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What are retirees’ biggest regrets once they stop working? Most who reflect on their working years say they would make two major changes: start saving sooner and save more.

A new TIAA Institute survey found that 76% of current retirees regret not beginning to save earlier in life. Another 71% wish they had accumulated more money before leaving the workforce.

But insufficient savings were not the retirees’ only regrets. The findings suggest that many people entered retirement without fully preparing for medical expenses, caregiving duties, and other events capable of disrupting even a carefully constructed plan.

Among the retirees surveyed:

• 49% regretted underestimating healthcare and long-term care costs.
• 49% regretted not preparing for events such as health problems, career changes, job losses, and caregiving responsibilities.
• 47% wished they had established clearer retirement goals.

The findings are part of a TIAA Institute report titled “Bridging the Gaps in Retirement Expectations: New Evidence and Insights.”

“The retirees in this study are sending a clear and urgent message to everyone still in the workforce: what happens today will define the retirement you experience tomorrow,” said Surya Kolluri, head of the TIAA Institute.

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Retirement does not always happen on schedule

One of the survey’s most important findings is that workers may not get to choose when they retire or how many uninterrupted years they can spend earning and saving.

More than half of the retirees surveyed — 51% — said an unexpected event caused them to leave the workforce for longer than one year. A lengthy interruption can reduce retirement contributions, eliminate employer matching contributions, and force a household to spend money previously earmarked for the future.

It can be especially damaging when the interruption occurs late in a worker’s career, when earnings and retirement contributions may be at their highest.

The survey also found that three in four retirees have some form of income expected to last throughout retirement. TIAA said that could include income from pensions or annuities, although guarantees associated with annuities depend on the issuing company’s ability to pay claims.

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Professional advice may reduce regrets

Retirees who worked with certified financial professionals reported fewer regrets in every category, according to the study.

For example, 26% of retirees who used an adviser regretted underestimating disruptive life events, compared with 43% of those who did not work with one.

That does not mean professional advice guarantees a secure retirement. Consumers should review an adviser’s credentials, understand how the adviser is paid, and ask about possible conflicts of interest before turning over money or purchasing a financial product.

For people who are still working, the survey’s findings point to several practical steps:

• Contribute enough to a workplace retirement plan to obtain the full employer match, if one is offered.
• Increase contributions after raises or when major debts are paid off.
• Build an emergency fund so an unexpected expense does not require an early retirement-account withdrawal.
• Estimate healthcare and possible long-term care costs separately from ordinary living expenses.
• Review the retirement plan following a job change, divorce, illness, or new caregiving responsibility.
• Consider how savings will be converted into a dependable monthly income after paychecks stop.

TIAA said employers can also help by automatically enrolling workers in retirement plans, automatically increasing contribution rates, and providing clear information about withdrawals, rollovers, and lifetime-income options.

The larger lesson from current retirees is that retirement planning should account for more than an expected retirement date and an ideal lifestyle. It should also leave room for the health problems, family obligations, and employment disruptions that often arrive without warning.