Retirement Events Will Address Key Questions

Planning for retirement can be blissful, with dreams of long vacations and plenty of time with grandkids. But in reality, it can also be daunting.

How much savings do you need to stash away? When should you start taking Social Security benefits? How do you navigate Medicare and all its complex coverage options?

New Yorkers can find answers to those questions and others during a 15-part webinar series offered by AARP this year. The series — called Money Mindset — is geared toward people age 45 and older. The sessions will run every other week, starting Tuesday, June 3, and ending Tuesday, Dec. 16.

“Life can be challenging, and we really want to address all of those challenges,” from debt and tax issues to managing investments and caregiving expenses, says Robyn Haberman, associate state director for community engagement for upstate New York east.

The series is designed to offer “an A-to-Z education for people, so they can feel as secure as possible,” she adds.

Causes, fixes for savings gap

The series also aims to address a scary fact: A lot of people aren’t financially prepared to retire, even as they approach retirement age.

In a February 2025 report, the Center for an Urban Future, a New York think tank, said that 49 percent of New Yorkers age 70 and older reported no retirement income in 2022. The report also found that the number of New York adults age 65 and older living in poverty surged nearly 50 percent in 10 years, topping 420,000 in 2022. (The report is based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community estimates.)

One reason for those troubling statistics, says Angela Antonelli, research professor and executive director of the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, is that many workers don’t have access to an employer-sponsored savings plan.

A worker is “much more likely ... to save for retirement if you have access to an employer-sponsored plan,” she says. But few employers offer traditional pension plans anymore and only some offer employee-funded 401(k) plans.

Seventeen states, including New York, have addressed that issue by adopting state-facilitated retirement savings programs that require employers set up automatic payroll deductions for workers who choose to save that way. Three other states have approved voluntary programs.

The New York Secure Choice Savings Program is expected to go live later this year. AARP New York supported its creation.

Other reasons that older adults may not have saved for retirement include the rising cost of living, persistent long-term debt, such as college loans, and unexpected life events, from health emergencies to caregiving demands, says Susan Caicedo-Corea, who works on financial resilience programs for AARP.

In a November webinar, she will explain how caregivers can help their loved ones without putting their own futures at risk. Caregivers often spend money on their care recipients instead of saving for their own retirements. They need to know “how to anticipate caregiving costs, how to have a productive financial conversation with family members when it comes to the caregiving cause [and] how to find resources to help,” Caicedo-Corea says.

Tips on Social Security, Medicare

In an August webinar, Jammie Lyell, a Social Security program manager for AARP, will discuss the pros and cons of claiming Social Security early, at full retirement age (which varies based on year of birth) or at age 70. He says it’s important to consider everything from a person’s financial circumstances to his or her life expectancy before making that decision.

He says many people believe their Social Security benefits will provide all the retirement income they need, but that’s often not the case.

Everyone “should think about retirement as early as possible, ideally in [their] 20s and 30s,” he says.

An October webinar will feature Max Arnaud of the Medicare Rights Center, a consumer group.

Arnaud will discuss Medicare options for those who are navigating the program for the first time and for current enrollees who might want to make changes. Sarah Murdoch, the center’s director of client services, says people often just want a better understanding of how Medicare coverage works. They’re “confused, or they’re overwhelmed, or they just don’t know where to start,” she says.

AARP New York will also provide online tools and other retirement resources. For the full webinar schedule, visit aarp.org/nyfinance.

Mary Dieter, a freelance journalist, spent two decades covering Indiana state policy and politics for The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky.

Also of interest:

• 8 Ways to Keep From Going Broke in Retirement
• 5 Retirement Fears and How to Conquer Them
• 5 Surprises That Could Derail Your Retirement Plans