Our Resolution: Make 2026 The Year You Create a Truly Complete Retirement Plan

There’s something compelling about the idea of making New Year’s resolutions, isn’t there?

With the turning of the calendar, a brand-new year begins, unmarred by past mistakes, filled with promise and opportunity. Many of us will pause sometime during the first days of 2026, and we’ll tell ourselves, “This year is going to be different! This is the year for a brand new me! I’m going to be a happier, healthier, slimmer, more likeable, more responsible person.”

Despite all the political turmoil and economic uncertainty, the feeling persists among most of us that the New Year represents a chance at a do-over. Will we take advantage of it?

It turns out that making New Year’s resolutions – and then abandoning them – is an almost universal experience. We’ve taken a look at a few articles on the subject to find out why the resolution failure rate is so high, and what we might be able to do to put more resolve in those resolutions. Then we’ll turn to a true expert, Rajiv Nagaich, to get his take on New Year’s resolutions and to find out what 2026 goals should really matter.

Looking Back: Staunch Resolve but an Uncertain Outcome

We visited this topic a year ago here on the Blog, basing our peek at 2025 on this article from USA Today. It described the financial resolutions people were making this time last year in the face of record high credit card debt, skyrocketing consumer debt of other kinds, and mediocre savings rates. Americans were generally determined to do better financially in 2025, and we suspect those feelings are the same today.

The good news, as we wrote last year: people were feeling confident, despite economic headwinds. “New Year’s Resolutions are aspirational,” said USA Today, “and many consumers will enter the new year feeling very resolute.” The article cites an Edward Jones survey in which more than 80 percent of respondents expected to successfully keep their resolutions.

But the bad news, as we also said last year, is that all that optimism might have been misplaced. “Sadly,” we wrote, “a bit of hindsight paints a somewhat more pessimistic picture. In the same Edward D. Jones survey, ‘more than half of the consumers who made resolutions for 2024 admitted that they failed to achieve them.’ If past behavior is a guide to future performance, that’s not a cause for celebration.”

Are New Year’s Resolutions a Recipe for Failure? Maybe Not

In researching New Year’s resolutions, we looked back at this article from the archives of Psychology Today. It says that making New Year’s resolutions actually has some therapeutic value, whether we adhere to them or not.

“The average New Year’s resolution is abandoned before the Christmas credit card bills arrive,” the article says. However, it goes on to say, “whether or not you think this is a problem depends on how you view resolutions.” In the author’s opinion, when we place too much emphasis on attaining goals for the year ahead, we may be missing the point.

New Year’s Resolutions: An Expression of Hope

“As it turns out, most New Year’s resolutions are not about behavior change,” says Psychology Today. “They are an expression of hope.” Even the act of making a resolution makes us feel better. “Research has shown that as soon as you pledge to change, you get a powerful boost in mood. The bigger the resolution, the better you feel. Immediately!”

As Psychology Today says, it’s all about hope and control. In other words, go ahead and make those resolutions: you’ll feel better about yourself, even if you don’t keep them.

Keep New Year’s Resolutions Simple – and Year-Long

But what if we do want to keep them? If real change is our goal, how do we make successful resolutions?

Many of goal-setting experts cite some familiar recommendations. Keep the number of resolutions manageable. Be specific, not general. Don’t try to improve everything all at once. Self-improvement and goal-setting should be a year-long process, and you can begin any day of the year, not just January 1st.

Whatever you do, don’t try cramming all your big changes into the first few weeks of the year. Instead, take small manageable steps. Consider an accountability partner to keep you focused. That way, if you slip up, you’ll have someone you trust to help you get back on track.

Make sure you build in milestones along the way, and celebrate every time you achieve one, not just when you reach the end of the road, because acknowledging little achievements is a great motivator. And if you stumble, you can relax, laugh it off, and get back on track.

Are Your “Retirement Resolutions” Sincere, or Merely Good Intentions?

Rajiv Nagaich agrees that it can be important to make resolutions, but if there’s no follow-through then the exercise is pointless, especially in the area of retirement planning.

“I can’t begin to count the number of conversations I’ve had with people who say they intend to get around to planning for retirement ‘one of these days’ but they never seem to do it. What good is that?” he asks. “Unless you’re willing to get serious about planning for the rest of your life, sorry to say this, but your good intentions aren’t going to help you or your family one bit.”

Rajiv knows what he’s talking about: his retirement strategy called LifePlanning has helped thousands protect their assets, avoid becoming a burden to loved ones, and escape the trap of ending up in a nursing home against their wishes.

“But remember,” Rajiv admonishes, “none of these things happens by accident. You’ve got to make a well-rounded plan and stick to it. Otherwise, you’re all too likely to join the 70 percent whose retirement plans are destined to fail.”

A Few Specific Recommendations from Rajiv

Where do you begin? Based on his two-plus decades of experience, here are some recommendations from Rajiv’s list of resolutions for 2026:

Financial Planning: Establish a Financial Dashboard

Make this the year to see a qualified financial planner early in 2026, and have a financial dashboard prepared. “Trying to plan your financial future without a dashboard is like flying an airplane in the fog without instruments,” Rajiv advises. “But with a dashboard, you’ll be able to see at a glance how today’s decisions directly affect tomorrow’s outcomes. It’s an essential tool.”

The bottom line: stop making financial decisions in a vacuum. If you’ll contact our office, we’ll gladly refer you to the right financial planner who will help you get that dashboard in place. We believe it’s your single most important financial resolution for 2026.

Legal Planning: Resolve to Get Your Estate Plan in Order

Here’s a sobering fact. Despite the obvious need for basic legal planning, data from AARP tells us that half of all Americans 50 and older don’t even have a will prepared. Make 2026 the year to establish – or update – your estate plan.

That plan may include new or updated documents such as a will or trust, powers of attorney, and a health care directive. Rajiv adds, “You may be ready to have us host and facilitate a family conference for you and your loved ones to make certain you’re all on the same page, with future plans clarified. We’re happy to assist you and your family – just give us a call.”

Remember to Check the Beneficiaries You’ve Designated

The New Year is also a good time to update all your beneficiaries. Make sure your insurance policies and retirement accounts have the right information, or your family could be in for a shock. That includes policies and accounts you might have put in place decades ago.

Rajiv warns, “People are still surprised to find out that, in most cases, the beneficiary designation supersedes your will. Unless you want your ex-spouse to get all the proceeds from your life insurance or 401(k), and your current spouse and kids to get left out in the cold, make sure those forms are up to date.”

Family Communication: Let Them Know Your Wishes

As important as legal planning is, Rajiv constantly emphasizes a point that most aging parents overlook: it’s essential that you inform your family of your long-term care wishes.

“Survey after survey says the same thing: people want to grow old in their own home,” says Rajiv. “But how many parents have sat down with their adult kids and explained how they plan to achieve that goal? No wonder the kids are scrambling to figure out what to do for mom or dad when a health crisis hits.”

Just because you have all your legal documents in place doesn’t mean your long-term care plans will be honored. Let 2026 be the year you create that care plan and get your loved ones on board. This recent Blog article will provide a helpful perspective on how to let your family know what your care preferences are – and how you intend to pay for them.

Planning for Your Health: Working with the Right Medical Team

In preparing for a long and healthy retirement, is your primary care physician working for you – or against you? That depends, says Rajiv.

“I’ve seen case after case of a medical crisis upending even the best-prepared financial plan,” he warns. “There is so much you can do to stay well, to stay healthy. And it all starts by selecting a geriatrician as your primary care doctor. Make certain the person managing your health is someone trained in the special medical needs of seniors.”

Contact us early in the New Year, and we’ll refer you to a geriatric physician in your area.

Planning for Your Housing: Can You Really Age in Place?

Depending on your age and the state of your health, 2026 might be the year you take steps to determine whether your home is right for aging in place. Alternatively, this could be the year you finally downsize.

Regardless of the specifics, your housing resolution should involve an open-eyed assessment of how well your current home meets future needs. Contact us for some specific suggestions, or attend a LifePlanning Seminar early in the new year.

Of course, for retirement planning support, you’re always invited to visit the AgingOptions website and the Life Point Law website to sample the array of services there to help you. You might also check out recent Blog articles such as this one and also this one for more helpful insight on aging in place.

Rajiv Nagaich – Your Retirement Planning Coach and Guide

Rajiv Nagaich’s newest program on PBS, called The Path to Happily Ever After, is bringing Rajiv’s powerful message to Americans from coast to coast. This engaging and challenging PBS show and the accompanying video and workbook are prompting thousands to take a fresh look at the type of planning that will help them succeed in retirement.

What about you?

The Path to Happily Ever After joins other top-selling resources by Rajiv Nagaich, including the book Your Retirement: Dream or Disaster, and the DVD and workbook Master Your Future. Each of these is a powerful planning tool in your retirement toolbox. As a friend of AgingOptions, we know you’ll want to get your copies and spread the word.

You’ve heard Rajiv say it repeatedly: 70 percent of retirement plans will fail. If you know someone whose retirement turned into a nightmare when they were forced into a nursing home, went broke paying for care, or became a burden to their families – and you want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you – then these materials are your key to retirement success.

Through stories, examples, and personal insights, Rajiv takes us along on his journey of expanding awareness of a problem that few are willing to talk about – yet it’s one that results in millions of Americans sleepwalking their way into their worst nightmares about aging. Rajiv lays bare the shortcomings of traditional retirement planning advice, exposes the biases many professionals have about what is best for older adults, and much more.

Rajiv then offers a solution: LifePlanning, his groundbreaking approach to retirement planning. Rajiv explains the essential planning steps and, most importantly, how to develop the framework for these elements to work in concert toward your most deeply held retirement goals.

Your retirement can be the exciting and fulfilling life you’ve always wanted it to be. Start by watching, reading, and sharing Rajiv’s important message. And remember, Age On, everyone!