Planning checklists you can work through at your kitchen table.
One guide for each part of the planning work we do. Every guide is written in plain English, opens with a preview, and is general information rather than individualized advice.
- Social Security
What to Gather Before You File for Social Security
A practical checklist for the paperwork, timing, and follow-through that make a Social Security application go smoothly.
- The documents and account access worth setting up before you start
- How the month you choose to start benefits actually works
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Social Security
Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits, Explained Plainly
How spousal, survivor, and divorced-spouse benefits work, and the questions worth confirming with SSA before either spouse files.
- Basic eligibility conditions for spousal benefits
- How one spouse's claiming age affects the other's spousal benefit
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Life event
A Checklist for the Months After Losing a Spouse or Parent
A calm, step-by-step guide to the practical and financial items that need attention after a loss — and the ones that can wait.
- The first practical steps and how many death certificates to order
- Who needs to be notified, and in roughly what order
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Pre-retirement
Readiness Issues to Review in Your Final Year or Two of Work
A practical review of the items worth checking before you leave your last paycheck behind.
- Confirming your cash flow picture for the first year
- Bridging health coverage between work and Medicare
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Withdrawals
Required Minimum Distribution Issues Worth Reviewing
A plain-English tour of the RMD planning questions that come up most often, with pointers to where the current rules live.
- Which accounts are subject to required distributions
- How aggregation rules work across multiple accounts
9 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Medicare
Medicare Enrollment Rules and Penalties: What to Confirm Before You Sign Up
A plain-English walk-through of enrollment windows, working-past-65 situations, and the penalties that can follow a missed deadline.
- How automatic and active enrollment differ, and which applies to you
- What 'still working' really means for delaying Part B without penalty
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Medicare
The Annual Medicare Review: What to Check Before Open Enrollment Ends
A yearly checklist for reviewing your plan's changes, coverage, and network before the enrollment window closes.
- Why the Annual Notice of Change is the first document to read
- How to check for drug formulary and pharmacy changes
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Medicare & taxes
IRMAA Surcharges: How Income-Related Medicare Premiums Actually Work
A general guide to how Medicare premium adjustments are tied to prior-year income, and what to consider before a large financial event.
- How income-related premium adjustments work in general terms
- Why the look-back to a prior tax year matters
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Extended care
Long-Term Care Insurance: Questions to Work Through Before You Decide
A framework for thinking through extended-care coverage, what Medicare does and doesn't cover, and the policy features worth comparing.
- What Medicare generally does and does not cover for extended care
- How care settings and local costs vary
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Healthcare
Healthcare Costs in Retirement: Planning Before and After Medicare
A general framework for thinking through health coverage and costs across retirement, from leaving work through Medicare and beyond.
- How to plan for the coverage gap before Medicare eligibility
- What to weigh when considering marketplace coverage
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Roth conversions
What to Weigh Before a Roth Conversion
A framework for thinking through the timing, amount, and tradeoffs of moving traditional retirement dollars into a Roth account — not a recommendation to convert.
- How to think about filling this year's bracket versus a future one
- Where the tax on the conversion should come from
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Tax review
How to Read Your Own Tax Return in Retirement
A line-by-line walk through the items on a retired household's return that most often signal a planning opportunity worth raising with your CPA or adviser.
- How to identify the character of each income source on the return
- Where to find the taxable portion of Social Security
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Charitable giving
How Qualified Charitable Distributions Work
The general mechanics, eligibility rules, and common mistakes behind giving directly from an IRA to charity.
- Which accounts and charities generally qualify
- How the transfer itself must be structured
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - HSAs
How Health Savings Accounts Actually Work
A general walkthrough of eligibility, contributions, qualified distributions, and the Medicare interaction that catches many account holders off guard.
- What coverage requirements make you eligible to contribute
- How contribution mechanics generally work
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Rollovers
The Four Options for an Old 401(k)
A neutral comparison of leaving a workplace plan in place, moving it to a new employer's plan, rolling it to an IRA, or cashing it out.
- The four general choices available for an old plan balance
- How fees and share classes can differ between options
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Inherited accounts
General Distribution Rules for an Inherited IRA
How beneficiary type, account category, and titling combine to determine what an inherited IRA requires — and the deadlines that are easiest to miss.
- Why the type of beneficiary changes everything
- How spouse and non-spouse options differ
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Portfolio review
An Annual Portfolio Review Checklist
A structured way to look at your investment accounts once a year, before the next statement arrives and the review gets pushed to next year again.
- How to restate your objective and time horizon in one sentence
- A way to check actual allocation against a target and measure drift
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Market events
What to Review When Markets Fall
A calm checklist for the weeks when headlines are loud and account balances are lower, written to be read before that happens.
- How to check your cash runway before a decline, not during one
- A way to think about rebalancing discipline in a falling market
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Security
Protecting Your Accounts and Recovering From Identity Theft
Practical habits for protecting financial accounts, and the steps to take if something has already gone wrong.
- How credit freezes work and when to use them
- Account alerts and two-factor authentication basics
7 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Annuity review
How to Review an Annuity You Already Own
A step-by-step way to understand a contract you purchased years ago, before deciding whether it still fits.
- How to locate the actual contract and a current statement
- How to identify what type of annuity you own
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Insurance review
Reviewing an Existing Life Insurance Policy
A way to check whether a policy purchased years ago still does what it was meant to do.
- How to identify the type of policy you hold
- How to check whether the original need still exists
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview - Estate review
An Afternoon Review of Beneficiaries and Estate Documents
A focused way to spend a few hours confirming that your accounts, documents, and the people who know about them are all current.
- Why beneficiary designations generally override what a will says
- How to review primary and contingent beneficiaries
8 sections · 2 readable before any formRead the preview
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These guides are general information and are not individualized investment, tax, legal, Medicare, or insurance advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Insurance guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier. Consult your own tax, legal, or insurance professional about your circumstances.