Money in your 50s and 60s — the pre-retirement decade

The decade before retirement is the last significant opportunity to correct for undersaving and the first in which the end of active income is no longer abstract. What you do in these years — contributing maximally to tax-advantaged accounts, reducing debt, and building a realistic picture of what your retirement will cost — determines whether the transition is one you choose or one that is made for you. Clarity is more useful here than optimism.