Don’t Retire Just Yet: 6 Reasons To Delay Your 2026 Plans

As 2025 winds down, you may be wondering if retiring in 2026 is still a possibility. While reaching full retirement age is a major milestone, jumping into retirement too soon can lead to unexpected financial stress and missed opportunities.

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Whether you’re relying on Social Security benefits, managing investment strategies or planning for increased healthcare costs, retirement planning requires careful timing. Sometimes, delaying retirement, even if just by a year or two, can significantly improve your long-term financial stability.

GOBankingRates reached out to the financial experts to find out what they think are some compelling reasons you might want to hold off on a 2026 retirement.

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1. You Haven’t Mapped Out Your Cash Flow

If you haven’t thoroughly mapped out your retirement income sources, projected expenses (including potential long-term care costs) and developed a solid investment strategy to address any shortfalls and market volatility, it may be wise to delay retirement, according to Christine Lam, a certified financial planner (CFP) and investment advisor representative at Financial Investment Team.

“Typically, retirement planning conversations begin five to 10 years ahead of a projected retirement date,” she said.

She strongly recommended consulting a financial planner for a comprehensive retirement analysis and cash flow projection well before retirement.

2. You Have Employment Gaps

Careful Social Security planning is a key part of retirement planning.

Your benefit amount is calculated based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If your work history includes several years with little or no income, Lam said continuing to work could help replace those lower-earning years with higher-income ones. This will increase your future Social Security benefits, instead of reducing them, which could greatly hurt your monthly income.

“Additionally, delaying the start of Social Security benefits beyond full retirement age (generally age 67) can result in a permanent increase in your monthly payout,” she said.

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3. It May Not Be the Most Favorable Economic Environment

These times require flexibility and proactive planning. Unfortunately, in 2026, you may still be retiring into a time of elevated interest rates, sticky inflation and uneven market performance, all of which can disrupt portfolio withdrawals and reduce purchasing power, according to Christopher Stroup, CFP and owner of Silicon Beach Financial.

“Retiring into volatility without a plan for sequencing risk, especially for equity-heavy portfolios, can erode long-term wealth,” he said.

4. Your Healthcare Costs Are Going Up

People retiring before age 65 should consider the implications of losing employer-sponsored health insurance, Lam said.

“Since Medicare eligibility begins at age 65, those with ongoing health issues may find it beneficial to remain employed in order to maintain coverage,” she added.

Stroup agreed, saying that the cost of rising out-of-pocket expenses and Medicare premiums can eat into fixed retirement income.

“Delaying retirement gives you time to build a health savings account (HSA), extend employer coverage or optimize Medicare enrollment to avoid late penalties and income-related premium surcharges,” Stroup said.

5. You’ll Get Delayed Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

An added benefit of delaying your retirement and working longer is that it may allow you to delay required minimum distributions (RMDs), the payments you are required to take from your retirement accounts by age 70. This means you can avoid tapping taxable accounts too soon and can contribute more to retirement plans, Stroup explained.

“Entrepreneurs can also better time business exits to manage capital gains and harvest deductions strategically,” he said.

6. You Want a Balanced Portfolio

The stock market has been volatile this year, largely due to tariff trade wars, but if you were to retire into an economic downturn, Stroup said you risk “locking in investment losses by withdrawing at depressed values.”

Thus, delaying retirement gives your portfolio more time to recover and reduces the number of years you’ll rely on it for income.

Final Take To GO: Meet These Financial Milestones First

Before you can comfortably settle into your golden years, you need to get your finances in order. This is much easier while you are still earning a regular income. Before retiring, use this checklist to make sure you’re ready. Here’s what you should have:

• A reliable income stream that covers essential expenses

• Adequate emergency and healthcare reserves

• A tax-efficient withdrawal strategy

• A plan for long-term care and inflation protection

• Confidence that your portfolio can weather market shocks

As with all significant financial planning, if you can work with a trusted financial advisor, you’ll rest assured that you’ve covered all your bases by retirement.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Don’t Retire Just Yet: 6 Reasons To Delay Your 2026 Plans