Episode Details

One of the most common questions people ask in their 40s is: Have I saved enough for retirement?

And often, that question is not coming from someone who ignored saving or investing. It is coming from someone who has been working hard for years, building a career, raising a family, making smart decisions, and suddenly wondering, “How am I actually doing?”

Hilary Hendershott explains why retirement readiness is about more than looking at one account balance.

When her team evaluates whether someone is on track, they look at four key variables:

How much have you accumulated?
How much are you saving today?
How much do you expect to spend in retirement?
How many years do you still have to work with?

Those four variables tell a much clearer story than any one account balance alone.

Hilary also explains why your 40s can feel financially complicated. This is often the decade where multiple priorities collide: children, college planning, a mortgage, aging parents, travel, lifestyle goals, building wealth, and preparing for the future all at the same time.

But your 40s are also an incredibly powerful decade financially, especially for high earners. You may still have time to save more, invest more, make strategic adjustments, and get clarity about where you actually stand.

Retirement confidence does not come from optimism. It comes from clarity. And your 40s are not a decade for panic. They are a decade for measurement.

  Key Takeaways 

• 01:18 Have you saved enough for retirement? 
• 02:26 The four variables that determine retirement readiness 
• 03:05 Why your 40s can feel financially complicated 
• 03:55 Why your 40s are still a powerful decade financially 
• 04:32 Why coordination and oversight become more important 
• 05:55 Retirement planning is not a one-time calculation 
• 06:41 Your 40s are a decade for measurement 
• 07:10 Working with a fee-only fiduciary team 

 Show Notes
To get access to the full show notes, including all the resources mentioned, visit: https://hendershottwealth.com/podcast/retirement-planning-in-your-40s 

Hendershott Wealth Management, LLC and Love, your Money do not make specific investment recommendations on Love, your Money or in any public media. Any specific mentions of funds or investments are strictly for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice or acted upon by individual investors. The opinions expressed in this episode are those of Hilary Hendershott, CFP®, MBA.