“For some people, that could be a saving grace,” Shafransky says. 

To qualify for an HSA in 2025, your health insurance plan must have an annual deductible of at least $1,650 for individual coverage or $3,300 for family coverage. In 2025, workers enrolled in such a plan can contribute up to $4,300 for self-only coverage or $8,550 for family coverage, plus catch-up contributions of $1,000 if you’re 55 or older. 

4. Plan for taxes

If you’ve managed to stash a significant amount of savings into a traditional 401(k), it’s important to understand that all of that money — along with any money you’ve invested in a traditional IRA — will be taxed at your ordinary income rate when you take withdrawals.

And once you turn 73, you must take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from those accounts, whether you need the money or not, says Christopher Haigh, a certified financial planner and founder of Iconoclastic Capital Management in Brooklyn, New York. “Some people get bumped up to a higher tax bracket because of RMDs,” he says.

To avoid that, you may want to divert a portion of your contributions to a Roth 401(k) if your employer offers one. Contributions to a Roth 401(k) aren’t tax-deductible, but withdrawals are tax-free as long as you’re at least 59½ and have owned the account for at least five years. And Roth accounts are not subject to RMDs.

Haigh suggests investing some of your savings in a taxable brokerage account. These accounts aren’t subject to RMDs, and the money in them can be tapped at any time without triggering the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty the IRS typically charges for retirement account withdrawals before age 59½. “That flexibility is really helpful” if you retire early, Haigh says.

5. Pay down debt

High-interest debt, such as credit card debt, can be a major drag on your retirement income. If you’re paying 26.99 percent interest on a credit card balance but only earning an investment return of 7 percent, “you’re effectively 19.99 percent worse off by saving into your investment account than you are paying off the debt,” Shafransky says.

However, not all debts are alike. If you locked in a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage when rates were 3 percent or lower, you’ll probably come out ahead by investing money instead of paying off your mortgage early, Shafransky says.

6. Plan for long-term care

Even if you’re in excellent health, there’s a good chance you’ll need long-term care sometime in the future. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that nearly 70 percent of 65-year-olds will need some kind of long-term care in their lives, and around 1 in 5 will develop a disability serious enough to require long-term care for more than five years. 

Even a few months in a long-term care facility can decimate your nest egg. The median annual cost of a semiprivate room in a nursing home was more than $111,000 in 2024, according to insurance provider Genworth’s annual Cost of Care Survey.

If you’re considering long-term care insurance, decide soon. If you wait until you’re in your 60s or later, the premiums may not be affordable, and if you have any chronic health conditions, you may be denied coverage, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.