By A.B. Ridgeway | The Ridgeway Report
When people hear “retirement,” they think about freedom, travel, family time, and finally enjoying the life they worked so hard to build.
What most people don’t think about is how many opportunities they miss to actually have more money to enjoy in retirement.
In this article, I’m going to walk you through three powerful ways to spend more in retirement—not by being reckless, but by being strategic. Even if you’re already retired, I promise you there are a few things here you may not have considered.
As always, I’ll give you a financial advisor’s perspective so you can make informed decisions, not emotional ones.
1. Take Full Advantage of Company Matches
One of the most underutilized employee benefits is the employer match.
This is free money.
When your employer matches your contribution, it means:
You put in $1, they put in $1.
That’s a 100% return before the market even moves.
Yet many people either:
- Don’t know how much they can contribute
- Don’t know the minimum required to receive the match
- Or don’t take full advantage of it at all
Know Your Maximums and Minimums
There are two important numbers you must know:
- The maximum you’re allowed to contribute (set by the IRS)
- The minimum you must contribute to receive your employer’s match
Some employers:
- Match dollar for dollar up to a certain percentage
- Require you to work there a specific number of years
- Or use tiered matching formulas
If you don’t know these details, you may be leaving money on the table.
Watch Out for Concentration Risk
Another issue I see is concentration risk.
This happens when:
- You work for a company
- They give you company stock
- And you heavily invest in that same company inside your retirement account
If that company struggles or fails, you could lose both your job and your retirement savings at the same time.
That is not diversification. That is risk.
Diversification means spreading your investments so that no single company can wipe you out. This is how you protect what you’ve worked so hard to build.
2. Understand Your Pensions and Employee Benefits
Pensions used to be common. Today, they are rare.
Many companies moved away from pensions due to mismanagement, underfunding, and abuse. That’s why we now rely more heavily on self-directed retirement accounts like 401k plans.
However, some companies still offer:
- Pensions
- Severance packages
- “Golden parachutes”
- PTO payouts
- Early retirement incentives
If you don’t fully understand your benefits, you may be walking away from significant value.
Benefits = Money
Your compensation is not just your salary.
It also includes:
- Healthcare benefits
- Dental and vision coverage
- PTO
- Wellness benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Insurance coverage
Every dollar your employer pays is a dollar you don’t have to pay.
And every dollar you don’t spend is a dollar that stays in your pocket for retirement.
This is one of the easiest ways to increase your retirement spending power without increasing your income.
3. Use Personal Retirement Accounts the Right Way
We cannot rely solely on our employer to fund our retirement.
Personal retirement accounts like:
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
play a critical role in building long-term wealth.
These accounts allow you to:
- Save more
- Control taxes
- Position assets strategically for retirement
Start Early, Teach Early
The earlier you start, the more time compound interest has to work for you.
This is why I believe in teaching our children about retirement early—so they invest for 20–30 years, not scramble at 55 trying to catch up.
Asset Location Matters
Where your money is located matters just as much as how much you have.
Taking $20,000 from:
- A savings account
- A brokerage account
- A traditional IRA
- Or a Roth IRA
can result in very different tax consequences.
A good strategy considers:
- How long the asset has been held
- Whether it is short-term or long-term
- Whether it is taxable, tax-deferred, or tax-free
This is how you keep more of what you earn.
If This Sounds Overwhelming… That’s Normal
If some of this sounds like Greek, don’t worry.
Most people were never taught:
- How retirement accounts work
- How employee benefits really function
- How taxes affect withdrawals
- Or how to structure assets properly
That’s why financial advisors exist.
Your job is to enjoy retirement.
My job is to help make sure the money supports that lifestyle.
Final Thoughts
Retirement should be a season of enjoyment, not confusion.
By:
- Maximizing employer matches
- Understanding your benefits
- Using personal retirement accounts strategically
You dramatically increase your ability to spend more in retirement without running out of money.
Ready to Simplify Your Retirement Plan?
If you’re:
- Preparing for retirement
- Recently retired
- Or unsure how your money is positioned
I would love to speak with you.
👉 Schedule a consultation using the link below.
Let’s talk about your goals and how to make retirement work on your terms.
My name is A.B. Ridgeway, and this has been another edition of The Ridgeway Report.
About the Author
A.B. Ridgeway, CPWA® is the founder of A.B. Ridgeway Wealth Management and host of The Ridgeway Report. He specializes in helping retirees and pre-retirees create reliable income, invest with clarity, and make confident financial decisions.
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About The Ridgeway Report:
As Christians, we were taught to be good stewards over our tithing and giving to the less fortunate. But when it came to our personal finances and investing we were left clueless on what the Bible says. What does the Bible say about managing debt, leaving a legacy, investing, and planning for your retirement? Mr. Christian Finance answers these and many other questions because we want to teach you how to become rich and righteous!
Meet A.B. Ridgeway:
A.B. Ridgeway, MBA, CPWA®️ (info@abrwealthmanagement.com) is the owner and Christian Financial Advisor with A.B. Ridgeway Wealth Management. With a decade in the finance industry, his goal is to give believers clarity around the most confusing topic in the Bible, money, and tithing. A.B. Ridgeway helps tithing Christians become cheerful givers but unlocking their money-making potential, so they can prosper and be the great stewards of the wealth God has entrusted them with.
*Disclaimer: This communication is not intended as an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any financial instrument or investment advisory services. Any information provided has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of any description of securities, markets or developments mentioned. This is strictly for information purposes. We recommend you speak with a professional financial advisor.
*Some elements in this blog was created, restructured, edited or summarized by AI and may have altered from the original content. Warning: There may be errors that were creating during this transition that were not in the original content. Please double check all information.
