5 easy ways US boomers become poor in retirement (after having a fairly fat nest egg) — are you making these mistakes?

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Retiring with a sizable nest egg can give you peace of mind, but it can also lull you into a false sense of security. For instance, the average savings in retirement accounts (1) for those aged 65 to 74 was $609,230 as of 2022, according to the Federal Reserve.

That sounds like a lot — until you look at the median retirement savings. The median retirement savings was just $200,000 (2), meaning that 50% of Americans aged 65 to 74 had $200,000 or less saved up for their golden years.

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And both of those figures pale in comparison to the $1.46 million (3) that the average American believes is the "magic number" for retirement, according to a 2026 Northwestern Mutual study.

Even if combined with other income, such as Social Security and personal brokerage accounts, these numbers suggest that most retirees will probably want to be mindful of their expenses. After all, staying comfortable throughout retirement requires careful planning and money management.

Still, you might have a seemingly solid plan, but there are some expenses that catch many retirees off guard.

You're probably accounting for some healthcare expenses in your retirement plan, but are you budgeting enough? More than half of pre-retirees believe Medicare will cover all their health expenses (4), according to Fidelity's 2026 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate study.

If you're 65 and retire today without workplace retirement benefits, you can expect to pay an average of about $185,500 on healthcare and medical expenses through your retirement, according to the Fidelity study.

This includes premiums and other costs associated with Medicare A, B and D, but it doesn't include over-the-counter medications, most dental expenses or long-term care — all of which can add substantially to out-of-pocket spending. To make matters worse, these costs increased 7.5% from the previous, meaning they are rising faster than inflation — which was 3.4% in August 2026 (5).