4 Financial Tasks Retirees Put Off — And the Price They Pay Later

4 Financial Tasks Retirees Put Off — And the Price They Pay Later

Nicholas Morine

Sat, September 12, 2026 at 8:00 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Dealing with unwanted or stressful financial situations is a pain point across generations, with Americans of every age having to deal with these anxiety-inducing headaches. But for retirees in particular, there are a number of very specific tasks or guidelines that are too often avoided, whether due to active avoidance or simply not knowing any better.

Perhaps a concise dive into some of the most common money-related chores U.S. retirees are putting off is worth a glance.

1. Taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

The good news: The age at which retirees must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from investment accounts — ranging from traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs and 401(k)s to profit-sharing plans, among others — has been steadily increasing over the past few years, according to Morningstar.

The bad news: Taking RMDs from your tax-advantaged accounts can seriously upset your retirement math, causing more taxes to be pulled from Social Security benefits and increased Medicare costs.

The really bad news: Failing to take RMDs — or not taking large enough RMDs — beginning at the current age of 73 could mean you're stuck with a stiff excise tax bill from the IRS. This bill comes in at anywhere between 10% to a much steeper 25%.

2. Ensuring Your Long-Term Care Insurance Is in Place

Growing older naturally means that the amount of expenses tied to healthcare costs can be expected to increase, with Dave Ramsey's team underscoring the fact that a majority (56%) of aging adults can expect to require long-term care (LTC).

Ramsey Solutions suggested that early retirees may be in the best position to pull down the best deal on LTC insurance, with age 60 being the sweet spot. After this age, as risk profiles grow, insurers will be warier — and coverage costlier — so retirees above age 60 should consider buying in sooner, rather than later.

One caveat: LTC insurance is best suited for retirees planning to leave their assets to children or other relatives. Otherwise, self-insuring may be an option.

3. Protecting Your Legacy via a Will, Trust, and Powers of Attorney

Somewhat related to the above point, too many retirees may be procrastinating on the subject of estate planning — or protecting their legacy for their children or other beneficiaries upon their passing or unforeseen cognitive decline.

Money expert Suze Orman hammered this point home in a blog post, writing that a will is necessary to ensure proper transfer of your assets into a trust (and avoidance of a costly and lengthy probate process), and that a revocable trust makes distributions that much easier.

Further, a financial power of attorney gives an adult child or grandchild the ability to handle your financial affairs should it become impossible — or a serious hardship — for you to do so yourself.

4. Signing up for Medicare at the Appropriate Time

This is a big one — be sure you're signing up for Medicare coverage during your Initial Enrollment Period, typically within the time frame three months before you turn 65 until three months after that birthday.

The penalties, detailed on Medicare's website, are also quite severe:

If you end up having to purchase Medicare Part A and didn't do so when you were first eligible, you're looking at a premium penalty of up to 10% (and that penalty will be applicable for double the number of years you failed to sign up).

If you require Medicare Part B and fail to sign up — or fail to avail of a Special Enrollment Period or enroll in a Medicare Savings Program — you're on the hook for an extra 10% each and every year in which you could have signed up for Part B, but did not do so.

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.

More From MoneyLion: