The Cost of Overshooting
The hidden price of working longer than you need to
One of the overlooked risks in retirement planning isn't running out of money. It's working five or ten years longer than you needed to.
That might sound like an odd statement coming from a financial planner. Surely the greater danger is retiring too early?
Sometimes it is. But after almost thirty years helping people prepare for retirement, I've come to believe another risk is far more common. Many people don't underestimate how much money they'll need. They overestimate how much time they have.
A professional woman reflecting at her desk as daylight fades outside
Missing the turning
On a recent golf trip, a friend and I were chatting away in the car as we headed towards the course. Or at least, that's what we thought we were doing.
Without realising it, we had driven straight past our turning. Worse still, we also missed the first opportunity to correct the mistake. Every now and then one of us glanced at the sat-nav. It calmly told us to continue ahead, so we assumed everything was fine.
What we hadn't appreciated was that the sat-nav had already recalculated the route. It wasn't directing us towards the golf club anymore—it was directing us towards the next possible correction.
We thought we were following every instruction perfectly. The problem was that we'd forgotten to check where we actually were.
By the time we realised what had happened, we were a couple of miles beyond the turning we should have taken. The result was a slightly embarrassing phone call to the golf club to explain we'd be late and, thankfully, a rearranged tee time. We still arrived—just later than we ever needed to.
Financial lives often follow exactly the same pattern. We become busy working, earning, and saving, continuously following the familiar instructions: another year at work, another pension contribution, another bonus. Everything appears to be going according to plan.
But unless we occasionally step back and ask where we actually are, we may never realise we've already passed the point where we could have chosen a different route.
We become so absorbed in the journey that we stop checking whether we are still on the right road.
We rarely know we've already won
Retirement doesn't come with a flashing sign saying: "Congratulations. You now have enough."
Instead, there is simply another payslip, another annual bonus, another pension contribution, or another promotion. Carrying on feels like the sensible thing to do.
That is how overshooting happens—not because people are greedy or love money more than life, but usually because they are cautious, responsible, and have spent decades doing exactly what made them financially successful in the first place. The habits that built their wealth become almost impossible to switch off.
When people tell me they're worried about retirement, they usually assume the answer lies in more calculations: another cashflow model, another investment forecast, or another professional opinion. In reality, the maths is often the easy part. The difficult part is believing it.
After forty years of saving, spending feels uncomfortable, saving feels responsible, and continuing to work feels safe—even when the numbers clearly suggest you've already achieved everything you set out to achieve.
The opportunity cost nobody talks about
Economists define opportunity cost as the value of what you give up when you choose one option over another. We usually measure this in pounds and pence. But later in life, the real opportunity cost isn't measured in money—it's measured in years.
One more year at work might mean one less year when your health allows you to travel comfortably.
One less year when your grandchildren still think you are the most exciting person in the world.
One less year when trying something new feels adventurous rather than exhausting.
Money compounds. Unfortunately, ageing does too.
There are some experiences you can't buy later
I've met clients who delayed retirement because they wanted to feel "just a little bit safer." When they eventually stopped working, they had more money than they'd ever imagined—but they also had poorer health, parents who had passed away, friends who could no longer travel, or dreams that quietly no longer appealed.
No amount of additional wealth could buy back the years they had exchanged for it.
That doesn't mean they made the wrong decision at the time; none of us knows what tomorrow holds. But it does remind us that continuing to work isn't a cost-free decision. It has a price.
This isn't an argument for retiring early across the board. Some people genuinely need to continue working. Others simply love what they do, and if your work gives you purpose, challenge, and friendship, then carrying on may be the absolute best choice for you.
But if you are continuing primarily because you are frightened of stopping, despite already having enough, it is worth asking yourself one simple question: What is another five years actually buying me?
If the answer is fulfilment, purpose, or genuine peace of mind, then those five years are well spent. But if the answer is simply a larger number on a statement that you are unlikely ever to spend, the real cost may be far greater than you realise.
Great financial planning isn't about maximising wealth—it's about maximising life
The purpose of building financial security is eventually to use it. Otherwise, your retirement plan quietly becomes an accumulation plan with no finish line.
Sometimes the biggest financial mistake isn't retiring too early. It's spending so long preparing for tomorrow that you quietly drive straight past today.
Enjoyed this article?
Join Tomorrow's Notes for one thoughtful email every Friday with ideas about money, time and living well.