How to plan for a solo retirement
As more Americans embrace single living, understanding how to navigate a retirement system that favors couples is essential for long-term financial security.
Summary:
- From 401(k) contributions to tax deductions, the American retirement system generally favors couples over singles. However, certain financial strategies can help singles overcome these disadvantages to create a more secure retirement.
- Singles should establish healthcare proxies and relationships with trusted advisors who understand their complete financial picture and can step in during emergencies.
- Single-life annuities offer up to 11% higher payouts than joint options as of July 2025, providing singles with significantly more guaranteed retirement income from the same investment.
Single and ready to plan a secure retirement
The single life has plenty of advantages. Singles get more exercise. It’s easier to jump on new opportunities at work (transfer to the London office, anyone?). At night, nobody’s stealing the covers.
But when it comes to saving for retirement, the advantages vanish. Nearly everything about our retirement system seems to favor married savers over single ones. Social Security offers more ways for couples to claim benefits than singles.1 Couples with separate 401(k)s can defer paying taxes on twice the amount of income. Married couples can focus contributions on whoever’s plan has the better employer match. And when it comes to eligibility for tax deductions on IRA contributions, married couples enjoy significantly higher income limits than singles.
These disadvantages are proving costly for what’s now a fast-growing demographic. Singles in their late 60s are twice as likely as their married peers to run out of savings in retirement, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research.2 Furthermore, the percentage of Americans age 25 to 54 who are “unpartnered”—neither married nor living with a partner—has climbed from 29% in 1990 to 38% today, based on data from the Pew Research Center.3 And, of course, people who are married now could still find themselves single come retirement: According to the Census Bureau, 40% of women and 20% of men in the 65-to-74 age bracket are currently widowed or divorced.4
Single women probably have the steepest retirement hill to climb. Women live longer than men, which means their nest eggs must last longer. They also earn less than men, which means they need to save more of their paycheck.
The disadvantages facing solo savers may not be going away, but there are ways to plan around them. Here are four steps singles can take right now to safeguard their retirement:
1. Find people you trust to serve as advisors and proxies.
Melody Evans, a vice president wealth management advisor in TIAA’s Portsmouth, N.H. office, says her conversations with single clients tend to be more frank and more frequent than those with married clients because that’s what singles need.
“Think about how couples tend to make decisions,” says Evans. “They trust each other, they have shared goals, and they’re comfortable making decisions together around planning and saving for the future. Singles don’t always have that.” Maybe singles will talk to a friend about an investment idea, or maybe they’ll confide to a family member about a particularly tricky financial situation. But most people avoid talking money with anyone outside their immediate household. As a result, singles may not have anyone who understands their complete financial picture. “Singles don’t have a sounding board,” says Evans. “I don’t think we talk about that enough in planning. I think it’s a really critical difference when you’re planning for single folks instead of married folks.”
The challenge goes beyond determining the proper financial strategy. When a married person experiences a health crisis, they often have a spouse or adult child they can rely on to manage their financial affairs or serve as a health care proxy. “Incapacity planning for singles is much more difficult,” says Evans. “They don’t have a spouse who can step right in.”
Evans’s advice: Talk to friends and family and see if someone you trust would be willing to serve as your healthcare proxy or financial power of attorney. If that doesn’t work out, talk to your TIAA wealth advisor about other options. TIAA can connect you with estate attorneys who could potentially fill those roles.
2. Know your options when it comes to claiming Social Security.
Singles may have less retirement savings, but delaying when they claim Social Security can help stretch those savings. The calculators on the Social Security Administration website provide precise and personalized estimates. But generally speaking, claiming Social Security at age 70 instead of 67 will boost your monthly check by 25%–30%.5
To understand how your age, income, and martial status might affect your Social Security benefits, visit TIAA’s
There are other considerations as well. As mentioned earlier, married folks enjoy a Baskin Robbins–like array of options when it comes to claiming Social Security, whereas singles are basically relegated to chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. But there are a few hidden menu items, particularly for singles who are divorced or widowed.
Say you’re divorced. If your former spouse earned more than you, you may be able to claim Social Security based on your ex’s work record instead of your own, which could mean a bigger check for you. (Doing so won’t lower your ex’s benefits—fortunately or unfortunately.) To claim Social Security as an ex-spouse, you must not be remarried, you must be divorced for at least two years, you must have been married for at least 10, and both you and your ex must be at least 62 years old.6
Widows or widowers have the option of claiming a late spouse’s payments as a survivor’s benefit. That’s attractive if the survivor benefit is greater than the monthly benefit based on your own work record. Also, the choice you make doesn’t have to be permanent. Consider a 60-year-old woman widowed at a time when her husband was 62 and already collecting Social Security benefits. She can delay claiming her own benefit, elect to receive survivor benefits for 10 years, and then switch to her own Social Security at 70 when her own benefit is highest.
Article continues below
Need help planning for your unique retirement?
Every retirement journey is unique. TIAA Wealth Managaement advisors can create retirement strategies tailored to your specific needs and goals.
Call
3. Explore long-term care insurance.
Most long-term care in the United States takes place at home and is provided by spouses, daughters, and daughters-in-law. As a trio of Stanford University researchers wrote in 2017, “the best long-term care insurance in our country is a conscientious daughter.”7
Question is, what happens if you don’t have a spouse or a conscientious daughter to care for you if you become frail, disabled, or mentally diminished? According to Melissa Shaw, a TIAA Wealth Management advisor in Palo Alto, CA, this is real concern for singles, especially those who don’t have adult children. “There’s no backup plan for them should they find themselves in this position,” Shaw says. “That’s why long-term care insurance is something singles may want to look into.”
There are two different types of long-term care insurance—traditional and hybrid. Both can be used to pay for in-home care or for care at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or memory care units. The knock against traditional policies has always been the use-it-or-lose-it element. “If you never end up needing long-term care, it can feel like you wasted money on all those premiums,” says Shaw.
Hybrid policies solve this problem by combining long-term care insurance with life insurance. The death benefit on the life insurance is reduced by the amount of long-term care benefits already paid. “It’s an attractive product,” Shaw adds, “because it allows you to pass along those premiums not used for long-term care as a tax-free inheritance to your beneficiaries.”
Shaw points out that many long-term care insurance policies, including those sold through TIAA, feature a perk valuable to singles: concierge services. If there’s no family member around to arrange care, trained professionals can help locate providers and arrange care on your behalf. Talk to your TIAA wealth advisor to learn more.
4. Consider making annuities a bigger piece of your retirement savings.
Annuities may be the only retirement product favoring single savers over married ones. With a single-life annuity, you get a higher yearly payout as compared to joint annuities that continue paying benefits to a spouse after the original annuity-holder has died.
Consider two 67-year-olds—one of them married with a same-age spouse and the other one single. For the married person, the yearly payout on a $500,000, 100% joint-and-survivor annuity with a 10-year guarantee is around $35,000 as of July 2025, according to TIAA’s
“It’s not like they throw your bank account in the grave with you when you die,” says Benny Goodman, a vice president with the TIAA Institute and a veteran actuary. “If you don’t have a spouse or children to leave money to, why wouldn’t you want the extra income?”
We’re here to help with your solo journey.
Planning your financial future solo doesn’t mean planning alone. TIAA Wealth Management advisors understand the unique considerations singles face—from Social Security strategies to long-term care planning. Talk to your advisor about creating a personalized roadmap to begin securing your independent financial journey. Don’t yet have an advisor?
Articles you might find helpful
How to turn retirement savings into more guaranteed income
Convert retirement savings into more guaranteed income with TIAA fixed annuities. Learn how to potentially boost your retirement spending with a loyalty bonus.
Why your kids should meet your financial advisor
Explore how “householding” can help secure your family’s financial future.
Financial planning for nontraditional couples
Discover financial planning and advice for nontraditional couples, including age-gap, unmarried, and late-life newlyweds.
1 Vance Cariaga, “Social Security Benefits: 6 Things Married Couples Should Know,” GoBankingRates.com, January 3, 2024. gobankingrates.com/retirement/social-security/social-security-strategy-tips-for-married-couples/.
2 Michael D. Hurd and Susann Rohwedder, “Economic Preparation for Retirement,” National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2011. nber.org/books-and-chapters/investigations-economics-aging/economic-preparation-retirement.
3 Richard Fry and Kim Parker, “Rising Share of U.S. Adults Are Living Without a Spouse or Partner,” Pew Research Center, October 5, 2021. pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/10/05/rising-share-of-u-s-adults-are-living-without-a-spouse-or-partner/.
4 United States Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, “B12001 Sex by Marital Status by Age for the Population 15 Years and Over.” data.census.gov.
5 Social Security Administration, “Delayed Retirement Credits.” ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html.
6 Social Security Administration, “Family Benefits.” ssa.gov/oact/progdata/family.html.
7 Nicholas T. Bott, Clifford C. Sheckter, and Arnold S. Milstein, “Dementia Care, Women’s Health, and Gender Equity: The Value of Well-Timed Caregiver Support,” JAMA Neurology, July 1, 2017. doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.0403.
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and is not fiduciary investment advice, or a securities, investment strategy, or insurance product recommendation. This material does not consider an individual’s own objectives or circumstances, which should be the basis of any investment decision.
Annuities are designed for retirement or other long-term goals, and offer a variety of income options, including lifetime income. Any guarantees under annuities issued by TIAA are subject to TIAA’s claims-paying ability.
TIAA Institute is a division of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA).
Advisory services are provided by Advice & Planning Services, a division of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products.