The Big Questions
Straight answers to some of the hardest questions about money, retirement and living longer.
Retirement raises some surprisingly difficult questions.
How much is enough? When should you stop working? What happens if you live much longer than expected? Should you spend more while you're younger and healthier? How much should you leave your children? And what are you actually going to do with all that time?
There are rarely simple answers.
The Big Questions explores the decisions that can shape the next 30, 40 or even 50 years of your life — not just financially, but in how you use your money, your time and the opportunities ahead.
Because sometimes the most useful thing isn't another answer.
It's a better question.
How much money do I need to retire?
There is no magic number. Start instead with the life you want your money to fund — and what it might cost to sustain it for a very long time.
How do I know when I have enough?
If you never define enough, accumulating more has no natural finishing line. At what point does more money stop making your life materially better?
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Will my money last if I live to 100?
Planning to 100 isn't about assuming you'll reach 100. It's about making sure living longer than expected remains an opportunity rather than a financial problem.
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Should I retire early or keep working?
Another year of work could make you wealthier. It also costs you a year of something you can never accumulate: time.
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Should I spend more in the early years of retirement?
A pound at 65 and a pound at 95 have the same monetary value. But do they necessarily have the same life value?
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What will give me purpose after I retire?
Funding retirement and filling retirement are two different problems. If work currently occupies much of your week, what will take its place?
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More questions we're exploring
Why is it so difficult to spend after a lifetime of saving?
How much should I leave my children?
How should I plan differently if I might live another 40 or 50 years?
What should I do in my 50s to prepare for the rest of my life?
More Big Questions will be added regularly.
