Creating Your Retirement Blueprint

Between the complexities of retirement planning and the pressure of day-to-day financial concerns, saving for retirement can be daunting, and many people put it off as long as possible. But by delaying retirement planning and saving, people may run the risk of outliving their savings. In fact, many people nearing retirement age believe that there is a chance that outliving their savings may become reality, with 56% of Gen X and 40% of Boomers believing that they will.¹

The reality is, though, the sooner you begin to prepare, the easier the task becomes and the greater your chance of meeting your goals. The good news is that no matter where you’re starting from, there are steps you can consider today to better position yourself.

To help make your dream retirement a tangible reality and simplify your path forward, we’ve laid out a five-step Retirement Blueprint for you to consider:

Step 1: Imagine Retirement

It’s tempting to focus your vision for retirement on the things you don’t want to do anymore—40-hour work weeks, daily commutes, the hustle and grind of a career. But, in order to build a realistic retirement plan, you must visualize what you do want to do, in detail. Think about what you want your day-to-day life in retirement to look like and ask your spouse or partner to do the same if you have one. Tease out as many details as you can:

• Aspirations: If money wasn’t an issue and you could achieve whatever you’d like, what would you do?

 

• Family and Friends: Who is part of your retirement journey (e.g., a spouse, children, grandchildren, friends, etc.)?

 

• Location and Travel: Would you like to spend most of your time close to home and family, or would you like to travel, perhaps internationally?

 

• Legacy: Are there any special interests or causes you’d like to contribute to, financially or with your time and talent?

 

Can you now imagine yourself in your golden years, and are you excited about what’s possible? Think about which answers came naturally and which were tougher. Note which areas you’d never considered before and which sparked additional thoughts and questions. And if you did this exercise with a partner, discuss what you learned from one another. Above all, take stock of whether you feel any different toward retirement now that you’ve imagined yourself in it. 

Step 2: Take Inventory

Once you have a clearer vision for your retirement, the next step you may want to consider is to take inventory of your financial situation. From your current savings and expenses to any investments and your projected Social Security benefit, evaluating your resources and lifestyle will help you set a target for your retirement savings.

The following questions can help provide a framework:

• Income: What is your annual salary, and your overall household income?

 

• Savings: How much do you have saved currently, and is that money in retirement accounts, investment accounts, or other assets?

 

• Expenses: What do your current monthly expenditures look like (food, home expenses, utilities, healthcare costs, entertainment, etc.), and how do you see those changing in retirement?

 

It can be uncomfortable, or even overwhelming, to examine your finances so closely. But it’s critical to have a realistic understanding of where you are in order to effectively plan for where you want to be. 

Step 3: Acknowledge Life Changes

It’s always easier to plan for routine, expected expenses, but no retirement roadmap would be complete without accounting for the big life transitions, as well as the unknowns. Here are some major variables to consider:

• Health Care Costs: Make note of your health care costs today and how you plan to cover them as they change in the coming years, taking into account medical and personal history and, if applicable, leaving your current employment plan.

 

• Career: Think about if you want to stop working in retirement. If you do want to continue working, consider how that income will contribute to your savings, whether that’s doing part-time work in a new field or starting a business.

 

• Property: Reflect on your current residence and whether or not you will sell it, pay it off, upsize, downsize, and/or find investment properties.

 

• Family Support: Give thought to your relatives or other loved ones and how you will be supporting them in the future, if at all.

 

Do you normally lean into big life changes or fear them? If the latter, preparing well in advance can help you better equip yourself for these moments in retirement. 

Step 4: Leverage a Workplace Retirement Plan

If your company offers retirement benefits, consider taking full advantage of what they have to offer:

• Maximize Contributions and Matching: In 2026, the maximum amount you can contribute to your 401(k) plan is $24,500.² When you max out your traditional 401(k) plan savings, you not only save more for retirement, you also potentially pay less in taxes that year, since your taxable income would be lowered. Additionally, if your company offers a matching contribution, find out how much of your salary you need to save in order to get the maximum possible match to your 401(k) plan.

 

• Catch up on Contributions: If you’re 50 or older, and meet the new requirements as of 2026,² you’re eligible to make additional "catch-up" contributions in 2026 of up to $8,000 for a possible total 401(k) plan contribution of $32,500 for the year.³ And if you are between the ages of 60 and 63, you could choose instead to take advantage of a higher catch-up contribution limit of $11,250, bringing your total potential 401(k) contribution for the year to $35,750.³

 

• Consider Opening an IRA or Other Accounts: If you’ve maxed out your annual contribution limit into your retirement plan at work, you can consider looking into other accounts that you can contribute to on a regular basis, such as a traditional IRA, Roth IRA and/or a Health Savings Account (HSA).⁴ In addition to helping you save more for retirement, these accounts—and contributions—can also help reduce your taxable income, may generate tax-advantaged growth potential in your accounts and can help you keep more of what you’ve worked so hard to save. You should discuss these options with your legal and tax advisors.

Step 5: Set Goals and Start Planning

Now that you’ve got a vision to work toward—one that encompasses daily realities and big life moments—you’re well positioned to craft or refine your plan to reach your retirement goals.

• Break It Down: Set specific savings targets and tasks to complete at ten years, five years and one year out from retirement.

 

• Educate: Understand the retirement savings tools available at your workplace (and your spouse or partner’s, if applicable). Learn about any benefits you may be entitled to upon retirement. Research health care options.
   

• Review: Commit to doing a quarterly review of how your retirement investments are performing toward your goals and adjust as needed.

 

There’s certainly a lot to consider when planning for retirement, but Morgan Stanley offers educational resources to help you stay on track and make the most of your opportunities to save.

Footnotes

¹ Northwestern Mutual. https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2025. Accessed January 13, 2026

² Effective January 1, 2026, under the SECURE 2.0 Act, participants aged 50 and over whose 2025 FICA wages from their employer exceed $150,000 for 2025 must make all age-based catch-up contributions to their 401(k) as Roth (after-tax) contributions. If their 401(k) plan does not offer a Roth option, affected participants are ineligible to make catch-up contributions.

³ IRS.gov.  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500. November 13, 2025
 

⁴ Investopedia. https://smartasset.com/retirement/3-places-to-save-after-maxing-out-your-401k, December 29, 2025