Retiring Soon? 8 Money Moves to Make Before Leaving Your Job

3. Practicing living on a retirement budget

Do a six-month dry run on your projected retirement budget, says Mike Hunsberger, a certified financial planner and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in Saint Charles, Missouri. Consider setting up a separate bank account for the exercise. 

“This helps you get a feel for what spending will truly be like in retirement when you don’t have that regular paycheck coming in,” he says. The sooner you do this trial run, the more time you’ll have to make adjustments as needed.

4. Consider making catch-up contributions

Depending on the size of your nest egg, making catch-up contributions to your retirement accounts can be a smart way to boost your savings.

In 2025, most people age 50 or older can contribute an extra $7,500 to a 401(k) plan on top of the standard $23,500 limit, for a total of $31,000. If you’re between the ages of 60 and 63, the maximum catch-up contribution is $11,250, for a total of $34,750.

5. Make retirement assets easier to manage

Keeping track of your finances can be tough if you have 401(k)s you left behind at old jobs and IRAs at multiple financial institutions. When accounts are scattered, you might overlook fees and underperforming assets, says Beach. In addition, past allocations may no longer align with your current goals.

Start by listing where your retirement assets are held and their balances. If keeping track of them feels overwhelming, consider consolidating them into accounts you actively oversee. Simplifying accounts also reduces the need to manage extra usernames and passwords, and it makes estate planning easier, with fewer accounts for your heirs to manage and less risk of money being overlooked.

6. Maximize employer benefits

While you’re still working, take advantage of any health care benefits you’re eligible for. This might entail squeezing in covered doctor’s appointments, medical procedures or surgeries while you’re still under your employer’s health insurance plan, maxing out your flexible spending account (FSA), or capitalizing on free or discounted legal services, which may help cover costs such as creating estate planning documents.

Ask human resources to walk you through your benefits, suggests Julie Schweber, senior HR knowledge adviser at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). “Get the best deal possible,” she says.

Some companies also offer benefits that can help in your post-retirement life. For instance, you may have options for long-term care insurance through your employer, or the ability to convert a group life insurance policy into an individual plan.

7. Be strategic with your end date

When you retire could affect your health insurance coverage, bonuses, retirement account balances and more. “A lot of 401(k) and pension plans have a 1,000-hour rule, which means in order to get one year of credit into a plan, you have to work at least 1,000 hours,” says Schweber, adding that those hours usually equate to about six months of working full-time.

Also keep in mind that health coverage usually ends on your last day of work or the end of your last month of work, depending on your employer’s policy.

8. Consider a gradual exit

Not ready to stop working altogether? See if your company offers a phased retirement program or a part-time role that would allow you to scale back gradually. 

A growing number of workplaces have phased retirement options, with 7 percent offering a formal program and 19 percent offering an informal one, according to SHRM research. Both typically allow for a reduced schedule or fewer responsibilities as you ease into retirement. This approach can be “a win-win if the employer is having trouble filling jobs or there’s a lot of knowledge transfer,” says Schweber.