How to Plan for Retirement When You Don’t Have Kids

Don’t wait until you need help to seek it. Talk to prospective proxies now to determine, together, if they are suitable and willing to take on those roles later.

“What happens is if you don’t appoint somebody, the state or health care organizations are making decisions for you, which is where we get those nightmare movies of the conservator appointed by the judge,” Zigmont warns.

Plan for long-term care

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 70 percent of people who reach age 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives, and nearly half will need paid care. Todd and Stefanie Davis, a childfree couple from Alameda, California, are keenly aware of that reality.

“We both help our parents a lot, and I always think, who’s going to do that for us?” says Stefanie, 60, who retired two years ago from her job in management at a hospital.

“An ongoing conversation that we had early on was around long-term care,” adds Todd, 57, who works part-time as a consultant after leaving a corporate job in human resources. “What happens to us when we’re older if our health should fail?”

With less of a family safety net, childless couples may have more reason to consider long-term care insurance. The Davises purchased policies in their 30s, saving money by starting young — long-term care insurance costs more the older you are when you buy it. That should ease pressure on their pocketbooks if they need home health services or must move to a nursing home. (Insurance company Genworth projects that a private room in a nursing home will cost $157,000 a year on average by 2033.)

Many employers now offer group coverage for long-term care and disability, Loverde says. In that case, you would be enrolled regardless of your age or health history. “It could even include family members, like siblings and parents,” she says.

Some private insurers offer hybrid life insurance/long-term care policies. If you have a chronic health condition that makes it difficult to qualify for long-term care insurance, it might be easier to get a hybrid policy, which typically has less stringent underwriting criteria.

Short-term care insurance could be another option. These lower-cost policies provide temporary coverage, typically up to a year. That might be sufficient if, for example, you need skilled nursing care while recovering from an illness or injury. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, nearly half of long-term claims are for one year or less of coverage.

Consider where — and how — you want to age

Aging in place is easier when you have emotional and physical support nearby — one reason many older retirees choose to live close to their children and grandchildren. Childless’ people have similar needs but may need to meet them on their own. Here are some steps to consider.

Earmark funds for housing needs. The sooner childfree people start thinking about and planning for housing in retirement, the better, Loverde says. You could set aside savings for future home renovations so you can safely age in place, such as a ramp or walk-in shower, or to cover moving costs if you need to relocate (for example, to a place without stairs).

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), also called life-plan communities, can “be a great place to age if you’re childfree,” Loverde says, because they offer different levels of care, from independent living to assisted living to nursing care, in one place. They typically require a large upfront payment, but Loverde says she is seeing younger people “starting to make deposits [at CCRCs] to secure their place.”

Save up for social needs. If you anticipate aging alone, think now about how you might stay connected with others. That could mean socking away funds for taking local classes, relying on rideshares to get around, and upgrading your technology so you can attend virtual gatherings.

Supersize retirement savings. Federal researchers estimate that parents spend more than $230,000 on average raising a child to age 18. Irwin recommends putting the money you’re not spending on kids into “making sure you’re fully funding your retirement” by maximizing contributions to retirement savings accounts.

For the 2025 tax year, people ages 50-plus can put up to $8,000 into an individual retirement account (IRA), and most workers in that group can contribute up to $31,000 to a workplace plan such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 account. Those ages 60 to 63 have an even higher contribution limit for workplace plans: up to $34,250.

Think about your legacy

Estate planning looks different for people without children. They may have more disposable income because they haven’t had to pay child-rearing costs, but they may also feel less urgency about what happens to their wealth when there are no obvious heirs.

“There’s this perception that an estate plan is meant to leave assets to children,” Irwin says. “While that’s true, it’s also true that it really just directs and gives you control of where your assets go.

”Being proactive in estate planning “is especially important for couples who do not have children,” Irwin adds, because absent a will, state intestacy laws will determine who inherits your assets.

“For a lot of people that doesn't make sense," Irwin says. “They say, ‘We want to maybe benefit our alma mater. We want to benefit charitable organizations that we’re passionate about. We want to benefit friends, or maybe nieces and nephews,' This is critical for them because the default almost certainly doesn’t reflect what they would like to have happen.”

Zigmont, whose financial planning practice focuses on childfree people, has an exercise he goes through with clients who have assets to leave but aren’t sure what to do with them. When a parent dies, he notes, the second line of their death notice often lists the people they leave behind. “We ask our clients, ‘What do you want that second line of your obituary to say?’ ” Zigmont says. Once they have an answer, he advises, “Shift your money toward that.”