Older Americans Offer Financial Advice

Sue Jones thought she had more than enough money to live on when she was in her 50s. She wasn't counting on living to her 90s.

The 91-year-old resident of Lewisburg, Tenn., and her late husband, Ewell Jones, saved about $50,000 in a retirement account in addition to his roughly $2,900-amonth pension and Social Security. Her income no longer covers her rising bills. She was in and out of the hospital several times this year, racking up medical bills and prescription-drug copays. Her children are helping with expenses.

"I planned to die at a more normal age, but that's not what God had in store," she said.

These days, there is a lot of life to live after the traditional retirement age. The average American life expectancy at birth is nearing 80 years, according to the World Bank. That is almost a decade longer than it was when people approaching 65 were born. Some make it a lot longer.

It is scrambling the calculations around how to budget-and how to splurge. What people plan for at 50 years old often isn't how life plays out over the following decades.

Among roughly 15 octogenarians and nonagenarians interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, some say they regret not saving more. Some say they regret not spending enough on themselves. Some wish they had planned for a business closure, how to spend newfound free time or how to handle a late-inlife divorce.

They all agree there is no way to anticipate what life throws your way.

Their regrets Marge

Horn, 80, says the unexpected end to her marriage at age 62 derailed her finances.

Horn, who lives in the Portland, Ore., area, assumed her husband's pension and their shared investment portfolios would sustain them. But she lost half her investment portfolio in the divorce, keeping her house and control of the rest of her money.

After the divorce, she ended up drawing on Social Security early to make ends meet.

She has since advised her daughter to keep her inheritance in her own name, to reduce the odds she'll lose it in a divorce. In more recent years, Horn said she has increased her net worth far beyond what it was during marriage.

Bob Grice, 83, said he didn't start purchasing stocks or mutual funds until his mid-50s. He has since encouraged his children to start earlier.

"A good financial person is advisable and will more than earn their fee," he said. "I should have engaged a financial planner sooner."

Bernita Clark, age 82, said that one of her best financial moves was to work part time at a college after she retired as a computer scientist. That allowed her to open and fund a Roth individual retirement account, where she contributed after-tax income. Such investments can be withdrawn tax-free, depending on your age and how long you've had the account.

"If you can swing a part-time job, you can open and fund your Roth IRA," she said. "Do that!"

Living longer

Lengthening lifespans necessitate having Plan B's, and even Plan C's, says Ken Tubman, 80.

Thirty years ago, he worried that the independent wholesale mortgage brokerage he owned would cease to exist. So he started looking around for new businesses and ended up purchasing a small sign shop where he lived in Napa, Calif.

He knew nothing about making signs or marketing them, but poured about $100,000 into new equipment and started taking classes at the local college to learn the business.

"As it turned out, I made enough money over about 17 years to support my family and send my son to college," he said.

Robert Kinsella, 85, says he picked up frugal habits from his parents who lived through the Great Depression. That allowed him and his wife to save for a comfortable retirement.

Kinsella, who worked in human resources for most of his career, took advantage of his employers' 401(k) matching programs. He avoided risky investments and didn't chase high returns. He was careful not to carry a balance on his credit cards.

"We didn't even own two cars until 15 years after we got married, just because we didn't want to incur two car payments," he said.

Robert Hartwig, 82, of Wilbraham, Mass., said that in his 50s, he and his wife worried they might be spending too much. They asked questions like: Is our house too new or too big? Should we buy used cars? Should we skip that Rhone River cruise? Are we saving enough?

"Those worries were misplaced," he says, "and in retrospect, we probably should have been a little more generous with ourselves."