The oldest boomers are reaching another decade in 2026 as they turn 80.
When it comes to personal finance in your later years, you’re less focused on growing wealth and more on preserving for you and the generation that follows.
“This isn’t about cutting back — it’s about clarity,” Jonathan Connolly, president of Wealth Advisors Trust Company, tells CNBC Select. “When retirees see how their spending aligns with their long‑term projections, they’re better equipped to make confident decisions about travel, gifting, home improvements or lifestyle upgrades.”
From keeping cash accessible, to protecting yourself from scammers and checking in on your estate planning, here are financial steps important to any 80-year-old.
Protect your loved ones with one of these top online will-makers
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Online willmaker Trust & Will offers an easy-to-follow question-and-answer format and access to attorneys who can provide a line-by-line review or advise on estate and tax planning topics. You can print your documents or have them shipped to you.
$199 for an individual will, $299 for a joint will; $499 for an individual trust, $599 for a joint trust
You know what they say about plans — sometimes, even the best laid ones can go awry. At age 80, it’s time to update any estate and legal documents, like a will or trust.
On the small chance you don’t already have these documents in place, use a service like LegalZoom or Quicken WillMaker & Trust to create these basic documents.
LegalZoomCost
$0 + state filing fees for Basic plan; $249 + state filing fees for Pro plan; $299 + state filing fees for Premium plan
App available?Standout features
LegalZoom offers all sorts of services to help you register your business, fulfill annual reporting and licensing requirements and protect your business with trademarking, copyrighting and assistance from attorneys.
ProsFor the Basic plan you’ll just pay the state filing fee Well-known brand in the industry ConsLegalZoom charges additional fees for some services even with the Pro and Premium plans. For instance, LZ Books is free for one year then $9.99/month after; the Business Attorney plan for Premium is free for 30 days then $49/month afterRegistered agent service is quite pricey at $249/yearQuicken WillMaker & TrustCost
$109 to $219 ($39 annually to update after the first year)
Estate planning options
Wills, living trusts, power of attorney, health care directives
Access to legal assistanceAvailability
Quicken WillMaker & Trust is available nationwide except in Louisiana
Standout Features
Quicken WillMaker & Trust allows users to create wills, health care directives and living trusts, both online and through downloadable software. Its all-access plan includes a digital storage vault through Everplans.
ProsProduces variety of documents available, including travel documents and other helpful formsDownloadable software for lifetime access30-day money-back guaranteeConsNot available in Louisiana, U.S. territories or CanadaOnline will maker only allows free changes for the first yearNo access to attorneys
While you’re in estate planning mode, use this time to also confirm the beneficiaries on your retirement accounts and insurance polices.
Elder fraud is a real thing, and it costs seniors over $3 billion each year, according to the FBI. To guard yourself against financial scammers, set up transaction alerts on your bank and credit accounts.
And as long as you don’t plan on taking out a loan any time soon, you can also freeze your credit through each credit bureau.
Take it one step further by signing up for an identity theft protection service that can freeze and unfreeze your credit for you, in addition to sending notifications when personal information like your Social Security number or passport information has been found on the dark web.
Take action to protect your identity
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Plans from $9 to $25 per month, billed annually
Protects against identity theft, financial fraud, spam calls, online theft, scam websites, viruses and malware. Offers VPN, 3-credit bureau monitoring, password manager and instant credit lock.
When you’re older, you want to make managing finances as simple as possible. Cash that you need for expenses should be kept in safe, liquid vehicles like a high-yield savings or money market account. This way, you can easily access your funds and have peace of mind knowing they’re protected. Make sure your family knows where these financial accounts are, too.
Savings are just as important for a boomer as they are for any other generation since retirement expenses, such as health care, can be a lot more expensive than initially planned for.
Feel comfortable about spending
We’d like to think that as you turn 80 years old, you’re comfortable spending on things that help you enjoy the later years of life.
This kind of mimics a trend that’s emerged in the Great Wealth Transfer conversation, known as “SKI” (Spending the Kids’ Inheritance). It’s a mindset where boomers focus on enjoying their money, sometimes in indulgent ways like taking more luxurious vacations instead of leaving it all to their kids to inherit.
Not only have the costs of purchases gone up but so has life expectancy, and boomers are seeing it as a way to reward themselves for all the hard work they put into their finances for decades.
Connolly points out that this idea may actually be more strategic than indulgent. A “strategic spend-down,” he notes, can improve your quality of life while also reducing a future tax burden and prevent large required minimum distributions from pushing income into higher brackets. Additionally, for some people, the high costs of living even a less-than-extravagant retirement may erode the inheritance boomers hoped to leave for their kids.
When in doubt about your spending, consult a financial professional who can give you personalized advice.
Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter!
Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.