If you have been faithful with what God has given you, you have probably done many things right. You saved consistently. You gave generously. You built a life worthy of your calling. But there is one retirement mistake that shows up again and again among believers in Lancaster County, and it has nothing to do with bad investments or poor savings habits.
It is the mistake of living for others without a plan in place to sustain it.
Faith-minded families often give without considering tax implications, avoid difficult financial conversations, or simply never plan for how long retirement might actually last. Any one of those patterns can quietly undermine decades of faithful stewardship. All three together can leave you financially exposed when you can least afford it.
In this article, you will learn the three most common retirement planning mistakes we see among believers, why each one is so easy to fall into, and the practical steps you can take right now to Lead Your Legacy without compromising your long-term security.
Mistake One: Over-Giving Too Early
Generosity Is a Virtue. Unplanned Generosity Can Be a Risk.
This is the hardest mistake to name because it comes from the right place. You want to give. You have been blessed, and you know it. And when a ministry you love makes an urgent appeal, or when a child needs help, or when a cause lands on your heart, saying yes feels like the faithful thing to do.
And it often is. But without a giving strategy tied to your long-term financial picture, generosity can quietly outpace your plan.
The pattern looks like this. A believer in their early sixties begins giving at a level that feels sustainable in the moment. They give to their church, to a few ministries they love, to a child’s down payment, to a grandchild’s education. Each gift on its own is reasonable. Together, they represent a significant drain on assets that need to last for 20 or 30 more years.
According to the Social Security Administration, a 65-year-old today has a 50% chance of living past age 85. One in four will live past 90. That is a long runway, and it requires a plan that accounts for it.
The goal is not to give less. The goal is to give wisely.
One of the most effective tools for structured giving is a Qualified Charitable Distribution. In 2026, if you are 70.5 or older, you can direct up to $111,000 annually from your IRA directly to qualified charities without the distribution counting as taxable income. Learn more about how the IRS defines qualified charitable distributions at IRS.gov.
Giving via appreciated assets is another strategy that allows you to give generously without reducing your long-term financial capacity. Instead of selling investments and donating the cash proceeds, you donate the appreciated asset directly. You avoid capital gains. The ministry receives the full value. Your giving goes further without costing more.
Mistake Two: Under-Planning for Longevity
The Math of a Long Retirement Is Different Than Most Families Expect
Most people plan for retirement as if it lasts fifteen years. The reality for many Lancaster County families is that it lasts twenty-five or thirty. That gap is where financial plans quietly fall apart.
The specific risks that come with a long retirement are worth naming clearly:
- Inflation erodes purchasing power over time. What costs $60,000 a year today may cost significantly more in fifteen years.
- Healthcare costs tend to rise faster than general inflation, and they increase as you age.
- Medicare costs and supplemental coverage require strategic planning. At Coram Deo Advisors, we strategize to address your Medicare concerns so they don’t become surprises that reshape your budget.
The families who navigate a long retirement well are not necessarily the ones who saved the most. They are the ones who planned the most intentionally. They know their withdrawal rate. They have thought through the timing of Social Security. They have stress-tested their plan against different scenarios.
If your current retirement plan was built more than five years ago, or if it was never formally built at all, it almost certainly does not account for the longevity reality you are facing. That is not a criticism. It is just an honest observation after 25 years of working with families throughout Lancaster County.
The 529 Strategy Most Grandparents Miss
One place where underplanning for longevity shows up is in grandparent giving. Many Lancaster County grandparents want to fund their grandchildren’s education, and that is a beautiful impulse. But funding it from the wrong accounts at the wrong time can create unnecessary tax exposure and reduce resources you may need later.
Contributions to 529 college savings plans remove assets from your estate while funding your grandchildren’s education. A special provision allows five years of annual exclusions in a single year, which means $95,000 for individuals or $190,000 for married couples per beneficiary. That is a meaningful gift that also serves your long-term financial strategy when structured correctly.
Mistake Three: Avoiding the Conversation
Talking About Money Does Not Conflict With Your Faith. Avoiding It Might.
This one is subtle. Many believers carry a quiet discomfort around detailed financial planning. It can feel unspiritual to scrutinize your own financial situation too closely. It can feel presumptuous to plan decades ahead when you trust God with your future. It can even feel selfish to protect your own resources when there is so much need in the world.
We understand that tension deeply. After 25 years of walking alongside families, businesses, and ministries throughout Lancaster County, we have heard it many times. And we want to say clearly: wise stewardship is not opposed to faith. It is an expression of it.
Proverbs 21:5 is direct: ‘The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.’ Planning well is not a lack of trust in God. It is a faithful response to the resources He has entrusted to you.
The families who avoid this conversation often do so because they are not sure where to start, do not want to feel judged, or have never worked with an advisor who shares their values and speaks their language. Those are real barriers. They are also solvable ones.
What Happens When the Plan Is Missing
The cost of these three mistakes is not always immediate. It tends to show up quietly, years later, when options have narrowed.
A couple in their mid-seventies realizes their resources are running lower than expected because giving and withdrawals outpaced projections. A widow in her early eighties faces healthcare costs her plan never accounted for. A family that gave generously in their sixties finds itself unable to give at all in their eighties because the strategy was never built to sustain both.
These are not hypothetical scenarios. They are patterns that appear in real families across Lancaster, Manheim Township, Lititz, and the surrounding communities. The believers in these situations are good, faithful people who simply did not have a guide to walk alongside them when it mattered most.
The villain does not have bad intentions. It is the absence of a clear plan.
Three Steps to Retire With Both Generosity and Security
Step 1: Build a Longevity-Tested Retirement Plan. Start with an honest estimate of how long your resources will last. Factor in inflation, taxes, healthcare costs, Medicare strategy, and realistic withdrawal rates. If you have never stress-tested your plan against a 30-year retirement, that is the first conversation to have.
Step 2: Build a Giving Strategy That Is Separate From Your Spending Plan. Your generosity deserves its own strategy. Know your annual giving goals. Identify the most efficient vehicles, whether that is giving via appreciated assets, Qualified Charitable Distributions, or structured annual gifts. The 2026 annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, and married couples can jointly gift $38,000. Beyond annual exclusions, individuals can gift up to $15 million during their lifetime without owing gift taxes. Understanding these tools changes how you give.
Step 3: Have the Conversation With a Guide Who Shares Your Values. The most important step is the one most believers delay. Find an advisor who understands both the financial mechanics and the faith framework behind your decisions. Someone who will ask about your family, your calling, your legacy, not just your portfolio.
What It Looks Like When the Plan Is Right
Imagine being in your mid-seventies with a clear picture of your resources, a giving strategy that is still running exactly as you designed it, and the knowledge that the ministries you love have a committed partner in you for years to come.
Imagine your children and grandchildren watching you model what it looks like to be both generous and wise. To give freely without giving recklessly. To plan faithfully without clutching tightly.
That is what it means to Lead Your Legacy. Not just leaving something behind, but living in a way that reflects who you are before the sight of God, all the way to the end.
Start the Conversation Before the Options Narrow
If any part of this article describes your situation, our mission is to walk alongside you as you build a plan that honors both your generosity and your long-term security.
Visit CoramDeoAdvisors.com to schedule your first conversation. No pressure and no obligation. Just an honest conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
Want to see the specific ways we work with families, businesses, and ministries? Visit our Services page to learn more about what a personalized financial strategy looks like at Coram Deo Advisors.
Not sure if we are the right fit? Read our story and learn why families and ministries throughout Lancaster County choose Coram Deo Advisors as their trusted financial guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common retirement mistake faith-minded families make?
The most common pattern we see is a combination of three things: giving too generously before a sustainable giving strategy is in place, under-planning for how long retirement actually lasts, and avoiding detailed financial conversations out of a sense of humility or discomfort. Any one of these can quietly erode a well-built financial foundation over time.
How do I give generously in retirement without running out of resources?
The key is building a giving strategy that is separate from your spending plan and tied to your long-term financial picture. Tools like Qualified Charitable Distributions, which allow those 70.5 or older to direct up to $111,000 annually from an IRA to qualified charities, and giving via appreciated assets are designed to maximize generosity without reducing your long-term financial capacity. A faith-based financial advisor can help you structure this correctly.
How long should I plan for my retirement to last?
According to the Social Security Administration, a 65-year-old today has a 50% chance of living past age 85, and one in four will live past 90. A retirement plan that accounts for only 15 years leaves significant risk unaddressed. Most financial planners working with healthy clients in their early sixties today build plans that run to age 90 or beyond.
Is it wrong to protect my retirement savings instead of giving more?
No. Wise stewardship means planning well for your own needs so that your generosity can be sustained over the long term. A believer who depletes resources too early may end up unable to give at all in later years. The goal is not to give less, but to give in a way that is sustainable, structured, and reflective of your values throughout your lifetime.
What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution, and how does it help in retirement?
A QCD allows individuals aged 70.5 or older to direct up to $111,000 annually from an IRA to a qualified charity. The distribution counts toward your required minimum distribution but is excluded from taxable income. For retirees who do not need the full RMD for living expenses, a QCD is one of the most tax-efficient giving strategies available.
How does Coram Deo Advisors approach retirement planning differently?
After 25 years working with families, businesses, and ministries throughout Lancaster County, our approach starts with your values, your family, and your calling before it touches your portfolio. We build plans that account for longevity, integrate giving strategies from the beginning, and reflect a Biblical worldview at every step. We also strategize around Medicare concerns so that healthcare costs do not become surprises that reshape your retirement budget.
When is the right time to review my retirement plan?
If your plan was built more than five years ago, if your giving has changed significantly, or if you have never formally addressed longevity risk, now is the right time. The earlier you identify gaps, the more options you have to address them. Waiting until resources are already stretched limits what is possible.