancy comes the need to structure your portfolio accordingly.
Like death and taxes, there are certain things in retirement planning that are certain. Working with a financial advisor and establishing a plan can help you prepare for those events over which you have no control, anticipate the unexpected and make the best of what you can control.
Google “what can I control?” and you will be directed to a host of touchy-feely websites that list all the ways you can control your health, what you eat, your breath, how you treat people, something called “self-talk,” the books you read, the number of times a day that you smile, and the general direction of your life. It’s true that there are so many things about our daily life that we can control—on a personal level. But there’s not much we can do about outside forces. For example, you may wake up and practice yoga, then grab a healthy green juice and pay for the coffee of the guy behind you in line (pay it forward-good karma!), but there’s little you can do to prevent your car from getting side-swiped in the parking lot, the market losing 300 points and getting downsized from your job.
Disclosures: Zoe Financial, Inc. ("Zoe Financial") is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Zoe Financial provides investment advisory services and access to independent registered investment advisers through its platform. The information provided by Zoe Financial is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice or as an offer to buy or sell any security. All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Clients should consult with their own financial, tax, or legal professionals before making any investment decisions. The material presented by Zoe Financial is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Material presented has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Adviser cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Zoe Financial does not provide legal or tax advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as legal or tax advice. SEC Registration does not constitute an endorsement of Zoe Financial by the SEC nor does it indicate that Zoe Financial has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The sole purpose of this material is to inform, and it in no way is intended to be an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any security, other investment or service, or to attract any funds or deposits. Investments mentioned may not be appropriate for all clients. Before making any investment, each investor should carefully consider the risks associated with the investment, as discussed in the applicable offering memorandum, and make a determination based upon their own particular circumstances, that the investment is consistent with their investment objectives and risk tolerance. Lower expenses do not guarantee better investment performance. Certain information contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the performance of a fund may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements.
Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.
Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.
The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.
Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI
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In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.
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New York, NY, 10017
Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved
Find an Advisor
Retirement Planning
Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.
Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.
The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.
Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI
Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.
(646) 680-9244
support@zoefin.com
666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017
Copyright © 2026 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved
Find an Advisor
Retirement Planning
Disclosure: This page is not investment advice and should not be relied on for such advice or as a substitute for consultation with professional accounting, tax, legal or financial advisors. The observations of industry trends should not be read as recommendations for stocks or sectors.
Investment advisory services are provided by Zoe Financial, Inc. (Zoe Financial), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Learn more about Zoe Financial on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Brokerage services are provided by Zoe Securities LLC and Apex Clearing Corporation, members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Learn more about Zoe Securities and Apex on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website.
The information in the visuals above is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an actual user's account, balance, or return. Zoe Financial does not provide tax or legal advice.
Explore the Zoe Wealth Platform with AI
Some of this content may have been generated with the assistance of AI. Please review and sense-check all outputs, as AI tools can occasionally produce incomplete or inaccurate information.
In certain situations, you may be required to disclose that the content was “generated by AI.” Please confirm any specific disclosure or labelling requirements with Compliance.
(646) 680-9244
support@zoefin.com
666 Third Ave, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10017
Copyright © 2025 Zoe Financial, Inc. | All rights reserved