Four Ways Doctors Do Retirement Wrong

The average middle-class American retires at age 62. Physicians, apparently, aren’t average.

Twenty percent of practicing clinical physicians in America are older than 65 — and another 22% are between 55 and 64. More than half the survey respondents in Medscape’s 2025 Retirement Report said they don’t expect to retire until their mid-60s or later.

One reason: For many physicians, practicing medicine isn’t just a job.

“No group is perfect, but as a group we tend to be kind, caring, compassionate helpers,” said Debra Atkisson, MD, a psychiatrist who’s also certified as an executive coach. “We embrace that identity as a calling and work very, very hard. We get on that treadmill, and before you know it, 25 years goes by.”

That’s why you should prepare for retirement, which you know — but you’re busy. Listen to these doctors and other experts to help you avoid common missteps and make the most of your post-practice years.

Misstep #1: You think retirement means just not working.

After more than 20 years as a doctor in eastern Kentucky, Jack Piercy, MD, retired this past June at 49. “The way I think of it is, I’m looking for Act Two. I’ve always respected people who do one thing and then do something else,” he said. “I’m not retiring to do nothing.”

Piercy embraced a concept known as protirement: retiring so you can move on to something else you find fulfilling. Even if you wait until a more traditional retirement age, that may mean work of some kind. In medicine, that could mean teaching or locum tenens (filling in for others), or working in another field. Or you might plan to devote time to volunteering, expanding friendships you didn’t have time for while in practice, seeing the world, or embracing a new challenge. Piercy, for instance, is writing a novel.

“Physicians’ identity is so tightly attached to what they do, they have a hard time conceiving of doing anything else,” said Peter S. Moskowitz, MD. He’s well into his own protirement, as a career transition coach for physicians in Palo Alto, California. “Open your mind and heart to the possibilities. You want to continue to grow and develop in the time you have after stepping away.”

Misstep #2: You’re blasé about your finances.

The physicians in Medscape’s Retirement Report estimated they’d need around $4 million for retirement, double what most Americans aim for. The vast majority expressed confidence they’d have enough money when the time came, but the average respondent older than 40 had amassed less than half that.

“Certified financial planners used to say your plan should generate 80 to 100 percent of your current annual income,” Moskowitz said. He thinks 90%-100% is a smarter goal, given the rising cost of homes, travel, and other expenses.

To reach a goal that large, it makes sense to start early — even from day one — and work with a certified financial planner. Piercy opted not to. “That might be my only regret, wishing I’d sat down with somebody,” he said. “I probably could’ve had more peace of mind, set things up a little better.”

And look beyond your own financial needs, Atkisson suggested. “Physicians tend to be caretakers in general, and that’s not just our patients. It includes our families. There can be a lot of financial dependency needs. You have to think about who depends on you.”

Misstep #3: You don’t honor your emotional connection to your patients.

If you’ve been treating a patient for years, even decades, it makes sense that you’d feel something for them.

“For the patient it can be devastating to lose their physician, but we don’t often think about what it feels like for the physician to let go,” said Michelle Pannor Silver, PhD, chair of the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She’s published several papers related to physician retirement. “You’ve given so much over the years, maintained boundaries of course, but there’s a human aspect. You derive a sense of self-worth from taking care of those patients, and relationships form. It leaves you with a gap when they’re not in your life.”

Advance planning as you approach retirement can help you and your patients. It gives you time to discuss their charts with the practitioner taking over your cases, so you can be confident they’ll receive the same level of care. And you’ll be able to talk through the transition with the people you treat. After your role changes, you may want to form a new kind of relationship, meeting for coffee or a shared interest.

Misstep #4: You don’t prepare for your new identity.

Younger generations may not feel so strongly, but if you’re Gen X or a baby boomer, odds are your professional and work identities are thoroughly intertwined. Retirement calls for leaving a significant sense of yourself behind. That will take some getting used to.

“When you put that white coat on, it’s a familiar feeling,” Atkisson said. “I’m a Texan, so the metaphor I like to use is, if you’ve got a pair of 15-year-old cowboy boots, they fit like a glove. When you get a brand-new pair, you’ve got to break those suckers in — they’re not comfortable.” 

The lack of structure also figures in. Odds are, your current schedule is jam-packed, planned out to the quarter-hour. In retirement, your time is your own, without the intense highs that come from, say, a successful surgery. That can feel bewildering at first.

“I suggest people practice before they do it,” Silver said. She recommends taking a month off to see what it feels like, a mini-sabbatical. “Physicians are really good at practicing. Think about what your day or week is going to look like. There are tons of ways to retire. Let yourself feel what it’s like.”

Moskowitz pointed out that your significant other probably sees your identity much the way you do, which can cause trouble if it changes abruptly.

“It doesn’t work when a doctor walks in one morning and says to their spouse, ‘Gee honey, I think I’m going to quit,’” he said. “It’s like hitting your partner with a sledgehammer.” 

If you have at least a decade until retirement, start imagining what retirement might be. Are you dreading it, or looking forward to it? Ask again at the 5-year mark, and adjust your timing if you’re dreading it. As the date gets closer, ease yourself — and your significant other — into it. Reduce your hours by 25% for 6 months to a year, until you’re comfortable, then reduce another 25%, and so on, until you’re ready to step away completely.

It helps if you don’t view retirement as a fixed situation. If you could do anything with your time, what would it be? The answer may change as you go.

“Recognize that going into medicine, you weren’t great on day one. It took years and years. That’s the key,” Silver said. “Retirement is a dynamic experience. It’s a chapter in life, not a destination, different for everyone. If it’s not a great fit, you adjust.”