Most people assume that by the time they hit their 50s, the race is more or less over when it comes to building wealth.
But that couldn't be further from the truth.
In fact, the final five years before retirement can offer one of your best opportunities to really boost your finances—without having to completely overhaul your lifestyle.
Recently, we helped a couple double their retirement savings in this exact window, simply by being smart about how they approached it.
In this post, I share why this final stretch matters so much, the strategy we used to help them, and how you can apply the same thinking to your own plans.
There are three big reasons why the last five years before retirement are so powerful.
And once you see them clearly, you’ll likely rethink how you approach this phase altogether.
By the way, I also published a YouTube video on this very topic, which you can watch here if you prefer:
Einstein is often quoted as calling compound growth it the eighth wonder of the world.
He had a point.
The problem is, our brains aren’t wired to really feel how compounding works over long periods.
Morgan Housel captures it perfectly in The Psychology of Money: $81.5 billion of Warren Buffett’s $84.5 billion net worth came after his 65th birthday.
That’s not a typo.
The bulk of his fortune was built after what many would consider "retirement age."
Here's another shocking example of how wealth compounds: would you rather take $1 million today, or a penny that doubles every day for 30 days?
Most people instinctively take the million.
But the penny, given time, snowballs into over $5.3 million by Day 30.
The magic happens right at the end.
Investing works much the same way.
Early on, your returns might seem modest—10% on $10,000 is helpful, but hardly life-changing.
Yet, once your portfolio is larger, the same 10% suddenly makes a massive difference.
If you’d invested $10,000 into the MSCI World Index back in 1975, you’d be sitting on around $1.7 million today. All because of steady growth and the relentless power of compounding.
By the time you reach your 50s and early 60s, compound growth is doing the heavy lifting for you—and it keeps working through your retirement years.
You don’t necessarily have to earn more or work longer; you just need to make sure you’re using that momentum properly.
This brings us to John and Lisa, the couple we worked with.
When they came to us at 55, they had a healthy $1 million portfolio.
They were hoping to significantly grow their savings before they retired in five years.
Two factors were key for them: investment growth, and how much more they could add before stepping back from work.
The global stock market has historically returned around 10% per year.
But to stay conservative, we worked on a 7% average.
To give themselves the best chance, they aimed to add around 10% of their portfolio value each year—roughly $100,000.
Now, you might hear that and think, no chance I can add that much.
And that’s perfectly fine.
The point isn’t to fixate on a number—it’s to have a clear target. Even smaller contributions during these years have an outsized impact, because they’re being added to a larger base and given time to grow.
Rather than coasting towards retirement, these few years give you a real chance to push your finances forward under your own steam.
(Quick note: if you’re thinking about your own retirement planning, I’ve put together a '15 Minute Retirement Plan' you can download. It covers everything you should be considering.)
Where did John and Lisa find the extra money to invest?
It didn’t come from a second job or an inheritance. It came from the natural shift that happens for many in their 50s.
When you're younger, raising a family, paying down a mortgage, and building a career, spare cash is hard to come by.
But later in life, things often loosen up a bit.
Your income may be at its peak.
The kids are older—or have left home entirely.
And in many cases, you've paid off your mortgage.
John and Lisa had just finished paying off their $700,000 mortgage, freeing up nearly $47,000 a year. Money they were already living without.
Instead of increasing their lifestyle, they redirected it straight into investments.
With this extra $3,892 per month invested at a 7% return, their $1 million could grow to around $1.67 million in five years.
At 10%, it would be nearly $1.9 million.
And they didn’t stop there.
With the kids gone and salaries high, they chose to push harder, investing around $8,333 per month ($100,000 a year).
At a 10% return, they broke the $2.2 million mark by the end of the five years.
It wasn’t about earning more. It was about using money already available—and choosing not to spend it on new cars, holidays, or impulse buys.
Understanding the opportunity is one thing.
Acting on it is another.
If you're five years away from retirement, now’s the time to be intentional. Here's where to start:
Maximise tax-efficient accounts
Work with a caring professional to cut your tax bill and let more of your money work for you.
Give your portfolio a proper review
Are your investments aligned with your goals and time horizon? Are they still appropriate for your risk tolerance? A Spider’s Web Analysis (which offers a third-party review and easy scoring system) can help ensure everything is on track.
Watch out for lifestyle creep
It’s easy to start spending more when you’ve got more cashflow. But if you want to make this strategy work, resist the temptation. You’ve lived without that money before—you can continue to do so, and set yourself up for a much stronger retirement.
The five years before retirement are an opportunity—not a formality.
Compound growth is finally doing the heavy lifting, you're still able to influence your contributions, and for perhaps the first time in decades, you may have spare cashflow to invest meaningfully.
But it all comes down to choices.
Be intentional, stay disciplined, and you can set yourself up for a retirement that really works for you.