One more year syndrome

By Tom, CPA · Updated October 25, 2026

TL;DR: One more year syndrome (OMY) is the habit of delaying retirement after reaching your number, usually from fear rather than math. Each extra year adds less safety and costs a year you can't get back. Define enough in advance, distinguish real buffers (health care, sequence risk, a specific goal) from vague anxiety, and set decision rules you'll follow.

Educational only, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Examples are illustrations, not predictions. Rules and limits change; verify current figures and talk to a qualified professional about your situation.

You did the hard part. The portfolio hit the number, the spreadsheet is green, and then a quiet voice says: what if the market crashes? What if health care costs double? Another year would make it safer. A year later, the voice says the same thing.

OMY is common among FIRE savers precisely because they're cautious planners. Caution built the portfolio. Past a point, though, it stops buying much safety. This guide covers why OMY happens, how to quantify enough, how to tell buffers from excuses, decision rules, and a few fictional stories.

CPA Warning Label: One more year, said everyone, for nine more years. The goalpost is easiest to move when you're the one holding it.

Why OMY happens

• Loss aversion: losing a paycheck feels worse than gaining free time feels good.
• Uncertainty: no plan can remove market, inflation, health and policy risk, so the worry always has material.
• Identity: work provides status and structure that the portfolio can't.
• Momentum: high income late in a career makes each year look lucrative.
• Recent markets: a downturn makes you fear the next; a rally makes one more year look easy.
• No defined finish line: if enough was never written down, it can always move.

Quantifying enough

Enough should be a specific definition, set in advance:

1. Your annual spending, including realistic health care costs before Medicare (premiums after expected subsidies, plus out-of-pocket costs; for 2026, marketplace plans can have out-of-pocket maximums up to $10,600 for an individual).
2. A withdrawal rate you trust for a long retirement; many early retirees choose something more conservative than the classic 4% because their horizons are longer.
3. One-time needs: a car, a roof, help for family.
4. Flexibility: how much spending you could cut in a bad market.

Then test it: what does the plan look like in a bad sequence of early returns? If it survives with reasonable cuts, that's enough. More money shrinks risk but never eliminates it.

The diminishing value of one more year

Illustration: Ana spends $60,000 a year and has $1,650,000, a 3.64% withdrawal rate. She could work another year, saving $80,000. If the portfolio also grows 5% (illustrative, not a forecast), she'd have about $1,812,500, a 3.31% rate.

Each year buys a little less safety, while the cost, a year of her life at 45, 46, 47, stays the same or grows. Some extra years are worthwhile; just make sure the reason is specific.

Buffers vs excuses

Legitimate reasons to keep working usually have a number attached:

• Health care: you haven't modeled pre-Medicare costs, or your income target for ACA subsidies doesn't work yet.
• Sequence risk: you want a cash bucket of a set size before quitting.
• A specific vest or bonus: a defined amount on a defined date.
• Debt: paying off a specific loan.
• Kids: funding a defined education goal.

Excuses tend to be vague: "just to be safe," "markets feel high," "what if something happens." A useful test: if you can't state the dollar amount or the date that would satisfy the concern, it's anxiety, not a plan. Address anxiety with planning (flexible spending rules, cash buffers, part-time options), not with an endless extra year.

Decision rules

1. Write down your number and date in advance, and share them with someone who'll hold you to it.
2. Allow one extension with a reason, stated as a number. After that, the burden of proof flips.
3. Use guardrails instead of more money: commit to spending cuts if the portfolio falls by a set percentage.
4. Consider a bridge: part-time or consulting work can address fear more cheaply than a full extra year.
5. Count the cost in time, not just money: what will you miss at this age?
6. Revisit the number only for real changes, such as a new child or health condition, not market noise.

Fictional stories

Illustration, the perpetual planner: Hal reached his number at 48. A correction made him wait. Then a bonus looked too good to leave. Then health care costs made him nervous, though he never modeled them. At 57, he retired with nearly double his original target and said his main regret was the years spent waiting.

Illustration, the specific extension: Mira hit her number at 50 but hadn't built a cash bucket and wanted two years of spending in cash. She set a date eight months out, saved the amount, and retired on that day. The extension had a number and a date, so it ended.

Illustration, the bridge: Owen feared running out of money despite a 3.2% withdrawal rate. Instead of another full year, he negotiated a two-day-a-week consulting role for a year. The income covered most of his spending, his fear eased as he watched the portfolio hold up, and he stopped consulting when it stopped being fun.

The cost side of the ledger

OMY math usually counts only the money gained. The costs are harder to quantify but real:

• Time at your healthiest: the years from 45 to 55 are, for most people, more active than the years from 75 to 85. Travel, sports and time with young kids are easier now.
• Relationships: aging parents, children growing up, friends with flexible schedules.
• Health: if the job causes chronic stress, staying may cost more than it pays.
• Opportunity: projects, volunteering or new careers you'd start sooner.

A useful exercise: write a specific list of what you'll do in the first year of retirement. If the list is vivid, the cost of one more year becomes concrete. If the list is empty, the real problem may be the non-financial plan, not the portfolio.

When markets move the goalpost

OMY often spikes after big market moves. After a crash, the portfolio may have dropped below the number, and waiting may be reasonable, though a plan with spending flexibility can often still work. After a rally, the portfolio may be well above the number, yet retiring at a market high feels risky. Both feelings are understandable, but your plan should already account for volatility. Decide in advance how you'll respond: for example, retire if the portfolio is within a set percentage of the target and you have a cash buffer, and accept lower spending for a while if markets fall soon after.

Partial retirement as a middle path

The choice isn't binary. Partial retirement, consulting, seasonal work or a lower-stress job can lower your withdrawal rate dramatically while giving you most of the freedom. Even modest income in the early years reduces sequence of returns risk, because you sell fewer assets when markets are down. It can also help with structure and identity. If one more year feels necessary, ask whether one more year of part-time work would meet the same need.

Checklist

1. Write your definition of enough with numbers.
2. Stress test it against bad early returns.
3. List every reason to keep working and attach a number or date.
4. Set a retirement date and tell someone.
5. Plan guardrails and a part-time bridge as alternatives to more years.
6. Prepare the non-financial side: identity, routine, people.